A year ago today, I began my time in Balta alone. Scott had to get home to the girls and for work and I stayed behind to continue bonding with Sasha. It was great to have hours alone with Sasha each day, learning tidbits of his language and him learning entire sentences in ours! We took walks, played games, and just sat together quietly. When I would go back to my apartment, it was eerily quiet. I think I read more books during that time than I had in the past 10 years! It is amazing to look back on that time and realize how far Sasha's and my relationship has come and how far he has come with learning English. Every day has been a gift with him. One day closer to him understanding family. One day closer to feeling like his mom. One day closer to establishing sibling bonds. One more day to lay more groundwork of explaining the love God has for him. They have not all been easy days (do not misunderstand me!) but they have all been meaningful. Every day is a gift. One of my favorite pictures of him during this his and my time together in Pishanna was this one. If you go back to the last post and see his picture on the first day we met, you can see the huge difference already in that short amount of time!
Last week brought with it some health issues for me that had my oncologist sending me straight for a brain MRI. Melanoma is known for hitting internal organs so when there are problems, it always has to be considered that melanoma has returned. It is a strange way to live. I remember, not long after I was diagnosed, a very wise friend who has also had to deal with cancer, told me that one day I would once again wake up and not have cancer be my first thought. Well, she was right. I remember waking up months after my surgery and something else was on my mind. Then it hit me that cancer was not my first thought. And that has certainly continued to be the case. But when I get sick or something is off, cancer is right back at the forefront. It has to be. You just can not be too careful with melanoma. The brain scan came back clear, praise God, but it was a gentle reminder not to take this life for granted. Every single day is a gift. A beautiful, 34 year old woman in my melanoma support family passed away this week after a long, hard-fought battle with melanoma. Life is short. The day she died, Building 429's song, Where I Belong, was on the radio and I couldn't help but cry for her family but think how true this was for her. Some of the lyrics are:
All I know is I'm not home yet.
This is not where I belong.
Take this world and give me Jesus.
This is not where I belong.
This is not where we belong. Let's make it count while we are here.
I love James 1:17. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
Our lives are gifts from God, shouldn't we be living them for Him and His glory?
All proceeds are going to a family in the process of adopting a 14 year old boy from Ukraine. You can buy this necklace on my etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/lot127. Also follow us on instagram @leastofthese127. Thank you for helping us help vulnerable children.
