Picking flowers...

Today I went up to my mom's and picked some of their flowers for cutting. Simon helped me pick them. Having cut flowers in the house sure does make a difference. I finally had to throw out the ones dad bought me while I was in the hospital. I couldn't stand to put the vases away though. I've got Zinneas, Marigolds & Cosmos in 2 separate vases. The colors are so bright & beautiful!

I've now been added to the Human Case Worker roll call. A representative called me today to see how I was doing after my hospitalization. I told her fine. Of course, she wanted to know more about my emotions than anything. Everyone who knows me should know that I'm not exactly fond of speaking my emotions out loud. So I pretty much blew that part of the conversation off. However, she is going to set me up w/ a case worker so that any problems I have w/ Humana (which can be tremendous), I have someone to go to bat for me. That takes a lot off my plate b/c hopefully I won't have to call to gripe at them like I've done in the past.

Andrew just let me know that his mom's church Calhoun Baptist has given us a check (actually 3 b/c it comes from 3 accounts) to help us pay for our plane tickets. Its really great that the community can help out. I'm sure this kind of thing happens in large cities too, but it just seems so much more personal when you're in a small town.

Speaking of small towns & Calhoun, at the Look Good, Feel Better class there were 2 ladies that piped up & said "Are you a Vandiver" when I introduced myself. It turns out that they were from Calhoun & had already added me to their prayer list. One of them went to church w/ Brenda (Andrew's mom) and had even already met Simon. Talk about a small world! Both these ladies are fellow breast cancer patients. I'm not sure what kind of treatment they're getting, but they seemed to be in good spirits & health so far as well.

This prayer list thing is amazing. When I think of all the people that have never met me that are praying for me I am humbled by God's power in our lives. I'm such an insignificant person. I won't find the cure for cancer or appear on network TV. However, there are so many people out there who have become involved in my story regardless of what's in it for them. That's truly God's grace present in our everyday lives. Sometimes, when things are working smoothly, its easy to forget that God's always truly present in our lives. We can get closer to Him through the Eucharist, prayer, and meditation. However, we are continually close to His presence in our neighbors. When things go poorly, its very easy to turn on God & blame Him. Its also easy to suddenly become devout followers in the hopes that He'll forgive your past (and probably future) transgressions. However, we all need to struggle to remain close to Him through thick & thin b/c He sent His Son to pay for our transgressions. All He asks from us is that we follow His commandments and keep Him near us always. Its easier said than done - I know. However, if we fight the good fight and run the race like Paul exhorts us, we will see Him in all His Glory one day. Of course, we all hope that one day is a while in the future, but He knows and He's not telling!