4 YEARS AND COUNTING

This is a picture of my dad’s brain from his last MRI last Friday.

Today marks the 4th year, since we found out that my dad had GBM (Glioblastoma) stage 4 brain cancer. This event has changed me forever. Not only have I grown in my faith, but I also have come to realize that life isn’t going to last forever. My loved ones aren’t always going to be around.

I have learned to balance alone time, family time, and friend time. I have learned to make every day count and make the most out of them. I have learned to forgive and apologize quickly. I have learned that every day is God ordained and that I, or someone I love, may not be here tomorrow. We just don’t know, but that’s where trusting in God really comes into play.

Even though we don’t know when we are going to die or when those we love are going to die, we need to live with the knowledge that God does. Not only does He know when we are ALL going to die, He also knows how many hairs are on your head. He knows every star and names them.

How amazing is it that the God of the universe cares for you and me? How amazing is it that He sent His one and only Son to come down and to save us all from our sin and shame?!

Is there someone whom you are fighting with at this moment? Whether it’s a parent, sibling, spouse, boyfriend, friend, co-worker, ect. go and seek to make peace with them. My dad having brain cancer has taught me that our days are indeed numbered. We all know this because there are two certainties in life: Death and Taxes.

So are you going to live today like it is your last day? Are you going to make it right with not only God, perhaps, but also that person you are fighting with?

Another thing that I have learned from my dad having brain cancer is that trusting God is the hardest but best thing you can ever do. Without God, I do not think I could have survived this trial. I do not think that my mom would not have survived. I do not think my younger sisters could have handled it.

God has proven time and time again in my life that He is there and He is taking care of me and my family. My dad has been doing amazing! If you were to meet him now, you probably couldn’t notice that he has brain surgery nearly 4 years ago. He has come so far and is doing so well because God’s hand is over him.

He literally is a walking miracle, because most people die in the first few months. The average life spam of a GBM survivor is 12-14 months. Most GBM survivors if they make it past that, they end up getting it back. It is every blue moon that someone has lasted 4 years without having a relapse with their cancer.

Even though my dad is doing well today, we don’t know what tomorrow holds. GBM is a terminal cancer. Terminal cancer pretty much is cancers promise that it will come back to haunt you in the future. It never goes away. My dad will die either with or by cancer.

We don’t know how long my dad has left to live. That is just another thing that we have to give over to God constantly. If we were to care that kind of thought on our heart daily, it would eventually way us down completely. We just have to give it all to God. I don’t know how these women do it without God. I don’t know how they can stand against this storm without having God on their side.

We all will go through sufferings in life, it is just your choice if you will face them head on alone, or if you will allow your Creator and God to care you through.

My mom wrote this blog post today about my dad’s cancer. So if you want to check it out here it is! 😀

“Count it PURE JOY, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3

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