Last week it poured down rain nearly
every day where I live. During the week I
received several texts from friends living nearby who said that they were
dancing in the rain. One text message
said “Always inspired to dance in the rain!”
I love that message. Towards the
end of the week after a few days of heavy rainfall, the sun came out late in
the afternoon. I was sitting in my
office in front of my computer when the thought struck me to go outside and
look up. Out of curiosity I decided to
act on the thought. As I walked out my
front door and walked towards the curb, I looked upwards and there was the most
beautiful rainbow right over our house.
A huge smile spread across my face and tears welled up in my eyes as I
witnessed the magnificent colors above me in the sky and became instantly lost
in its beauty. When you witness a
rainbow all your cares seem to melt
away, you feel uplifted, and your hope and faith in good things to come is
renewed.
I have a CD
of favorite songs I made which I play daily.
The first song on this CD is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” It takes a lot of rain to make a rainbow,
but every drop of rain is worth it. “The
soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.”
In March I had another CT scan and
MRI. It indicated that 80% of my cancer
is now gone. That is a MIRACLE. The medication I’m on is designed to keep the
cancer from spreading and contain it, however it cannot cure it. The fact that 80% of the cancer in my body
has been defeated is truly a very precious miracle in my life.
On March 16, 2016 another miracle occurred…the
birth of my first grandchild, Gwendolyn Grace.
She is a perfect miracle. It is also a miracle that I’m still here to
hold her in my arms and kiss her little cherub face. I am savoring the exquisite joy of being a
grandmother.
Following Gwen’s birth, her daddy was
hospitalized for a critical health condition.
We received another miracle in his situation and his being released to
return home after nine days in the hospital.
To show his appreciation for my help with their newborn during the time
he was hospitalized, he baked me my very favorite dessert, lemon bars. I have tried to avoid refined sugar since my
cancer diagnosis in October. However, as
I stared down these lemon bars the temptation was too great. I broke down and ate not one but several in
one sitting. It was pure heaven! The thought came to me that so often we say “No”
to life’s joys and desserts. One thing
my battle with cancer has taught me is to enjoy each day and live in the
present. Erma Bombeck who battled breast
cancer said: “Think about the tragic
nature of the women on the Titanic who, on that fateful evening, said no to
dessert.”
Since stressed is desserts spelled
backwards, perhaps we would all have a little less stress in our lives if we
could enjoy more desserts every day. Desserts
don’t always have to be loaded with sugar. Desserts can come in the form of
laughter, listening to music that makes you happy, meditation, going for a walk
in nature, creating something unique, smiling at a stranger, my personal
favorite…holding your grand baby, and of course dancing in the rain.
So enjoy more desserts in your life and
keep looking up…there is a rainbow waiting for you!
