My friend Patty

I realize I have been blessed by having Patty for a friend for 48 years.  God joined our paths when my parents moved to the town she lived in.  We were adolescents.  She has been one of the biggest influences of my life, even though there have been some fairly long periods of time that we weren't in contact.  She is one of the very stongest persons that I know, and too independent in some ways.  But I realize this illness, the decisions she makes for treatment or no treatment are HERS, no one else's.  What she does will be for her son, her daughter, her grandchildren, her mom, and to a lesser extent her brother and sisters.  I talked to her on the phone this morning, and she said that she will  have tests starting the end of the week.  She will see the Oncologist again the end of September.  If her options inlude any hope of true recovery (Not surgery then 6 to 12 months of treatments and illness followed by death) she will have them.  Right now they do not kinow the extent of her condition.  I will keep you posted on it. For me.  I have to tell someone this.  I can't just sit her stoicly (sp) and be strong.  I am crying, I am weak, I am losing a best friend. In a way, I am being selfish, I am losing my childhood heroine, it's my loss, she will be in a better place.  But I need all the support I can get, from any of you who read this and are willing to help me, and from God himself.  Her concern (other than her family) is that I take care of my medical needs!) Can you believe this angel my freinds?

For Pat

Prayer for Friendship
You have blessed us, O God,
with the gift of friendship,
the bonding of persons
in a circle of love.
We thank you for such a blessing:
for friends who love us,
who share our sorrows,
who laugh with us in celebration,
who bear our pain,
who need us as we need them,
who weep as we weep,
who hold us when words fail,
and who give us the freedom
to be ourselves.
Bless our friends with health,
wholeness, life, and love.
Amen.

Vienna Cobb Anderson  |  Source: Adapted from "Prayers of Our Hearts" © 1991 Vienna Cobb Anderson. Reprinted with the permission of the author.

 

I wish the prayer below said, "Fix Pat Jesus!"

Fix Me Jesus
Oh yes, fix me, Jesus, fix me.(HER)
Fix me so that I can walk on
a little while longer.
Fix me so that I can pray on
just a little bit harder.
Fix me so that I can sing on
just a little bit louder.
Fix me so that I can go on despite the pain,
the fear, the doubt, and yes, the anger,
I ask not that you take this cross from me,
only that you give me the strength to continue carrying it onward 'til my dying day.
Oh, fix me, Jesus, fix me.

Thank you dear friends who have read this, stick with me now, I pray, but even more important pray for Patty.

I love you all, even though I many not know your faces, I know your hearts.  Thanks for your praryers and your understanding.

Merry