“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.  ”  ~  Psalm 100

I can hardly believe we are moving into the 5th month of 2025 already! The weather is warming up (a little) and the flowers are beginning to pop out of the ground (at least a few), and some of you (us?) are preparing to get things planted for gardens, landscaping, and even in the fields. These should all make us happy, but if I am being completely honest, I am feeling a little apprehensive about approaching the month of May this year.

Usually, May isn’t a month to get apprehensive over for me. May 1 is my dad’s birthday, and the day David proposed to me. But this year, this month, specifically the seventh day of this month, brings with it the first anniversary of my diagnosis of Neuroendocrine Colon Cancer. One year ago, my whole world (and subsequently, my family, and even yours—to a point), changed.

I know (because I have told some of you this before) it is just a date. But May 7 is a date that, like my wedding day, and the births of my children, this specific date is now seared into my brain.

My guess is, all of you have a date that affects you for one reason or another. So, how do we deal with these types of anniversaries?

First, we all deal with them differently. I know the day is going to be a highly charged day for me, so I plan to take the day slowly. It is a Wednesday, so I will begin with giving thanks to God for all of the healing I have done since then, and ask for God to continue to heal me. I will allow myself to “feel all the feels”, even if I don’t want to feel them. I will go to swim class in the morning, work like normal, and have a nice supper with my family. We may even settle in for a movie that evening. And who knows, plans always change.

Anniversaries of life changing events can be difficult. Disease diagnosis, loss of a job, loss of a loved one, and so on, all have big emotions attached to them. No matter what the emotion is, God is waiting for us to unload them onto Them. God is bigger than any emotion we could ever feel or experience. Anger, grief, sadness, anxiety, hopelessness, we can give all of them to God.

I am so grateful for a husband and sons who have walked this last year with me. Encouraging me when I didn’t feel like I could move forward. Helping me, even when I didn’t want the help.

I am also so grateful for all of you—for doing the very same things for me, and taking care of David and the boys as well. I—no, we—are so thankful and blessed to have this be our church home. I always believe that God places us where we need to be, when we need to be there. Because of your generosity—allowing me to take the time I needed to take care of myself, I have been able to heal. (This will never go completely away until they find a cure.)

For now, please know that I am doing well. I am still getting my monthly injections, and I have learned some of the side effects that happen every month. I am tired for about 2 days following the injection. I get horrible leg cramps, which are worst at night, but happen all day. For the first few months, the leg cramps didn’t show up until about half way through the month, but now, I have them all of the time. The other side effect is my blood sugar. It is still high, but not as high as it was. Now that I exercise a minimum of three days a week, and am eating MUCH better, I am losing weight, and it is slowly coming down. Because I will be on these injections my whole life, these will be things I will fight with for the rest of my life. But they could be way worse—so I will take this!

Thank you, again, for all your support and prayers along this journey. I love you all!

And please remember, anniversaries can be wonderful, but they can also be difficult. When you find yourself upon a difficult anniversary, turn to God. Ask God for strength and comfort. And know that you can always call me!

Always Peace,
Pastor Heidi