Annus Horribilis

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...