Mourning in Victory...

My heart is heavy as I write this. We learned today that Ms. Carolyn, Javik's much loved babysitter, has cancer. She will meet with a surgeon in a few days and will begin treatment almost immediately in an effort to fight and win this battle.
And so there is a part of me that is in mourning... for as she begins this battle that will take every ounce of her energy and time, she will have to give up her daycare. She will no longer be able to care for my baby, and many others, as their parents work. However, the part of me that is mourning is not doing so for Carolyn. I truly believe that she can and will beat this disease! No, I am mourning for my Javik... I am mourning for his time with her. You see, Carolyn is one of the most wonderful people you could ever know and my son's time with her since he was born has fostered more learning and love and nurture than I ever could have imagined! He has learned so much about life and living from his time with Ms. Carolyn. And I mourn for the friendships that he has made there. So many little ones who go through life together, 8+ hours a day, "co-workers" if you will, that will now be scattered around town. Maybe Javik will end up at another daycare with some of his old friends. But not all of them. He...they... will have to start over.
And yet, with this mourning, there is also victory. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my God is the same yesterday, today and forever... He is unchanging! He is faithful! He is in control! And so, just as I trusted Him yesterday I can trust Him today. He holds LIFE in His hands, all of life, new and old and sick and healthy... mine and yours and Carolyn's. I know that He is the great healer and that if it is His WILL she will be healed. She is strong... and she is stronger in Him! I believe that this battle that has come, will go. She will fight a good fight and she will come out on the other side strong and healthy and beautiful! And even when things happen that we don't understand, like Ms. Carolyn's cancer, God is LOVE and He is LIFE and He is FAITHFUL. And we don't have to understand our circumstances in order for Him to be all of those things! No matter the battles we face, faith is the victory that overcomes this world, and that faith rests in JESUS CHRIST alone!

So if you are reading this... what can you do?
1. KNOW JESUS. If you do, thank Him and love Him and live for Him... If you don't, introduce yourself to Him, and if you don't know how, ask me...
2. PRAY. Pray for Ms. Carolyn as she faces this battle with her family and friends by her side. Pray for the displaced babies as they adjust to new surroundings and faces and routines. Pray for those, all over this globe, who are fighting cancer; those who are winning on both sides of Heaven.
3. DO SOMETHING. Find someone in your life who is battling... maybe its cancer, maybe its some other disease, maybe its life itself... and do something to help them. Be a friend. Sit with them and talk awhile. Run errands for them. Take part in a fundraiser to help offset medical costs.
Be the hands & feet of Jesus to those who are hurting...

As always, I am because of HIM...