Inspired

Almost exactly 2 years ago, I was at Disneyland with my family. We love this time of year, and being at Disney only enhances the magic. We love it! I remember looking at Chad and then at my girls and thinking, "Wow! Life is good right now." And then that nagging little voice in the far reaches of my mind said, "I wonder how long we can keep this going. What's next?" I find that every time I notice that life is going well and that the bumps are relatively small, I feel I jinx myself! I find myself wondering if I could keep the trials at bay if that little voice would just shut up, or if the natural order of things demands that the next trial presents itself whether the voice speaks up or not. I tend to believe that life IS a trial and the quiet, peaceful joyful and even uneventful times in life are just a bonus that we can acknowledge as blessings... or not. I think the way we choose to look at joy will carry us over the bumpy times.

Well, within a week of that magical trip I found out I was dealing with an Ovarian Cancer issue. Just the C word is daunting, but many issues in life are just as seemingly insurmountable to us frail humans. I was blessed to come through this ordeal relatively healthy and only somewhat physically altered (less one ovary) but significantly changed in mind and spirit. For the better.

I found myself thinking along the same Disney-ish, happy-go-lucky lines just a couple of weeks ago and shortly thereafter found myself in a whirlwind of physical, emotional, and stressful situations that have weighed pretty heavily since then, but seem to be (dare I say it?)  getting better. As I've trudged through the last weeks, I've thought a lot about how I get through them and come out the other side feeling blessed. I've come to accept that during these times, many people and situations are put in place to make me be inspired. The inspiration I've experienced has ranged from personal to spiritual to situational, and has arrived in the forms of sisters, parents, friends and co-workers. Some were just thoughts uttered while others have been in the form of entire experiences. Everything I read, heard, watched and participated seemed to inexplicably be tied to something I needed to be inspired about. Heaven sent things can be inexplicable, I know.

So again, I'm grateful. I'm blessed, and inspired. I love that!

Me, Sarah Jane, my mom, and Amy (our amazing hostess)
getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner.