Enough Hair for a Pony Tail: On the other side of Cancer
By Vera Raposo | Twitter: @veraraposo
It was my daughter’s battle, but as I stood by her side, watching her fight bravely through the sickness, I learned to delight in the smaller things in life, the lovely small moments God gives us each day we could so easily miss or ignore.
My daughter Tori, who is now 18, was first diagnosed with cancer when she was 15. After a relapse she ended up with some pretty intense treatment which included a complete stem cell transplant.
All I can say is that there is NO getting through that without God. I often say that the whole experience was just “something else.”
My beautiful little girl lost her hair not once, but twice. The first time we laughed it off, but I have to admit the second time was a lot tougher since she not only lost her hair but also her eyebrows and her beautiful delicate eyelashes.
Look, Mom, no clips!
Just the other day, Tori posted on facebook how she can now put her hair in a pony tail without needing any clips.
Imagine that.
She’s happy about being able to put her hair up, but more importantly, she’s happy about not needing anything to keep her pony tail in place …
She was so happy with the progress that she took a picture and had some fun pointing it out in the paint program on her computer.
As her Mom, I completely delight in her joy. I also delight in yet another moment to reflect on God’s goodness and the joy I am finding on this rainy day.
Simple, lovely moments from above.
In the many days of painful treatment, surgeries, blood transfusions, needles and more I saw the face of my God in my daughter’s face. There was literally a powerhouse of strength inside of her and there was no denying it.
God is everything!
The first time I saw my baby girl her nose was scrunched up as if to say, “I know something you don’t know.” I didn’t know, holding her in my arms, the responsibility I would personally have raising her and caring for her needs. I truly had no clue how my faith would not only be stirred, but how I would feel like I was actually walking out onto the edge of a cliff with my arms raised, giving our whole lives up to God … completely.
God said to me, “I hold you up, no need to look down. Fix your eyes on Me.”
Through this journey we had many moments when God showed us how He was with us. So we stood strong. God steered our ship through all the murky waters, the fog and even the light.
At the time, there was a scripture I stood on, reminding me how I have a choice on where I allowed my thoughts to travel. In the lowest of lows, in spite of our circumstances, I was reminded to think on everything that is good and lovely.
Philippians 4:8 says: And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing: Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Today I delight in my daughter, my beautiful gift from God. She is so happy with the gorgeous brown hair growing on her head. Today I delight in God’s faithfulness and His goodness.
What are your thoughts reading this story? We’d love to hear from you:
- What are you thankful for today?
About Vera:
Vera Raposo is involved with the marketing & technical side of She Loves Magazine. She has been an entrepreneur since 1996 which included owning five retail stores. Recently God told her to “clear her plate and open her heart.” So she sold her business and is now listening for God’s heart in her life.
Vera was born and raised in beautiful British Columbia. She’s a wife & mom to three wonderful kids. She often blogs at VeraRaposo.com & tweets from @veraraposo.
