Awareness

What is etched on your heart?

Proverbs 15:23 How delightful is a timely word!

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you…

Until I attended the Dallas Cowboys/Washington Redskins game, I was not aware that it was Hispanic Heritage Month! Part of the event’s surrounding fanfare was former Cowboy player, Tony Casillas, serving as honorary captain, Ballet Folklorico from San Antonio performing on field in their dazzling costumes, and Los Lonely boys singing a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem. Sometimes things that are important to others escape the smaller circle boundaries of our own personal day-to-day existence…

Because of friends and family who have been touched by a terrible disease, I am aware that we are now in the month of Breast Cancer Awareness. We lost our Aunt Patty years ago to this illness. We never got to meet Erica’s mom, Charlene, due to her passing from this illness during Erica’s teenage years before she came to join the Green family. Last weekend, I attended the funeral for my friend Connie’s daughter, Carolyn, who had breast cancer take her away too soon from her husband and three children. And now, the beloved associate pastor of our church has been diagnosed, had surgery to remove a tumor and is waiting for her radiation treatment to be scheduled. Dear God, please help her! I have “cussed” for her before, so here I go again – Damn It!

I am also glad to see my friends who are survivors – Diana, Janet, Judy, Pat – you are true blessings to have in my life!

So what do we do? We wear our pink. We walk the walks. We donate to the cause. Most of all we offer our love, support, prayers, visits, cards, notes, food to those who need it when they need it.

It’s a rare treat when I get a solid night’s sleep. I blame the female hormones (or lack of them) that often make me hot and sweaty and wake me in wee morning hours of darkness. I used to get very restless and annoyed, worried that I would not have enough energy to do my work the next day. Now when I wake up in the night I try to pray for someone – usually my children or other family members. Last week, my “wake in the night prayers” were for my pastor Cindy. The next day I read her journal entry on the Caring Bridge website. She wrote about having nightmares of sharks attacking her, waking her up in terror. She was able to easily interpret the dream. These are the words she used to conclude that journal entry:

In the moments after I woke up and realized it was "just a dream", I remembered this scripture, When you walk through the waters, I will be with you. (Isaiah 43:2) I let those words lull me back to sleep.

This morning I read The Message version of that same passage: When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you are in rough waters, you will not go down.

In the middle of the night, when things got dark and weird and scary, I was really glad I had a verse of scripture previously etched on my heart. It made all the difference when the sharks showed up.