"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? ... So use every part of your body to give glory back to God..." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Monday, July 8, 2019

The Friends you Keep

"Sunshine" thats what Linda called me in her card. So sweet. 
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” 
– Proverbs 17:22

Being so sick came as a little surprise. I know shocking right...
I have cancer you would think you would just be comfortable with being sick, but you never get comfortable being sick.

Yesterday, I really thought was going to be a good day. Typically, I feel pretty good on Sundays.
I tried to do the things that I enjoy hoping that I could just pretend I was not feeling good.
You know, the old "Mind over Matter" mantra.
I woke up feeling decent enough to run 10 miles at Indian Springs.
But the run was not one getting any accolades. I was super stoked to get in 10 miles, each mile I was so grateful for. That hill on the way back in I think we walked more than half of it. I didn't push myself. I didn't try harder to run stronger, I just did what I could do with what I had.
I got home and laid down before I went back out to do a little shopping. I wanted to feel good. I tried to feel good.
By the time I got home in the afternoon from shopping I never got back off the couch. I just had to let the tummy issues run their course and hope for a better day.

So today, I was up at 6:20am in hopes to get another long run in. I still can't enjoy coffee. I did make some peanut butter and honey toast and actually enjoyed it. The honey dripped down my fingers and I found myself laughing as the stickiness made me giggle. It felt good to laugh over something so silly.

I was out the door and running with the girls hoping for more than the day before.

One of the things I try to remind myself is to stay optimistic.
If I don't feel good on Sunday I try not to let myself own that. You can't bring your sadness, your sickness, your discouragements into your tomorrows.
That is just not giving your tomorrows a chance.
So I start thinking positive.
Often times those positive feelings bring friends, like optimism, joy, hope, happiness.

Those are the friends that I ran with today! That is the circle I ran with. 14 miles.
Of course Lacey also met me and even Rachel came out to run with us after at late night invitation.
Running early is a must on these hot days.
The temperatures were in the 60's when we started and when we finished they were still only on the 70's. This made the run so pleasant.
The girls are so courteous. Rachel brought me extra water, Lacey made me walk every mile and hills in between. We were capable of running faster but the girls were very disciplined not wanting me to over do it.
They were running 15 miles, I wanted to run 15 miles and they would not let me. I had blood work at 10am, Lacey didn't want my blood work to come back worse than it was already going to and I was pushing time.
So I skipped out on the last mile, took a 3 minute shower and made a protein shake hoping it would recover my numbers a little for my lab work.
They draw my blood on Mondays because they know I run long and they want to keep an eye on it. I actually really appreciate this. My team of Dr's and nurses have all gotten used to my running and now have decided to watch it, letting me run.

Running has been instrumental to my cancer regime.
From the beginning of this journey I have been told 2 things were conducive to having a good outcome for cancer.
  1. You must stay Positive and surround yourself around Positive people. 
  2. Exercise. Stay Active and Strong.
I have conquered 5 treatments. 10 weeks of chemo. 
By the grace of God I have been able to continue running. 
I have stayed healthy. 
And I  have been able to continue to work. 

It's Just Another Marathon. I am at about mile 10. I have a lot more miles to go. I am going to have some more rough patches and I haven't even hit the wall yet. 
But I have made it to mile 10! One mile at a time. I have already done more than I ever thought I was capable of. 
God is at the Throne. 
Life presents us with unfortunate events. But Giving up is not part of the Plan. 

This week, special thanks to Ruth and Kenny G. for another amazing dinner, the BEST peanut butter cookies ever. Mom and dad for watching me sleep for 3 hours in Royal Oak for treatment Wednesday. And Claudia for the soups. 


~Anita

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