I had an interesting day last Wednesday as I was trying to find out where my appt. was for my mammogram I received a call from one of my bestest friends, Shelly. She has been so worried about me and was working with one of her customers and talking about me. Apparently his daughter had Multiple Myeloma and Shelly called me frantic with excitement and the need for me to talk with this man. He had told her about the Multiple Myeloma Institute in Arkansas and she was wanting me to go there for a second opinion. I told her that I would look into it but was trying to find my appt. and was lost.
A few minutes later I walked in for my appt. and ran into someone who I hadn't seen for years. She told me that another friend of mine, Sally, had mentioned me in their prayer group and was asking how I was doing. I told her that I had Multiple Myeloma and she said, "Oh my Gosh, you need to talk to Betty as she was diagnosed with that a few years ago and was doing great. She had also gone to the facility in Arkansas."
I called Shelly back after my appt. and we laughed at the irony of how much God was involved in all of this. I felt his hand on me as I drove home, talking to Jay and my son about all of this which of course was exciting but also confusing as to what our next steps would be since I was having my bone marrow biopsy the next morming. I felt like I knew what God wanted me to do and also felt a sense of control again but that was MY mistake!
Shortly after arriving home, I got a call from Sally, the friend who had mentioned me in prayer and she gave me some sad news. She told me that Melanie had died. Melanie was a girl who lived with Jay and I many years ago. She was 17 at the time, attending the ACT Academy where I worked and struggling with drugs, suicide attempts etc. After talking with her, and her parents, I offered to have her come and stay with us for awhile to try and get her back on track.
Melanie was a mess but after a short time, her life began to turn around. She lived with us for 6 months until she graduated from HS. I was so proud of her by the time she left as she had accomplished sooooo much. She was off all of her medications, doing well in school, had even enrolled in a writing class at Collin CC.
Over the years, Melanie and I stayed in touch. She had a pretty good and stable life for several years, married and had 2 children. After some marital problems, a divorce and some health issues, she was slipping into the abyss again. In the past couple of years, Melanie reached out to me several times, twice with collect calls from jail. I am very sad to say that I did not receive the charges and although I did talk to her, I did not want to see her or get involved again as my life was also very busy and I just didn't think that I had any more to give.
When I heard the news of her death, I felt so sad...I heard God immediately tell me that although I had been a good servant at one point, I had let go and turned my back on one of his lambs. (I don't talk this way!) I cried, said some prayers and attended her funeral yesterday. I learned something very important this week....People and situations are put in our path for a purpose and it is up to us to make sure that we act and do not avoid, no matter how uncomfortable or challenging that might be, on those situations for God does not give us more than we can handle and is mindful of all that we do.
I will be a better servant and will listen closely to his requests of me. Luckily, God is forgiving and has taken Melanie to a place where she will not have the pain she felt here on earth. In the meantime, I will pray for her and her children. Love to you all. Susan
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