And that makes 6

(This blog was originally written June 2016)

As I pass the 6th Anniversary of my transplant, it becomes increasingly obvious that the more years that pass, the quicker the days seem to go. (Though it doesn't take much to remind me how slowly days can drag on and how easily our lives can be turned upside down.) Now that I'm feeling good, back to most of my old activities, working full time – all a huge gift and blessing – I find that I rarely think about 2010. If someone asks, it takes me a little while to remember specifics about my journey, and some of the details I can't remember at all. I think this inability to remember the hard times, or ability to forget, (however you wish to look at it) can be a blessing and a curse. Forgetting the bad days has allowed me to move on without being overly bitter or full of self-pity about my “new normal”. If I was constantly dwelling on the past, the present would be missed and the future wasted. But, with the dulling of bad memories, many of the awesome miracles and signs God performed in my life have also “dulled”. Not the big ones, those are never forgotten, but the daily, little ways that God spoke to me. During the long days and weeks,of 2010-11, I'd scan every song lyric, every devotion, every text message for a sign or message from God, and I never failed to be amazed at how often he “spoke” to me through others and how he reminded me that I was never alone.
As I move on into another year, I pray that God keeps me moving forward, always grateful, always ready to serve. I strive daily to remember God’s little whispers – for it’s those things that I can share with others when they need encouragement, and I strive to remain thankful for the little – for it’s those things that give me the strength and faith to fight through the dark times.

Happy 2016!!

Since my blog has been neglected this year, I figured I should post a brief Christmas/New Year update. My year has been very blessed. As I watched my 5-year anniversary come and go, I've continued to feel good and regain some strength. I finally ventured back to Mexico with friends last winter and in the Spring Keith helped me cross an item off my bucket list by taking me skydiving. I took a couple road trips – helping a friend move to Austin in June and going to the AVP tournament in Cincinnati over Labor Day. My lungs continue to feel like that of a 70-year-old smoker, but I still manage to maintain a presence on the volleyball court (and haven't lost hope for another miracle). As fun as 2015 has been, I feel most grateful for a year free of hospitalizations for the first time since 2010! God continues to bless my days and walk this crazy path by my side, where that path will lead, I'm still waiting to find out. May the peace, the goodness and the hope of the Lord be yours this Christmas season and throughout 2016!