Secret Weapon

Everyone around me is worried about me. People are scared, one of my best friends cried and told me she's not "emotionally ready" for me to have this surgery. (She was joking, of course.)

I am completely at peace.

Is it because I'm heavily medicated? Perhaps... ;o)

People tell me that they're praying for me and that I'm in their thoughts. I have felt it. I know, without a doubt, that prayer works. I have seen it work in my own life and in the lives of others. I have faith that it will work here again.

My dad has called our family and asked them to have a special fast for me on Sunday. At another time in my life people I didn't even know fasted for me and a miracle happened.

I was at the end of my cancer treatments, and had another battery of tests to make sure I had the "all clear" to end treatments. One of the tests showed that the cancer was back.

As you can imagine, my parents were devastated. I had been through Hell for two years, and we thought that it was going to work. My parents called their friends who attend our church, and word spread quickly. The following Sunday, the entire stake fasted on my behalf.

The following Monday, when I had the same test again, it showed no traces of cancer in my body. Does prayer and fasting work? I'm a witness to that fact. I'm here today because of that power.

I've been thinking a lot about my parents recently. I love them so much. I think that somewhere, back in the recesses of their mind, they wonder if what they did for me was the right thing. I've been through so much in my life, and (being a parent now myself) I know that they would do ANYTHING to take it from me. I know that they are worried about me, and that they are very concerned with this most recent development. I know they have been by my side through all of it, and have watched me suffer.

I want them to know how grateful I am for their decisions on my behalf. When I think about what you must have gone through, and I think about what I would do if it were Ian or Courtnie, I am amazed. I know it wasn't easy, but I know a lot of prayer and inspiration went into doing the best you could with me. I also know that I am the person I am today because of the trials I've been through in my life. I've said it before, but I believe 100% that who you are in life depends on how you react to the things that happen to you. You can't always control what happens to you, but you CAN control how you react.

Mom and dad, I love you. More than you know.