It's a God Thing.

God just never ceases to amaze me. That fact that this always amazes me is a bit ironic, but it is what it is.

A couple of nights ago, I was on the phone with a friend in another state. It was fun to laugh and share with this special person. He had just gotten his hair cut. Unlike the geeks in this household, this friend is really cool. His hair is always stylish and just plain cool. He knows just how he likes it cut and what color he likes. He is just out right cool. (Not quite sure how we ended up as friends, but I am sure glad we are!) One of the things he told me was that getting his hair done always makes him feel younger.

That got me thinking. I never have my hair done. I just never seem to make the time for it. Not high on my priority list, I suppose. When my hair is driving me nuts, I take a pair of scissors and cut it. It has probably been at least 3 years since I have been to a salon, and even then, I was conservative with my style. I do like getting my hair cut. Since I do it so rarely, it is a luxury, a form of pampering.

Looking ahead to the next couple of months, I am not going to be having a lot of time for me. (Not that I EVER have an abundance of that, being the mother of five, but for a while, I will have none.) Since we have been given a reprieve, being free from appointments for 3 whole days, I decided, "Why not?" A hair cut provided me with some much needed pampering, and a shorter style would be much easier to care for in the busyness that is soon to come.

I called a local salon that I had heard good things about from the ladies at school. I didn't ask for any particular stylist, only if there were any openings for today. I was in luck. There was one appointment open, so I took it and prepared to be pampered.

First stop on my trip was Walmart. I needed to pick up Simon's prescription. I am really anxious to get him going on the oral antibiotic before his treatments start on Tuesday. Delays frustrate me. When I stopped at the pharmacy, the pharmacist informed me that since the office was closed today, she wouldn't be able to verify the dosage until Monday. Then she would fill the prescription on Monday, so Simon would be able to start the meds on Tuesday, the same day his treatments are scheduled to start. She didn't want to talk to the doctor unless he had Simon's chart in front of him. FRUSTRATION!

I called the answering service for the clinic and the nurse practitioner called me back with in 5 minutes. She had been in the office for the last 6 hours, and if the pharmacist had called the service, she could have taken care of it. Now it was too late, as she was already too far to turn around, but she assured me that she would take care of it first thing in the morning. She also assured me that Dr. Cook was following protocol on the dosage and that although the preference would be to get Simon started ahead of treatments, just to give him a head start, the delay in the antibiotics would not delay his immune suppression therapy.

Frustrated, but also reassured, I headed for my hair appointment. The stylist asked what I wanted to do. I explained a little about Simon and told her I wanted something really easy to take care of, but also something that would make me feel better. She asked if we were going to the Child Hematology/ Oncology Center, and if Dr. Cook was Simon's doctor. Surprised, I told her yes.

She lost her daughter to cancer three years ago. Dr. Cook was her daughter's doctor, and she told me that he was the best doctor in the world, and Simon was in very capable hands. Dr. Cook's treatment enabled her to have 6 extra years with her daughter, when the survival rate for her particular cancer, was usually only about a year. As a mom who has been in my position, she was able to relate to what I have been going through. She offered advice and encouragement. She offered support and her phone number if I ever needed someone to talk to. She offered rides for the other kids if needed. She also knows other kids with aplastic anemia who are doing great. She predicted a great outcome for Simon.

As she cut my hair, she ministered to my mother's heart. I made a friend today, and I predict many more trips to the salon. God knew my needs and worked the many details that enabled those needs to be met. From the moment she said Dr. Cook's name, I knew that God had sent me there. I knew it was a God thing.

I have known that God has been working in my life since I accepted Christ on a Young Life retreat in the 8th grade. God has never left me nor forsaken me. Sometimes I have felt very close to Him, and sometimes He has seemed farther away. While I have never turned my back on God, there have been times when I have put our relationship on the back burner. Any distance in our relationship has been entirely of my own doing. I have allowed other things and people to take priority. Even as I type this, I know that it will take me an entire life time to get that relationship right.

I also know that when I look back on my life, it has been during the most difficult times in my life that I have felt closest to God. I guess it is due to the fact that those are the times that I have known, with out a doubt, that I am incapable of doing it on my own. Those are the times that I have allowed myself to be carried.

Never before in my life have I seen so much evidence of God working. Many times a day, I am amazed by yet another God thing.

Simon continues to do well. He is as energetic as ever. As I watch him play and interact with his siblings, I am able to forget, if only for a moment, how seriously ill he is. I know that in the coming weeks, his condition will sap his strength and sickness may indeed take over his body as the doctor tries to restore his bone marrow. But today, I am able to give thanks for his strength and for his health. I am able to thank God for working so visibly in our lives as we face such an uncertain future! I am able to thank God for so many God things!