happy.diagnosis.anniversary.farewell.kidney.birthday

Wow I don't even know where to start on this post.... its crazy to think that a year ago I was in the doctors office finding out that I had a cancerous tumor in my left kidney. I can't believe it's been a year! Part of me feels like it was an eternity ago but the other part of me feels like it was just yesterday that my diagnosis was this scary news that I didn't know how to deal with. Last night I went back and read my very first blog post (you should read it too). It was such a crazy flashback to know exactly what I was feeling, fearing, and praying when I was writing it and now I'm on the outside of that trial looking back. When I was in that deep it was hard to see an end to it all. It's amazing to reflect on how the Lord has strengthened and grown me in the past year. It's definitely been a year of change and growth!

One of the ways that I've grown is through prayer. I've learned how important it is.... how powerful it is.... how it changes your walk with God. My mentor from KC, Stephanie Donyes, gave me the journal, Praying God's Word by Beth Moore. It is still apart of my quiet time and has transformed my prayer life! I've learned how important it is to be in constant communication with God; not only for the sake of talking with Him, but it also keeps your eyes focused on Him constantly. I believe that God healed me through the power of prayer. It wasn't the power of "people keeping me in their thoughts", but it was the power of people keeping me in their PRAYERS! I am so thankful for every single prayer that mentioned my name to God because He listened and answered!

Another huge thing that I learned was the real presence of the Holy Spirit. So often we focus on the characteristics of God the Father and Jesus Christ but I feel like we forget sometimes the movement of the Holy Spirit. I can account almost everyday when I was sick how the Holy Spirit moved in someway and provided me with the exact hope, encouragement, strength, or grace that I needed that very moment! You can't help but be in awe of God when those things happen.

Fellowship is another way that God changed my life a year ago. I was blessed with an awesome group of girlfriends that I studied scripture with and prayed with and walked with. That was as far as my view of fellowship went. But when I got sick, God rallied His people around me. People that I had nothing in common with and didn't know personally at ALL joined in fellowship with me because of our bond in Jesus Christ together and encouraged and strengthened me. AHH so cool how God can bring together people like that!

I know this post is a little heavier than my more recent ones but I feel like it was an awesome opportunity to reflect on how God has moved in my life in the past year!

And thats the way the cookie crumbles :)