Scrapping the Tough Stuff, Part 2

(Continued From Last Post)

I've tried before to write my transplant story, but I always found it too hard and gave up. Now, I feel like the time is right, and that I'm finally ready to write my story. My hope is to have the album ready in time for my 10-year transplant anniversary next April; that gives me just over a year to get everything completed. (If you knew me and my habit of procrastinating, you'd know why having a year plus to finish this project is a good thing.) Somehow the album seems like a fitting way to celebrate. I'll have to be sure to leave some blank pages to document how I celebrated the big day. I've got some ideas for something really special, but I don't want to give anything away too soon.

Even now, when I look back at all that I went through, I still think that getting sick and having to go through what I did was one of the best things that could have happened to me (although it certainly didn't feel like it at the time). Before you say that I've lost my mind, let me explain. The whole experience not only made me a stronger person, it also greatly deepened my faith. I now know for myself the truth in the quote: "Lord, help me to remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that you and I together can't handle." With my Heavenly Father on my side, there isn't anything I can't overcome. I think there's a Bible verse that says something to the same effect, but I can't think of it just off the top of my head. (I should look it up though; it would be a great addition to my journalling.) Having been through one battle made me better able to cope when, a few years ago, I started showing signs of rejection and had to have IV treatments 2 days a month for 3 months to help fight off the rejection. As scared as I was, I knew that I had to rely on God, that He knew what the outcome of this was going to be, and that He wasn't going to desert me in my time of need. What a change from when I first found out that I was going to need the transplant! Then, my first thought was, "If this is God's idea of a joke, it's not very funny." My second thought was that this was all His fault, and for a while I was really angry with Him for doing this to me. But I can see so clearly now that He was with me all they way, even though at the time I was too blind to see all that He was doing for me.

All in all, I learned a lot of really important lessons from this whole experience, even though I had to learn some of them the hard way. I can honestly say now that I wouldn't have things any other way. Although...I could do without the rejection episode and the IV treatments; I really hate IVs.

TTFN!