"God designed you for community. He made you with a desire to connect with other people who can grow with you, cry with you, sharpen you, encourage you, laugh with you, and hold you accountable to the things of God. No matter your stage or season, all of us long to find people to simply do life with. But, if you're like me, you've had times in your life when it feels like that kind of community is impossible to find."
Finding a friend who laughs with you, or encourages you is fairly easy. Finding someone who cries with you is a little harder. But, finding someone who sharpens you and holds you accountable to the things of God? Virtually impossible. She would have to know me well enough to call me out and hold me accountable. She would have to be spiritually at the same level or higher in order to sharpen me and challenge my thinking. She would have to be as interested in the things of God in order to really grow and do life together. What a tall order and something I would have previously considered impossible.
But, God. He found me such a friend and brought her into my life a year ago. In fact, she meets ALL the criteria and then some from the opening quote. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
I was with a friend today when we stumbled upon this adorable ice cream shop while searching for the closest Starbucks. It's a little hard to read the text, but it says "all things are better when shared with someone cherished". Yes, all things are indeed better. And the ice cream was that much sweeter too.
My friend and I were at Frankie's Jazz Club last night, one of my favourite places in Vancouver. It's a fairly small venue with live music. It feels intimate and personal. Also, the food is good. I have never eaten anything there that I didn't like.
Frankie's reopened a few weeks ago and I was so happy. Live music is one of the things I miss most right now, whether concerts or worship at church. Frankie's is small enough that they can make it work despite the rules around COVID. There were a few new plexiglass dividers, servers in masks, empty tables etc, in line with new guidelines. But essentially, it felt the same. The vibe was casual and relaxed and lovely. Last night's artist was Maya Rae, an amazing local singer. She's only 18, but what a voice! It was just so nice to listen to someone sing live, accompanied by the piano and bass.
Afterward, we went for a walk along the water downtown. It was dark and the city lights were reflected in the water. There was a bit of a chill in the air, but it was still warm enough to not need a jacket. There were lots of people out, walking and sitting around enjoying the summer evening. I love Vancouver.
The title is Latin for horrible year and that pretty well sums it up. Last year on July 25th, I received news of my father's cancer diagnosis and so began the worst year of my life. Although my father had treatments, he got progressively worse and died on Dec 11th. Yes, there were lots of blessings along the way and I am in no way forgetting or minimizing those. I have blogged previously about God's love and sovereignty throughout my dad's illness. But, it was a hard, hard time. Christmas was a sad blur and I am still mourning his loss. I still have moments of unexpected tears which continue to catch me by surprise.
So, in the spring, when Pentti got diagnosed with the same cancer after months of waiting and testing, I was devastated. I couldn't believe this was happening again. Of course my thoughts went straight to the worst case scenario. How could they not? But, I also had a strange sense of supernatural peace. I blogged previously about how my faith was actually strengthened. Anyway, as is often the case, there was a lot of stressful waiting: for the specialist, for the biopsy results, for the surgery. Throughout that time, my feelings fluctuated a lot but my faith that God was in control did not. I had some wonderful friends who supported me and prayed for us and checked in often.
Well after months of waiting, Pentti had his surgery. There were no complications or surprises with the surgery, but they said that the wait for the pathology results would take weeks. But because God is in control, we got the results from our family doctor only a few days later on July 25th. Exactly one year to the day from when I received news of my father's diagnosis. Coincidence? I think not. The results were the best possible: the cancer had not spread and was removed during surgery. I feel like this was a sign directly from God telling me that this time the ending would be different. I also feel like it was a sign that my year long trial has ended. He knows I am a cynic; even though I was rejoicing at the good news, a part of me was thinking...hmm...I hope the results can be trusted. I feel like this is God's sign to me that even if medical reports can't be trusted, He can. He was in charge the whole time and His timing is amazing!
Yesterday, we got the "official" call from the surgeon with the results. He confirmed that the cancer had not spread and that Pentti would not require any further treatment other than biannual check ups. Grateful doesn't even begin to explain how I feel...
