The Project

My plan for January 21st was to cut and paste a few stories that people sent to me and somehow shed light upon the good that has come from all of this. Never did I think I'd be so humbled by what I'd receive from friends, family, and perfect strangers.

This whole Steps for Brady has been going on for a year. It all started because I needed to write, to think out loud, to record, to remember, and to reach out for prayers. In return our family has been supported by the comments of faithful readers, encouraged during hard times, and now through this project we have been shown that this whole experience is so much more meaningful than a blog about Brady. The true impact of the past year extends beyond our family and into the hearts of those who have prayed. It is a God-thing...for sure.

I've received somewhere around 25 emails. It's been a busy few days and I've spent a lot of my free time returning emails and of course working on getting answers to Brady's spine issues. I want to share some of what I've received, but am realizing that to share all of it here would be too much. I can't wait to put all of the messages into a keepsake book for our family. And over the next few days I'm going to include bits and pieces of the wonderful messages we've received. I really admire all of you who courageously wrote to us in very personal and honest ways. I'm praying that the stories I'll be sharing

will now touch the lives of someone else who reads them. Isn't it amazing the way God keeps the blessings going on and on and on and on.....

To start off the Jan21st project, I want to share some words written to me by a very good friend of mine. She herself is a cancer survivor, and what she wrote is different than anything I've ever considered when thinking about cancer. After I read this, Matt and I literally sat speechless and overwhelmed with emotion. Amazing stuff...

You can’t experience cancer and not be changed.

You may change physically, sometimes emotionally, and frequently, spiritually.

Sometimes it’s not a good change but I believe, more often, it is very good.

How can you not appreciate the little things when you’ve faced your greatest fear?

How can you not feel more compassionate and caring and concerned when others are suffering? How can you not be overwhelmed by the goodness of people?

How can you bemoan the experience when it provided the chance to see the face of God?
If you have been touched by cancer, you have been given the opportunity to truly know what it means to live and be alive.

If you have not been touched, can you really feel the magnitude of LIFE?
Make a list. Write down all the positives and all the negatives of the experience.

I have a feeling I know which side will fill the fastest….

Now, do you really wish this never happened to you?

See? I told you...remarkable words for sure. The only thing that complicated this for me was the reality that it is Brady who had cancer, not me. It is Brady who has to deal with the long term complications. But...and here is my big revelation for the day...my prayer is that Brady will get to a point in his life and be able to read this and say, "Yes God, I get it, I understand. This trial in my life has been for Your glory!"

That is what the January 21st project is all about...stay tuned!