Marley Knows Best

"Don't Worry, Be Happy"...gotta love Bob Marley, my friends.  Everytime I hear this song, I think back to the Mother's Day weekend message at our church.  Now, I don't remember any of the sermon (sorry Pastor Steve!) but following the sermon our worship band broke out into their best Bob Marley cover (which, I will say, was pretty good.) 

I believe being at the beach is some of the best therapy ever!

Once I got past the fact that I was listening to Bob Marley in church (which was just truly weird to me!), I tried to focus on the message of the song.  I didn't know it yet, but my perspective on life was about to change dramatically.  Later that week, we received the results of my mom's biopsy...a small malignant tumor in her breast.  We were able to take a wonderful family vacation together along with my parents, brother and his fiance to our favorite beach in southern South Carolina a couple of weeks later, just before her surgery to remove the tumor. 

Beach Boys

Since then my mom has started chemotherapy; she actually has her second treatment this Friday.  Now when I come across this song (or any good Marley song for that matter), I think of my mom.  While accepting the diagnosis has certainly been tough, the physical pain that comes with her treatments can be equally trying sometimes.  But through it all she remains a strong, spiritual, faithful Christian woman who never ceases to remind all of us of God's grace and mercy.  Our family has encountered more "faith-building" moments just in the past 2 1/2 years than I have time to share in one (or even several) post(s), but through it all my Mom's faith remains steadfast. 

To anyone reading this, I ask for prayers for our family.  In addition to my mom's battle with cancer, we found out this weekend that my grandma (dad's mom) has pancreatic cancer.  God never promised us that putting our faith in Him would be easy, only that He would always be there to help see us through whatever struggles we might encounter along the way.  He is constantly testing me (us) and I am doing my best to not let him down.  Obviously, some days are easier than others...the past couple months have certainly been among the harder ones.  Thankfully, it's in God's hands - always has been - and His perfect plan will prevail.  God Bless...and Don't Worry, Be Happy!