Last week, I talked with a friend and she noted that she'd been in a "blah mood"--but couldn't figure out why. There were no new challenges, no worries at present about medical tests results for family or friends, nothing bad had happened. She could list things she was grateful for--but still felt her spirit was … Continue reading A New Thing Springing Up
Breast Cancer Survivor
From Survivor to Thriver
This month we focus on Breast Cancer Awareness; there are pink balloons and ribbons, special flower bouquets at the grocery floral shop, walks and runs to raise money for research and treatment. Some have called it 'Pinktober' with the flurry of pink, and sometimes that feels as excessive as the overdoing of pumpkin-flavored everything. Last … Continue reading From Survivor to Thriver
Happy 200th Post!
This is my 200th post on this blog. I started in May of 2017 after I returned home from the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers' Conference. There, I pitched my memoir to agents and attended sessions on marketing my work. What everyone in the writing world suggested was having a blog so you could provide … Continue reading Happy 200th Post!
Step Forward in 2019
Over the past year since I’ve been on Twitter, I’ve often used the hashtag #stepforwardfromcancer. That phrase came to me when I was planning a group for breast cancer survivors. I was using my Life Coaching knowledge to help those participants move toward a better place in their lives. When I remembered back to my … Continue reading Step Forward in 2019
Happy Cancerversary!
Cancerversary is a ‘milestone defined by you’ according to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship #cancerversary. That’s what June 22 is when I celebrate my survivorship from triple-negative breast cancer diagnosed in 2000. While my situation was cancer, your life-changing event may have been divorce, sobriety, or some other thing that irrevocably altered your life. Each … Continue reading Happy Cancerversary!
Fall Tapestry
October is a month of fall festivals and breast cancer awareness. Yesterday, both came together when I attended the Big Foot Festival near my hometown of Sanford. I don’t know a lot about Big Foot, but I went to support my friend, Donna, who’d organized the event as a fund raiser for clean water efforts. … Continue reading Fall Tapestry
Walking to the Depths
My third solo journey was to the Sea of Peace House of Prayer, a center for contemplation at Edisto Island, South Carolina. I was searching for pastoral support to examine my life. Sharon, the spiritual director, described the tools available including one-to-one sessions and walking the labyrinth. When I saw that sandy path edged in … Continue reading Walking to the Depths
The Thin Veil
On a chilly day in early April, we ate lunch together on the Duke University campus. Carol, Cathy, and I were all cancer survivors and now, Relay for Life team members for the Congregation at Duke Chapel. I told them my plans to take a pilgrimage to Iona, Scotland. “The veil is thin there,” Cathy … Continue reading The Thin Veil
It’s About the Future
I sat on a rock overlooking the Great Smoky Mountains on that Sunday morning in September. In the stillness that was shrouded in fog, I felt the burden of trudging through cancer treatment and my toxic job. I prayed for God to lift me out of that pit, and waited for some sign that God … Continue reading It’s About the Future
Finding the Divine in the Everyday
The evening after my third chemotherapy, I was lying on my bed and barely able to lift my head. My nausea and fatigue had increased with the cumulative impact of the medicine. It was distressing to think I had to go through three more infusions, scheduled once every three weeks, and after that thirty radiation … Continue reading Finding the Divine in the Everyday