The Women In My Path

Yesterday morning (Tuesday), I had my pre-op appointment at the hospital.  Part of the process was giving blood.  When I walked into the lab, I was introduced to Evelyn - the same lady who did my bloodwork for my genetic counseling last week.  She was just finishing a telephone conversation in Spanish when the nurse and I walked in.

Evelyn looked at me and said "you look familiar.  I recognize your face."  I reminded her about my genetic testing last week (side note:  my insurance would only pay a very minimal amount for the genetic testing so I decided not to have it completed.  We do not have an extra $3300 laying around!  I was not 100% convinced I needed to do genetic testing anyway.  So, I had asked God very specifically to let the insurance company pay for the test if I needed to have it done.  HE ANSWERED!  And I gave 2 viles of blood for fun!  It was just practice for all of the sticking and poking that's yet to come!)

Anyway, because I had heard Evelyn speaking Spanish, I asked her what country she was from.  She stopped what she was doing and got a very serious look on her face and said C*ba.  Then she began to share her burden for the people of her country with me, especially her aging grandmother.  I was nearly in tears. 

In the midst of it all, I started having a fierce coughing attack that got the attention of the entire office!  Once they realized I was not choking to death, this little episode actually gave Evelyn and I more time to talk.  God uses it all, doesn't He??!!!

Before I left, Evelyn let me pray for her. 

So you see, the blood I gave last week for gentic testing (that never happened) wasn't just for fun after all.  It was so I could meet this precious lady twice, hear her story and start praying for her.  GOD IS SO AMAZING!

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This past Monday morning while walking, my friend Cindy and I had a conversation about our friend Ruth.  We both commented how it had been a long time since we had seen Ruth or talked to her because she travels a lot with her ministry.  When I left Cindy's that morning, I had to run some errands that included going to Wal-Mart. 

Another really cool side note - actually I'm going to start calling them GOD NOTES!  Starting now.....Another really cool GOD NOTE: We have lived in our house for about 16 months now and there are a lot of little things that still need to be done.  After my 2 mission trips, I've REALLY been struggling with how much stuff we have compared to the rest of the world.  And now I'm reading the book "Radical" - there is no telling what my husband may come home to!!!  He's asked me not to put the TVs or computers on the curb!  My response "what about Craig's List or E-Bay??!!!"

Anyway, one of those little things on the still to be done list is getting bath mats for our master bathroom.  My husband even reminded me of this need the other day.  Well, bath mats can be ridiculously expensive.  I even have a gift card to a bath & kitchen store and refuse to use my card to pay the outrageous prices for bath mats!  I have been praying for God to give me a good deal.  So, I decided to look for bath mats again while I was at Wal-Mart. 

I found 2 mats that would work great in our bathroom, only they did not have tags on them for me to check the price.  And I actually needed a third mat that I could not find.  I decided I would have to go to a different Wal-Mart to find them.   So as I was leaving that aisle and heading for the next one, who did I see but this beautiful lady.....

RUTH!!!  "The Ruth" Cindy & I were just talking about!

I was so excited to see her!  She is so encouraging and loves the Lord so much.  We talked for a while and then she prayed for me.  I wanted to do joy cartwheels down the aisle with her but she encouraged me to do them by myself while she stood back and prayed for me not to get hurt!!!  And Ruth is a breast cancer survivor herself!

As I turned to leave the aisle Ruth had been on, some red bath mats caught my eye!  The 2 mats that I had found without tags were actually part of a set someone had torn a part.  A complete set was hanging on the wall in the CLEARANCE section marked $10.00!  I was so excited!  I grabbed them and decided to also grab one of the mats without a tag because I needed 3 mats total.  I figured I could ask to be charged half price for the one mat since it was no longer in a set.

When I checked out, the 2 mat set actually rang up $5.00!!!!!  I asked the cashier about the 3rd mat and she was able to do it for half price!  So I spent a total of $7.50 for 3 bath mats!!!!!  GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!!!  He cares about every single little detail of our lives!!!!!

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Last Friday, my friend Susan invited me and my new friend Laura (who was just diagnosed with breast cancer) to eat lunch with her and 2 of her friends who are both breast cancer survivors.  Susan is so thoughtful.  My Friday schedule was super crazy, but God worked out all of the details so I could go (one meeting got cancelled; Faith Wrenn had to stay after school for a meeting until 3:30pm, etc.)  

We had a lot of fun and it was very, very encouraging.  Sally has been cancer free for 10 years and Lisa for 5 years.  Both of them had mascetamies and reconstruction.  They were filled with such wisdom and personal stories of God's provision. 

Left to Right: Laura, me, Sally, Lisa and Susan

*Susan is holding the completed packet she mailed later that day to the international adoption agency she and her family are using to help them adopt!!!!  Please pray for the child God has for them.

What a privilege it is to have ALL of these women brought into my life!   From the lab tech to new friends!  And God is using breast cancer to do it!  ONLY GOD!  I love Him so much! 

Loving HIM with all my heart and soul,

Nancy