8 Years

In 2001 I was diagnosed with cancer and while it was an incredibly tough time in my life, I was given many gifts to get me through. I was blessed with a Spiritual awakening that rocked my world and the truest and best family and friends a girl could have.  My family and friends helped my husband and I with our then 6 month old and 2 year old.  They also cooked for us, cleaned for us and encouraged us.  Our faith, well, at times I felt like I was literally crawling into Jesus' lap, especially when the fear and nightmares would hit.


As I walked through my cancer journey, I began to think of the healing process I was going through like a long walk down a wooded path. At times it was treacherous but when I was willing to slow down and look at all the little “flowers” that God put along the path, I learned so much about the character of God and his love for me and grew many other ways too. One of the things that helped and encouraged me the most was going through my Bible and highlighting verses that meant a lot to me.  On days that I was having a difficult time, I would read and re-read them.  Sometimes it felt like reading God's promises was the only thing that would get me through.

Because of the joy and encouragement given to me through these verses, I decided to make a beautiful treasure box to put them in. I had several friends who saw my box sitting on my counter and asked about it. When I told them what it was, they asked for one of their own and began ordering them for friends who were going through difficulty too.

One of the first boxes I gave was to a young woman, sister-in-law to a dear friend of mine.  She had 2 tiny children and just found out she had bone cancer.  I related so much to what she must be feeling that I felt compelled to make sure she had one of my these "treasure boxes"  filled with verses of encouragement and love.  She was so thrilled to get it and later I was told that it sat next to her computer and she would flip a new verse each day.

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed day.  I know that I am feeling particularly blessed myself today!