Breast cancer SURVIVOR!

This is the picture I've had on my desktop since February 14th, 2011, my daily prayer reminder.  It's the picture of beauty and strength in the face of something ugly; something totally and completely out of our control.  It is the picture of someone fighting a disease with everything in them, while trusting God to control the outcome.   

For the last eight months Tami's been in the fight of her life and today she is no longer a breast cancer patient, she is a breast cancer survivor.  Chemo, a mastectomy and radiation may have changed the outside, but God has done an even more amazing work on the inside.  He has transformed her from someone who knew about Him, to someone who is passionate for Him.  From someone who loved her life, to someone who loves who she is becoming in Him.  Watching the transformation has been an incredible encouragement to my faith.  Seeing her honestly share her journey, emotionally, physically and spiritually, has bolstered my resolve to live transparently. 

It was ugly.  It was terrifying.  It was painful.  It shook Tami to her core, but at the core she clung to what she knew to be true.  The beauty that has risen from the ashes of her ordeal is an amazing testimony that God uses ALL THINGS for our good and for His glory.  Yes, even the ugliness of breast cancer.

What the enemy intended to destroy Tami and her family has instead served to make them more like their Creator.  It has not destroyed, but strengthened.  It has not torn them away, but brought them closer to the heart of God. 

Thank you Tami for your strength and more importantly your willingness to lean on the One who strengthens you.  Seeing you face these last eight months with your usual feisty spirit has made you more beautiful than ever.  I love you!