About my friend...

...She is thirty-eight years old. She is married to a guy with a dry sense of humor. She has four kids - two boys and two girls. She lives in a two-story house, likes to bake, and loves Jesus. We have all that in common, and we've been friends for about three years. We also both had recent mammograms.

I have a letter in front of me from the imaging center where I had my mammogram that reads, "We are pleased to inform you that the results of your recent mammography examination are normal."

But there's also an e-mail received today from my friend that reads, "I do have breast cancer..."

I looked for the perfect Psalm to quiet all her fears, and it's not to be found. I imagined sending a care package of a fancy showgirl wig (since I live in Vegas), some marijuana (like my aunt used for her chemo nausea), and a handmade blanket (to keep her warm and because she made such a sweet one for John - pictured above), but right now she still has her hair, probably wouldn't smoke the pot, and I can't sew.

All I can do is pray. Blah, blah, blah - it sounds so worn and so useless. But I know it's not. I know the Lord we love and serve really hears our prayers and truly responds. And I know, as I commit to pray every day for my friend and her stinkin' breast cancer, that God will answer. I also know it is the one tiny way I can stand beside her in this, thinking of her regularly and often. (Plus, let's be honest, I don't really know how to get ahold of any marijuana anyway...)

Last week at my kids' school I saw a woman wearing a t-shirt that said, "Hey, Cancer! You picked the WRONG girl!" Let that be true for my friend.