Many of you have been praying earnestly for my Aunt Kiki and we thank you so much for that. She is doing so well... gaining more and more strength each week. She has gone back to teaching half days and yesterday she celebrated 6 months since she recieved her stem-cell transplant!
Kiki told me the story of how she was talking to a woman on the phone who was also suffering from scleroderma and that she had a 5 year old daughter to care for. The woman was inquiring about the stem-cell transplant and the chemo that Kiki underwent. Of course, Kiki highly recommended it because of how successful it was with her. The woman was very concerned about loosing her hair if she did the treatment. Kiki tried to cheer her up by "think of all the cute hats and scarves you could wear!" and "think of all the time you'll save each morning getting ready for the day!" However, this woman decided that she did not want to risk loosing her long, blonde hair and did not go through with the treatment. She ended up getting a double pneumonia and now her 5 year old daughter is without a mother.
We all have moments in our lives when we feel like nothing is going as planned, that our world is caving in around us and we turn to our own solutions. We worry and fret about things that in the end, we really have no control over anyway. However, God's hands are always at work. He is faithful. We need to keep running this race with our heads held high and focused on Him who stands and waits on the finish line. If we let ourselves get distracted by the sidelines (that may be something different for each of us) then we will lose focus. We may sway, we may trip and we may fall. When we face those battles in our lives, we have to keep our focus on the finish line, the end zone... and keep fighting, keep running with focus and determination, even when we feel like we're running against the wind.
A friend of mine (Lalaine) sent me the following in an email, years ago... I don't know who wrote it but I've held onto it over the years because there are times I have to reread it and refocus myself:
"OK, here’s my guess. Your Heavenly Father is working on something for you that you’re going to love, but you have to wait for it. And it’s a long wait. And it’s driving you crazy. In fact, you may be starting to panic and considering doing it your way instead of waiting for God to do it His way and in His time. There are millions of His children, living right now with the consequences of their impatience, wishing for all the world that they had waited for God’s answer.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 simply says: “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Problem: His time is almost always later and longer than our time. But we all know that a premature baby is not as healthy as one that is full term. Many of us have settled for a “preemie” solution instead of waiting for God’s fully developed plan to emerge.
It may help you wait for God’s plan and God’s time if you could understand some of the reasons He may be making you wait. First, during this waiting time, He’s making it perfect. He’s going to wait until it’s totally ready for you and you’re totally ready for it. In 2 Samuel 22:31, David said: “As for God, His way is perfect.” It’s worth waiting for because when it’s time, it will be absolutely right in every way. Right for you, right for the people you love, right for everyone affected by it, right for now, and right for a lifetime. Only God can make it perfect like that - and that’s what He’s doing while you’re waiting.
The second reason you wait for God is because He’s making you strong. All we care about is the result, but God cares about the process. He could give you the desired result in a minute, but you’d be the same person and you might ruin it. So, on the way to the result, He’s taking you through a process that will make you more like Jesus. And that result of your need is far more important than the need itself!
The other reason you’re waiting for God’s answer: He’s making it amazing! You may think time has run out. There’s no way it can happen with so little time left. Remember this is the God who delivered a nation in a night and saved the world in three days. When God does it, it’s amazing, and all the more amazing because of how impossible it has become. It’s called a “MIRACLE”! Your Father is making something for you that you are going to love, that’s going to make you love him more than ever. The waiting is part of his plan to make it beautiful – in His time! And it will be worth the wait."
What are you going through right now... and how is your "runner's focus" as you run that race? Are you trying to find your own solution or are you giving the reins to God and allowing Him and His time to be in control?
We ate sooo much! We just couldn't leave without sampling... everything! 
Stopping to warm up with some hot drinks - which we did a number of times!
Digging out all the cute decorations our friends and family sent us last year:
The final product! I love turning on the lights at night, lying on the couch and looking at each decoration. I don't know why but something about it, makes my heart glow.
