My darling sister

That beautiful girl holding her two adorable children is my sister. Technically, she is my lil' sis...but I like to call her my big sis because she truly is wise beyond her years. She is currently going through chemotherapy AGAIN and I must say, is doing it with so much grace, optimism, and a wonderful attitude. With her permission, I would like to tell her story.

My sister has had cancer twice. The first time was when she was just NEWLY married! Ugh! The second time when she was pregnant with her first child. The very day she found out she was having a boy, she found out she had a mass on her right ovary. Can you imagine feeling excited to be having a baby boy, and scared about the possible cancerous mass on your ovary all at the same time?! Geesh! She had that mass removed AND part of her ovary...WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT! To make things worse, the cancer had spread so she had to have chemo WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT!! Through it all, she remained positive and happy.

So, here we are again...another mass on her ovary. With lots of prayer and discussions with her hubby and various doctors, they decided to get her remaining female stuff removed. If not, she may need to live with the threat of cancer with her female stuff for the rest of her life. Obviously, what this now means is no more kids. This saddened Courtney much but of course, she found the positive side to it. She said that it was quite a miracle to get the two children she has now here and so she is at peace with this decision.

One of my most favorite things about Courtney, (there are millions) is that she finds the good in everything. She takes crappy situations and turns them into something good, a character trait that was definitely inherited from our Mother. Courtney could get angry at the Lord for handing her this trial, but she does quite the opposite. She stated that, "Cancer is my trial in life, but I know I have this trial to refine me to be the person Heavenly Father wants me to be." She is truly an angel.

She had the surgery and healed very well. Now she is undergoing chemotherapy. The last time she had chemo, she didn't receive the full treatments because she was pregnant and didn't want to harm the baby. Now, she is receiving full treatments and it is kicking her butt. Yes, she will lose her hair...but of course, she is positive. She said, "I needed a change anyway." And, "I hope it comes back blonde!" She is such a crack-up!

Courtney has now completed her first week of chemo and, despite what she thinks, endured it VERY well. Courtney and her family have received so many blessings from friends and family and I am grateful for that. I have struggled with living several hours away from her and not being able to be with her as much as I would like. I am so grateful to her loving friends and family who have taken care of her and her sweet family. I see Heavenly Father's hand and ministering angels working to help her and her family. He is watching over her and answering prayers.

You may be wondering why I am posting this on my blog? To be honest, I felt inspired to do so. I truly believe in the Plan of Salvation and am so grateful for it. I firmly believe there is a plan for all of us...the good stuff and the bad stuff is all part of it! Heavenly Father is refining us every moment of everyday! When the bad stuff comes, sure, we can point fingers and blame God...but that just makes us more miserable, right? Isn't it easier to just chalk it all up to "this is my trial in life" and make the very best out of it? I think so and my dear sister is teaching me and so many other people that very thing. I know people are going through hardships and are dealing with some pretty difficult things. I pray that each one of us will not be mad at the Lord and look at it as a positive. There is always something positive about any situation...always. Life is so fragile. This has become more real to me as of late. We cannot take ANYTHING for granted. Everything we receive in life is for our good. They refine us and make us more humble, teachable, charitable and loving.

I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father. I am grateful he is mindful of us...our desires, our worries, our happiness. I have Faith that everything will work out...

I sure love you, Courtney! Thank you for who you are. You are truly an inspiration!