Make Memories

Life is about moments

…with people you love

My mom always says “Take Pictures, Make Memories”. Since we don’t live in the same city, I always knew that also meant … send me the pictures. Time spent connecting with family is a precious gift. As I battled cancer, I valued these moments from a perspective of true clarity and understanding that life IS about making memories with the people we love. I strive every day to fully SHOW UP for the adventure. How are YOU showing up in your journey? Every day counts, don’t coast. Those 24 hours will never pass this way again.

So about that “C” word I have shared, I am one of a growing community whose members have waited with disbelief for test results on something that arrived right out of left field. These test results can change our life path as we knew it, as we had planned it, and gives a wake up call to anyone that had slowly learned to coast through it. Yes, like many, I heard the “C” word in the same sentence that unexpectedly included the word…You.

So what happens when this diagnosis is made? Somehow the glasses we had been viewing our life through are replaced with strange new lenses and everything looks foreign. These new lenses need an adjustment period to adapt to, but that is a luxury there is no time for. This battle waits for no one. We reach for God’s hand and we find strength in a way we never knew existed.

We summon our bravery and put on our mental armor for what is now being asked of us. We are aware of family and friends rallying around us, of the many prayers that carry our name, and we step one day at a time toward an outcome we pray awaits us. We pray for the chance to make many more memories.

My battle has changed me. I have stopped living preoccupied with the thoughts of others and have learned to OWN my life and live in MY feelings. When you live in YOUR feelings, you FEEL your life. My battle has also taught me how much growth there is in struggle. Many of you already know this. You have tried to navigate through disappointments, failures, challenges, grief and you know you are changed from the effort. You grow in those seasons whether you fully grasp how just yet, you do grow.

Every day I wish for you to live with a grateful heart and an appreciation for the gift that is TIME because it is priceless. I live grateful. Sunrises still make me smile. I laugh more and cry at the drop of a hat. I have a new post chemo obsession with trees. I love my body with all it’s battle scars because they reflect my strength and perseverance. These scars are why I am still here making memories. I am Janet, and because of a faithful Father, I am RENEWED.