The Best is Yet to Come

I meant to put some sort of "final" update out last week, but my time was not well-managed with the holiday season in swing. Last week during the Thanksgiving downtime, I spent some time in silence just observing. I watched my two youngest children, ages 3 and 7, play and enjoy their time together in ways I don't know I ever did with my siblings. I watched the attention my daughter displayed working on an artful drawing as if she were making the most perfect drawing ever created. I watched my beautiful wife selflessly prepare a Thanksgiving meal with love and desire to nurture her family. I am blessed with so much more meaning and appreciation this Thanksgiving season.

I believe I have arrived "safely" at the end of this year's journey. The pending procedure for my vocal cord is postponed indefinitely. The temporary injection received at the end of June that was supposed to have gone away by the end of August has miraculously remained, giving me the ability to talk and speak like the good old days. My vocal cord surgery was scheduled for early September, but then moved to November. That was then cancelled outright until, if ever, necessary. My heart issues are small and are being figured out causing no concern to anyone wise to how the heart works. So, that's in the past. My tumor, removed successfully with the operation in May, is now an exciting road bump in the rear-view mirror. A new normalcy has returned and dust has settled. God is good.

My words will always fall short in capturing and expressing the gratitude I've felt over the past several months. I'm eternally gracious in prayer for all the experiences 2018 has brought into my life. To be honest, I can't say I'd change much about my life knowing that the lessons learned through this ordeal have shaped and formed me into something better than I was before. So many people have opened up in support of my family, which has been humbling on an entirely new level. I hope to have the opportunity to thank you in person if I haven't yet. There are so many people I may never personally thank, that I just hope to be that grateful, Christ-filled person to everyone. That's the challenge day-in and day-out.

There may be additional posts down the road in terms of praying for something or celebrating another something. Until then, please don't be a stranger. "When there's so much left to do, why spend your time focusing on things you've already done, counting trophies or telling stories about the good old days?"

The best is yet to come.