From Near Death to Life at Its Best

 

Good afternoon dear friends and family! I have been wanting to begin blogging again for some time now, however, life sort of got in the way and I finally am able to do what I love, sharing my life with those I love and those I've yet to meet!

 

 

On January 5, 2018, as many of you know, I had major back reconstruction!  If that wasn't enough to have to deal with, in April 2018 I awakened to what I thought was a stomach bug and much to my surprise the name of the stomach bug turned out to be "ovarian cancer". The dreaded "Big C", the "killer of life", and often times spoken words that sound exactly like being handed a "death sentence"!  The world seemed to stop turning and I had to keep reminding myself to just breathe. I remember well lying in the hospital bed that night not knowing what to think, how to think and of course I, as many others have said when given this news, "why God"?  And then I remembered who "My Healer" was and is! At that moment I uttered aloud these words..."You are either God or you're not"... and from that moment forward, He (God, Jesus, the Lord or whatever name you choose to call Him), held my hand every moment of every day. He was with me when my insurance company "found the perfect oncologist" for me who not only cared for my physical needs, but became and remains a dear friend. Dr. Elizabeth Nugent is one awesome lady, as are each of her employees. I was and continue to be treated like royalty on my regular appointments and during the chemotherapy treatments that started May 23, 2018. The staff at the Cancer Center at Memorial Hermann Hospital Southeast are the best! They too, have become family and I will always keep them close to my heart for helping me through he worst few months of my life! I started losing my hair after the first round of chemotherapy and decided to have it shaved to get the inevitable over with....becoming a bald headed 67 year old woman. That was one of the hardest thing I went through. I always loved my "silver" hair and in about 5 minutes, all I could see was the baldness, the being stripped of what I had loved and finally admitting that the cancer was trying to strip me of the very life that I had been given by God. I came home and cried the rest of the day and the next day, I faced it head on (no pun intended) that baldness was my "new normal"! And God was with me.

 

I decided early on that I was going to kick cancer in the butt and out of my life, no matter how hard it was going to be, God was going to be there with me, some days holding my hand, and some days when I was too weak to walk, He carried me, held me close to His bosom and during the night hours He was present, comforting me and wiping my tears when fear would try to consume me. I purposed in my heart, and voiced to others that I would not lose my joy, nor would I allow depression to overtake me. For the most part, that's how I spent each of my days...looking for the bright spots, looking and finding joy in the smallest things and keeping God's Word near to my heart and filling my spirit with good things.  I admit that some days when physical weakness would overtake me, I could barely whisper the Name of Jesus. But He heard each whisper and soon I'd be resting in His arms again.  I began living by Faith, just as I'd preached to so many others that they needed to do! Psalm 23 became my "spirit food", it became my song, it became my life.

 

I've chosen to not give all the gory details that go on with chemotherapy, but trust me, it's not for sissies. I did have surgery  to remove the cancer tumors from my body after three chemotherapy treatments, then resuming the treatments three weeks after the surgery. Finally, the day arrived, December 20, 2018 when I got to ring the brass bell, letting everyone in the entire building know that I had completed the "course" and chemotherapy was done! That's one day I'll not ever forget! I remember saying, "take that devil"! Actually, it was more of a scream than just saying!!!!

 

There were three things that helped me get through this "mountain". Jesus, Juice Plus+ and friends and family whose prayers, love and support surrounded me constantly. I'm sure you might be reading this, thinking, okay, I get the Jesus and the friend thing, but what in the world is Juice Plus+?  Well, since you are wondering, Juice Plus+ is essentially  powdered organic vegetables, berries and fruits in a capsule or in chewable form.  I never ever have eaten enough vegetables, berries or fruits through my whole life. During chemotherapy my appetite was GONE and some days just the thought of food would bring on nausea and I just could not eat. But, I could eat the chewable Juice Plus+ veggies, berries and fruits and I'd keep those down. As I grew stronger and could eat again, I continued with the Juice Plus+ I'd been introduced to from a dear friend of mine, because as I keep saying, I just don't eat the total amount of  veggies and fruits and berries our bodies need each day. Each time I'd have lab work done, the cancer numbers would drop drastically and the other numbers that are important in our bodies healing would be better each time as well.  I'd told my oncologist from the first time I saw her that I was on Juice Plus+ and her words were, "do not stop taking them"!  By the way, my hair is growing back in at a very rapid pace and I do believe the fact that I am eating right and flooding my body with veggies, fruits and berries each day,  has been the catalyst in this occurring!

 

I'm now cancer free, Praise the Lord! Do I still have days when I'm low on energy? Yes. And when I have those times, I reach for my Bible, I begin praising the Lord and I grab some Juice Plus+ Chewables and before I know it, my strength has been renewed! And for this I am more grateful than words can express. I've gone from being near death to living life at its fullest. God is opening new doors for me. I'm now a Direct Distributor for Juice Plus+! I told someone I'm not a salesperson. But what I am is a walking miracle and I believe that Juice Plus+ enhanced that miracle in my body and as the Lord did His miracle working power in my body, JP+ was flooding my body with "good things" grown in God's gardens! 

 

(Juice Plus+ is NOT a vitamin, it is NOT a supplement....it's food...and as was posted in a recent magazine...."Food IS after, all, the best medicine"!  Add joy and laughter to that and what do you get? Life and that abundantly. If you're interested in this "food I take every day", just give me a call, send me a text or find me on Facebook and I'll answer any questions and give you my website)!

 

God bless each of you and thank you for being with me during the last year and for allowing me to share this journey with you!

 

I love you, 

Grammy Sue  

 

WHOSE LEASH ARE YOU ON?

This morning as my Dachshund, Sadie, and I were going out the door, or should I say as she was dragging me out the door for her morning walk, I was telling her, "Stop pulling me, please, I am trying to lock the door".  I really think she was supposed to have been a sled dog the way she pulls on her leash.  There have been numerous times I have thought she was going to pull me down.  She is a 19#, precious, loving, barking and my sweet companion, Dachshund, who most days wants "her way" about anything and everything.

We got to the elevator of our building and she was still pulling and wanting to go faster, faster and I finally "locked the leash" so she could only go so far.  Her collar is very loose around her neck for this very reason as I don't want to choke her when she is in one of her "do it my way" moods! On our ride down to the first floor I looked down and even though I had her leash locked and she had only a tiny bit of "pull" room, she was still pulling, pulling, pulling. As the elevator door opened, I immediately unlocked the leash and off she went, only to come to a dead stop when she realized it was raining! At that moment, our roles were reversed and I was the one pulling her, trying to get her onto the grass! 

As our game of tug-of-war continued, I heard the Lord as He spoke to my heart, "You are just like Sadie". Immediately, because I have learned to hear and know His still small voice, I said, "Okay, Daddy, you have my attention, what do you want to tell me?". His words resounded so loudly in my heart I almost fell over. He began to show me that like Sadie, I pull and tug against HIS Plan and HIS will for my  life.  The only difference is He doesn't have a collar and leash on me. He has given me a free will, a leash of sorts that has no lock button but still keeps me safe when I feel His tug in my heart!  Often, I choose "my plan" only to realize it's always so much harder to accomplish the plan when I do it "my way".  HIS plan is always much easier, much better and always has a much better outcome.  It is in those times we allow the enemy to put a leash on us and he lets us get just so far into living totally for God then BAM the enemy locks the leash and we choke, we moan, we groan and we strive to just survive. The enemy's leash is not for our safety, nor for our good. Quite the opposite! He wants us to stay bound to him, to our old way of thinking, our old religious ways, the I've always done it this way thoughts, I'm nothing, I'm fat, I'm this, I'm not that and on and on. LIES! LIES! LIES! We become "leash bound" to the enemy and we somehow begin feeling like he is never going to turn us loose.

I'm thankful for God's leash of love, leash of goodness, leash of I'm always with you. I'm learning more and more each day about the goodness of God and that the plan He has for me is for good and not for evil. Jeremiah 29:11-14 are some of my favorite verses. It reads, "For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.  Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. Then you will seek Me, inquire for and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."

Today I'm asking myself the question, "Whose leash am I on?".  Not really too hard for me to answer at this moment, but I am asking Daddy God to help me in every part my daily life to remember that His Way is the way of truth and that when I can see no way through or out of a situation, I know that He will not let me go too far without feeling and sensing His leash of goodness, direction, and love for my life.

Now, let me ask you this......whose leash are you on?

May God bless you today as you learn to hear His voice, seek His face and follow His plan for your life.

You are loved!

Grammy Sue

grammysue61.blogspot.com

Let Us Never Forget

 I turned on my computer this morning and went to my Facebook account as I do each morning and as the screen came up my eyes and mind were bombarded with posts about Never Forgetting 09/11/01.

We do live in such an amazing country. It truly is the land of the free and the home of the brave. But even being free and brave on September 11, 2001 did not keep us from being attacked by an enemy. I remember exactly where I was (as do all of you do I am quite sure) and what I was doing that morning. I was sitting at my counter in the bathroom putting on my makeup, preparing for a full day of massaging. I was listening to KSBJ, a Christian radio station here in the Houston area, when suddenly one of the DJ's screamed, "Pray, Christians, Pray....the United States is being attacked!". At that same moment, my sister Melba, with whom I was living at the time, came barreling around the corner calling my name, "Suzie, come here quick"! I didn't know whether to run, jump, scream or just sit dumbfounded by all that my ears were hearing. Of course, I got up and went into Melba's bedroom where her TV was screaming about all that had and was continuing to take place in New York, The Pentagon and in other parts of the country. We both cried as we sat and watched the destruction taking place right before our eyes.

My best friend who was at work in Baytown called us to make sure we were okay and to tell us that her husband, who was working at one of the plants, was okay as well. We didn't know "what to do", except pray and cry as was the rest of our beautiful United States of America was doing at that moment. And then, I had to decide whether to go on to work in Deer Park, (which is very close to the oil and gas plants, chemical plants, etc.). I stepped out of the panic of the moment and decided to do what I did every day at that time, go to work and those  coming to see me that day whose stress levels had soared at just that very moment. I had to pull up fresh and anew all the scriptures I had in my heart  and really, I mean really, believe them. The one that says, "I will never leave you or forsake you" came to my mind immediately. I remember thinking, "Oh, really, God?". Where were you this morning. He spoke so gently to my spirit that morning and He reminded me of His words again just a while ago, "I am still right here, none of this has taken me by surprise. Go do what I have called you to do and use the Comforter who resides inside of you to bring MY COMFORT to MY PEOPLE today". So with a heavy heart and a not wanting to, I came to Deer Park. Oh the tears of fear and panic that were shared with me that day. With each client I would receive another report on the death toll, where the planes had hit and what had happened since that morning. Oh the pain I saw on every client's face. There wasn't much talking going on in my office, but there was lots of praying, hugging and thanking God that He is still on the throne, NO MATTER WHAT. As the day finished up, I knew I would head home  to a sister who had been home alone all day watching every minute of the broadcast. And, she had. 

We hugged each other a little more tightly that day, and the days after. We had planned a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate my 50th birthday that next week, which we decided without question that we would save for a later date. Nothing but loving those folk who lost their lives on 9/11/12, the folk who gave their time to help in all the chaos, and all the other things we may never know went on, as well as lifting those left behind up in prayer, nothing, nothing else seemed important.

Now 11, years later, lives have changed. Forever. Memories remain forever sweet of the love those now gone had given. The respect and love we have for those who were at the sites helping in all the rubble, forever there. Forget? Never. The wound may not be bleeding, but the scars will remain forever, both mentally and physically. And yet, somehow, we have marched forward, and much of the time, looking over our shoulder and wondering, what will happen next. And in the wonderment of tomorrow, I can rejoice, because no matter what, I know that my REDEEMER lives and is ever watching over me and those left behind on that unforgettable day.

Let us NEVER forget.

Let us NEVER forget God's loving hand that is extended to us daily.

Let us NEVER forget to tell those we love that we really LOVE them.

Let us NEVER forget that we have the Promise of seeing those now gone, again one day. Then and only then will we forget the pain, suffering and tears.

So, my friends, until that day, Let us NEVER forget.

Just Cause

Bear with me as I start my blogging experience. I don't expect too many readers, but if you do read, thanks and I hope my antics, escapades and words from the Lord bless you in some way. I have heard it said that it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission. So at the onset I will say, sorry if I offend you with anything I write. I will try to encourage you each time I write. Remember, I said "try"!

I once did a newsletter titled "Gabbin With Gibby" where I informed my massage clients of things that were scheduled for the month and special events. They seemed to enjoy the newsletter. That was then, this is now. I asked myself this question "Why I am doing this Gabbin With Grammy blog"? For selfish reasons? Probably. Just cause?(Sounds like an answer my 4 year old granddaughter would give me. "Just cause, Grammy") Absolutely. So, as Nike says, let's just do it!

The past few weeks have been extremely stressful for many of my friends and loved ones. Too much dying, too much hurt, too much unwillingness to forgive, some days, just breathing is too much. Then to cap the week off my 70 year old sister fell from the top of some stairs where she was cleaning the banister and one of the many things she learned is that sometimes free falling isn't so free! Fortunately, she is doing well. Sore. Bruised. Stapled together. But alive to tell the tale. Thank you Lord for taking care of my sister.

Stresses, falls, job losses, marriage problems, deaths, cancer diagnosis, heart attacks, hips breaking, the list is endless. How do we manage to deal with these things? The only way I know is having the assurance that the Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want. He also was bruised. He was wounded. He bore our burdens. By His stripes we are healed. Andwhen He left earth, He said He would not leave us comfortless, that He was sending us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. This past few weeks He has proven himself true, right, and forever loving and the Comforter, He has been with me in every situation. That's the only way I can even move my fingers to type this. If you don't know this Jesus of whom I speak, please consider asking Him to help you, to be Lord of your life. Just try it and if it doesn't work.....well, if you try it, He will be on your side and it will work. Maybe not like YOU want it to, but He will always be with you. Just give HIM a try....why? Like my Addison said, "Just cause, Grammy, just cause".

You are loved, you are special, you are precious to me and especially to Him.

Well, there it is. My first rambling blog. Wonder who might read this? Just cause it catches their eye?