Almost a month ago, we got a phone call from Branson's mom. She was calling to tell us why she wouldn't be coming up to Utah as planned. Something had come up and she felt like she needed to stay in San Diego for a few more days.
She had a few tests done and found out (basically on her way out of town) that is was cancer.
You can imagine our shock - We felt totally blindsided. We didn't have any reason to suspect such a scary phone call. I cried. Branson and Blake stood strong - full of concern and love - but strong, nonetheless. And I couldn't keep the tears from pouring out.
I was scared. My mind kept racing, bouncing back and forth between the worst and best-case scenarios. What if...? And what if...? But what if...? Or what if...? (I too often let my imagination get the best of me.) There wasn't a lot of detail yet. She needed to make a few decisions and promised to keep us in the loop.
We prayed. A lot. Harder and longer than I can ever remember praying. Praying for a specific outcome. Praying for it to not be true. Praying for the bad dream to end. Praying for everything to turn out ok. But then our prayers changed: We prayed for peace. We prayed to know that everything would turn how how it should. We prayed for comfort - for us and for her.
And comfort is what we received. Everything is going to be fine. It doesn't take away the scary. It doesn't mean that it won't be hard. It just means that it's going to be ok. Whatever happens.
She had surgery a little over a week ago and everything went well. They removed everything and staged her at 2B/3A. Now there will be treatment schedules and everything that comes with that. But through the whole process, we have all had this unbelievable sense of peace. Everything is going to be alright. She is strong. She is a fighter. And everything is going to be fine. We know that God is watching and that things happen for a reason.
Our hearts have been in constant prayer. And our thoughts are with her every second. We love her and are grateful for her in our lives. She is the strongest woman we know. If anyone can beat it, she can.
And we know that everything is in God's hands. And that it will be alright.
And we keep praying to remember that.
