Here’s a Fun Experience from February 2020

This is a journal entry copied from my CB site from back when I was going through the first rounds of radiation. I wanted to share it again because I think about it often. I hope you enjoy it!

February 19, 2020

I want to share a faith story of mine with you. It’s pretty long but there really isn’t anything I can cut out. This is something that happened last week when my sister, Emily, and daughter were here. First of all, let me just say that I still go through many moments of fear and sadness despite the fact that I choose to believe that God is with me and leading me along this journey. Also, sometimes I have doubt or worry that maybe He is not always here with me. I am only human, after all, and so much of this has been so challenging. But I have seen many signs from God that have pointed me to Mayo and to certain doctors and I trust that. Some might wonder how God speaks to me and this story I am going to share is just one example of how he speaks to me. It’s long though so I won’t be offended if you choose to skip over the next paragraph section. 🙂

God Finds Us Where We Are

Last week after one of my late radiation treatments, we had planned to go out for ice cream. When we parked at the ice cream store I specifically said to the girls that I was buying and wanted to treat them. (This always brings on an argument in my family 🙄 but didn’t this time.) After we went inside we spent a couple minutes looking over the ice cream flavors, all 26 of them, and we made our decisions. Jorjah and I each got a chocolate dipped waffle cone with two scoops of ice cream and my sister got a dish. I went to pay and the girl behind the counter with a smile said there was no charge and to have a good night. I was confused and said no I wanted to pay for it. She then said it had already been taken care of and to again have a good night. I looked at my sister with confusion and to be honest a little annoyance figuring that she must have secretly paid while I was busy looking at the ice cream. We left the store and when we got in the car she explained to me how the girl asked her if I was a cancer patient and when she said yes, the girl said she would like to pay for our ice cream. So, after hearing that I felt kind of bad and wanted to go back and say thank you and give her a hug. We talked about it for a few minutes while driving around, contemplating if that would be too awkward or embarrassing for her.

I asked Emily if she had gotten her name so I could send a thank you in the mail instead. She said she hadn’t. Well apparently, God had His own plans because my next bite I bit into a bolt in my ice cream. Yes, I said a bolt. Thankfully my teeth were unharmed and the three of us girls started laughing! I guess He wanted us to go back so He gave me a reason to. We turned around and after arriving and handing over the bolt, told the girl that we came back to say thank you and gave her a hug and then shared the story about the bolt. 😂 Of course she was mortified and began checking the equipment to see where it came from. I could see an empty hole in the back side of the hinge area of the clear sneeze guard and pointed it out to her. She felt and said yup, that’s where it came from. It happened to be just above and to the left of the ice cream flavor I chose. We all got a laugh out of how God orders our steps.

Next, she shared that she was a Christian and asked if I would be ok if she prayed with me, which of course I said yes! She shared her story of her own loss of her mother to the horrible disease of cancer. This young girl was so bright and warm and through all of her tragedy still has such a faith and trust and love of Jesus. It was amazing! She came around the counter and prayed right there in the store for me and for Jorjah and our family. After that we left.

Where the Only “Hing” That Makes Sense is the Ice Cream

Driving around again, Emily states that she wishes she would have gotten a T-shirt from the store. We also realized that we never got her name. So, we turned around and went back for the third time now and walked in laughing. I told her we weren’t there to bother her but that we wanted to buy some shirts. On the back of the store T-shirt it says “Where the only thing that makes sense is the ice cream”. Jorjah and Emily each picked their shirts out of the single stack of shirts and then I started fingering through looking for a size medium. When I got to the first M I pulled it out to inspect it. I instantly started laughing when I noticed a misprint on the back. I showed the girls and the young lady behind the counter.

It read “The only ‘hing’ that makes sense is the ice cream!” (Hinge without an e. What!!?)

God’s Grace

We all laughed together! I know God has a sense of humor and that T-shirt is confirmation that He was responsible for the bolt coming out of the hinge area and that He wanted us to go back and meet this lovely girl and share our stories with each other. Emily said this time she wanted to pay for the shirts so after she did, we looked at the receipt and saw what our new friend’s name was. Grace. “Of course it is!” was Emily’s response! What a blessing it was to have this experience with my daughter as witness, for God to put us in this place and in the presence of Grace.

We chatted some more and shared even more with each other and took a couple photos together. My daughter talked about her for days and will never forget the connection we shared and compassion that we received from this stranger. In the Bible, grace is a gift from Heavenly Father given through His Son, Jesus Christ. The word grace, as used in the scriptures, refers primarily to enabling power and spiritual healing offered through the mercy and love of Jesus Christ. I think that is what God wanted us to see, hear and feel that night. Amazing!! I told Grace I was looking for a church to attend in the event that I am in Rochester over a weekend. She told me where she goes and it sounds fantastic. I told her I would try to attend one of these weekends. 😁

The Story Isn’t Over

Fast forward two days and now Jorjah, my mom and I are in the hot tub at our hotel and this large group of people are also there in the pool. This woman comes over to us because from a distance she thought we were part of their group. We chat for a minute about why each of us are there, she with a Christian homeschool group and I for radiation/chemo treatments. She then asked if it would be ok if she prayed with me, which of course I said yes! She sat down with us in the hot tub and prayed for me and my journey and my family and for healing and many other specific things that I had just the day before cried to my brother about. Nobody else on earth knew what I was upset about that day besides my brother, least of all a stranger in Rochester. But God did. And He made sure I knew that by putting the words in her mouth for me to hear. How amazing is that!?!

I am just so grateful that I am on Gods radar, that He is showing me this in many ways and it is so calming knowing that. This random meeting turns into about an hour-long conversation where we shared our personal faith stories and near the end of our visit just like I did with Grace, I asked what church she goes to and told her I was looking for one to attend while in Rochester. Would you believe she goes to the same church as Grace? It’s true! These two strangers that God sent to me on different days, different locations, different circumstances, not only both had a profound spiritual effect on me and my daughter, both go to the same church, and come to find out they know each other. They are Friends! Unbelievable! You can’t script this stuff and I don’t believe in coincidences. Truly it was amazing!

Thank you all for following along this journey. If you read the whole post, I hope you enjoyed that fun story. 🙂 Please keep those prayers coming as I’m nearing the halfway mark of this stage of treatment. God hears them! I appreciate it more than you know! 

Amazing, Indeed!

To this day, I think of that story so much, especially when I need a reminder that I am not alone. I did make it through that stage and will keep fighting to make it through whatever comes next.