Day before.

Today is an absolutely stunning day here in Fort Wayne.
The sun is out and the leaves are turning and all is right in the world...
except for tomorrow I'm going in for this big surgery...there is after all, that!
But even that, as we're learning, is part of what is "right" for me, for our family,  & for our friends.

This reality that we're facing is more than just a big procedure,
more than just an event that takes me out of our home for several days,
more than just an "inconvenience" or even a scarey surgery.
It is what will tell us what is hiding there in my Pancreas,
and then, what our next steps are.

So, we walk toward it...
Hesitantly?  You bet!  With some very concerns?  Definitely.
But we get up tomorrow and walk into that hospital with a trust and faith that outweigh our hesitancy and concern.

Last night, some good friends dropped off this book.  Written by friends and  filled with words of hope, encouragement, affirmation, LOVE,
laughter, and truth!  What a gift.  I'm not even able yet to read it all. But I did want to share with you what's on the title page...

"Our first breath of frustration may be filled
with a curse, but we determine the future by
what we do with the second breath."
                                                                       - Dr. Robert Morris

So, here's to LIVING in and out of the SECOND BREATH.
I pray that for us and you.
I know we're not the only ones struggling.
The hearts, connected to the eyes, reading these words, are wrestling with big things just like us.  I know some of your stories -- jobs changing, finances diminishing, kids giving you a run for your money, parents aging, marriages kind of shakey, the future staying uncertain, your faith is wavering, and WE ARE ALL left wondering.
So, let's just take a breath.
The 2nd and the 400th and I betcha we'll all find exactly what we need to walk forward.

We're so grateful for the love.
Hard to put it into words.
So, we'll just say thank you...for what is and what is to come.
The words, the prayers, the scriptures that have meant something to you, the meals, the prayers, the house cleaning, the sitting with, the thoughtfulness to the kids, the emails & texts, the Facebooking, and did I say, "prayers"?

This will be my (Suze) last entry for awhile.
I'm having a glorious day today "getting ready"!! :)
So, until I'm back and able to type coherently - some would argue I'm not doing that now - I'm giving you what I've got...

"We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death.  But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead.  He has delivered us from such a deadly peril and He will deliver us.  On Him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers."  2 Corin. 1:8-11

Breathing that second breath,
Suze