From one of our ladies, a recent breast cancer survivor:

Many might say that 2009 wasn't a good year for me and my family. They would be wrong. It has been one of the best years of my life. I was reawakened to the power of God, prayer and the love of family and friends. I was blessed with an experience called "breast cancer." Many fear its side effects. I have learned to cherish them. Those side effects were painful at times and somewhat disfiguring in respect to what is considered normal to mankind. Growth is painful and loss is as well, but neither of these feelings can bring physical death. I am proof. 

At the age of 11, God blessed me with eternal life, and at the age of 58, He blessed me with an appreciation of those 58 years.  That call from the doctor with the words I never wanted to hear, "I am sorry the test was positive, Mrs. Meeks, you have breast cancer," is a dim memory in comparison to the revelations that followed.  I am truly blessed.  I was not given a death sentence but an opportunity to count my blessings.

Many times I have casually stated that I have the most wonderful family in the world (5 brothers and sisters, 2 daughters and a patient husband), a statement made without the fervor it deserved.  While I was the weakest of my brothers and sisters, they never judged.  They loved me just because I am their sister.  They are my past which is filled with loving memories; they are my future claim to more memory making opportunities; and they have always been my lifeline to love, kindness, and an ever present forgiving familial spirit which overlooks my many shortcomings.  My family - they are the best people I have every known.

I thought my friends were few but I have been shown indefinable friendship this past year.  I reconnected with people I have loved and cherished from early childhood days which led me to a reaffirmation of friendships formed during my earliest years in Memphis.  Those wonderful Memphis friendships evolved from casual acquaintances to the people who were always there for me and have propped me up without complaining for the past 30 years.  I have sought their wisdom in career matters, parenthood, loss and gain, and shared a life filled with tears of laughter as well as sadness, creating a bond that is inadequately described as a "loving sisterhood."  God took coworkers and made them friends.  He took my friends and made them sisters.  He took my sisters and brothers and made them the definition of love.  He took my husband and made him my caregiver.  Yes, cancer has been a blessing.  It redefined my life in order that I can truly appreciate each day, each person and each life experience, even when it was a curve ball.

As a parent I had been impatient and wanted to receive immediate results for all of my "supposed" parental efforts, but God wisely made me wait.  His Word would always quietly remind me that the rewards would come when they serve the best purpose, His Purpose,  That reward came when my girls stepped forward and called on their friends, my friends and coworkers, as well as many other people who have been a part of my life.  So many of you offered support at a fearful time in my life.  And to all who responded with kindness, especially my girls' friends, their parents, and those who surrounded them with love and support, I say, "Thank you for your generosity and support."  I felt so undeserving of your kind words, but God used them to remind me that He loved us when we were undeserving and that I should accept the gift and share it with others. 

Just when I thought I couldn't love my girls more, God quietly said, "Let me show you how much you can love them."  And He did.  This year He taught me how to love them for who they are, who they have been, and who they can become in Him, and most of all, I got to see what an amazing and unwarrented blessing they have been in my life.

In closing, thanks for all the meals, cards, telephone calls, prayers and kindnesses you have shown.  Each of you gave me something special this past year, and all I can give you at this time is a heartfelt "thank you, thank you, thank you."   It has been a wonderful year, and I look forward to my new look, new attitude and . . . who knows . . . I might even lose some weight, but don't hold me to it.

I love you.