free!

Its been a few long months for Stephen’s family.  We heard on 17 September that his mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Within weeks there were surgeries scheduled and doctor visits regularly. And we were left in a foreign country with a few tearful Skype calls, new diagnoses and updates each week, and a million miles between us.

I have to say we weren’t sure how to address it: how do we love on Gena from here? How do we support the whole family?  So much of love and communication comes through gestures–a meal here, flowers there, sitting for a few hours in the waiting room or beside a bed.

It’s been hard to celebrate joys from here, yes–my sister’s baby, my best friend’s wedding. But we found the sorrows far harder to embrace over distance.

But we received the most beautiful news yesterday. Gena is cancer free!  The Skype conversation was elated; Gena was glowing, and Rex was relieved.

And we’re thrilled. We just keep reveling in how thankful we are to be coming home for Christmas. It seems so surreal, so soon, and yet so right. It feels like the perfect time to embrace family.

“…a time to mourn, a time to dance;
a time to embrace, a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to tear, a time to sew…”

taken from Ecclesiastes 3, ESV