You Swing Harder after the Curve Ball

Tomorrow is my first radiation treatment! I’m actually excited about it because the sooner I start, the sooner I finish! My side effects from chemo are COMPLETELY gone, no nausea, fatigue, aches, digestion problems, and no weird breathing issues like before. I feel ‘normal’ actually! So the doc was right when he said my body just needed time to heal itself. I love what I read from What Cancer Cannot Do… ‘The body has a remarkable capacity to heal. Our very cells have the memory of health. Even when assaulted by trauma or disease, they want to return to normal. God, who designed us this way, wants more than physical health for us; he wants us to be whole- body, mind, and spirit. In Isaiah 38:16-17, it says You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish.
I am still amazed that God chose me to go through cancer, restore me to health, and then let me live. And I know that it was for my benefit, not His, because I learned many life lessons through my battle with cancer and chemotherapy. And I am glad that I have been able to share many of them with you. My newest battle since my body feels like its old self again is to not go back to the mind frame I had before this all began...specifically to not get mad or sad about the small things in life or when Life throws you a curve ball...you can throw the bat in anger, but make sure you pick it back up and swing harder the next time :)

My Life lately has been full of highs and lows, and if you know me personally, you may have seen some of those highs and lows I'm talking about :) My life is going so good, I have a life that is enormously blessed by lots of laughter, even in the hard times. I think that's why I get so mad at myself when something 'out of my box' happens and my reaction at times is to get so sad or mad about it. We all have times in our lives when things don’t go according to plan. When we have things so perfectly lined up, but then something happens out of our hands to throw it off balance. When this happens, my first reaction is to get mad. And the times when I do get mad first, it’s then that I have to pray for peace, (for both peace in that moment and constant peace in my reactions to Life's curve balls). I am human and I am not perfect. None of us are perfect and keep it together all the time…shocker huh? :) Life doesn’t always go the way you think it will. As soon as Life is going good, your world can get shaken or turned upside down. Things will change in your life, but sometimes the changes that seem so bad now, can actually open up doors to opportunities you never imagined could happen. Good opportunities that build you up to be an even stronger person!! I think that is when we are challenged. We can either dwell (which is the typical reaction) or we can learn from the situation and take action! We can all be a Warrior Chick! Although its not easy to do all of the time, I choose to take action instead of letting it get me down and draw me away from God. Yes, I do still go through the motions of the down times, the anger or sadness (so sorry if you might have caught me at that time…thanks for the talks momma, I’m a talker and need to sort out my feelings sometimes :) but the important thing to do is have your moment, learn something from it, and then choose to laugh again and move on to the bigger and better things of the future! :)

So, note to self when this is all over and the treatments are done and the blog is finished:

Laura: Don't let the curve balls in Life get you down for too long when life doesn't go the way you want it to go. You are a fighter and a Babe Ruth...so you swing harder and faster each time Life tries to throw you another curve ball! You know you don't want to draw away from God and start trying to figure things out on your own and doing/fixing things on your own again…because that is your human reaction to do so, and you know you are not as smart/right as you think you are :) What you need to do instead is step out of your emotional box, pray about the situation, and then go on with Life the way it was intended to be lived...in blissful happiness and laughter :) Haha...see Andrew, a little bit of the 'dreamer' is still in me :)

So if you know me, keep me accountable after all this cancer business is over. Help me sort out my feelings when I can’t do it on my own, let me get mad when I need to be mad, but encourage me to pick up the bat and swing harder than I did the first time as soon as possible. Without a doubt I will do this for you too when you get a curve ball :) We all need eachother to get through this thing called Life. Help me to remember that there is a life out there that is far better than one that is full of too much silly anger or sadness. It’s the life that doesn’t belong to me anyway…it was God’s to begin with to use however He saw fit for me here on this earth.

BTW: 6 days until Christmas!!! hehe ;)