A letter to the Lady in the Hat

Hey there friends.

I didn't really expect to turn this into a type of series when I started, but this is just where I'm at right now. And this is the next letter.

I hope you are able to share it with someone who needs some encouragement today. 

To the Lady in the Hat:

Hello ma'am.

I see you in the grocery store, pushing your cart along the vegetable aisles in the produce section. 

You're probably picking up groceries for your family. I see some oreos and juice boxes in the cart. 

I also see that hat on your head.

Not the "casual" "messy but not messy" baseball cap look.

It's the kind of hat you wear when there's not much, or any, hair on your head.

And as you stop to get that bag of potatoes from the bottom shelf, I see you put it in your cart, and bow your head and take a deep breath.

I want more than anything to hug you friend, and tell you that it will be okay. 

I can see that things aren't easy for you right now. 

I know that you are probably worried about catching germs while you're in the store. That's a constant worry. 

Or thinking about the many things you need to get accomplished, and yet may have no energy.

Maybe you're trying to figure out what to tell your son or daughter, who wants to have friends over.. but it's so hard when your schedule is full of treatments and trying to do the things that have to happen, like meals and school.

It's so tough. Life is hard right now.

But ma'am, friend?

I SEE you.

I see you lift your head up after that brief second, and continue strolling down the produce section until you get to the apples. 

You are determined.

You are strong.

I see that you are not letting cancer win. 

You are doing life today. You are making it.

And, for today at least, cancer isn't getting any victory.

You are doing your best to have a normal day, and well, I just want you to know that I see you.

I recognize you for doing your best to keep going. It can be easy not to.

And ma'am?

I just wanted to say that, to me, you are a lot more than a statistic.

You're what I think of when I look at that pink symbol that's all over everything this month.

That little pink symbol can stand for a lot of things. Unfairness. Pain. Misery. Hope. Promise.

But when I look at that symbol, I choose to see faces, to see people.

People who are fighting, or have fought, or have survived..
But people. Faces.

And today ma'am, when I look at that little pink symbol that is ever present this month, I think of you.

You are not alone. I just want you to know that today.

Life is tough for you right now. It's hard. But you are not alone.

I know you don't understand why you. It's impossible to comprehend.
Even years later, it can still be unimaginable to understand why what happened, happened.

I'm there with ya, friend. It's a hard place to be.

I don't feel like I can give you any advice, because I haven't been where you've been. In your shoes.

But I will tell you that when I don't understand, when I don't comprehend, the only thing I can do is run to Jesus. 

Run to Him and be reminded that He holds the world.

"For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you." Isaiah 41:13 

That the Father's plans are perfect.

"..For I am God, and there is not other; I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.'... I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it." Isaiah 46: 9-11 

So incredibly perfect that we cannot begin to understand them. And so we must simply cling to our faith, and His love, and the knowledge that nothing can separate us from Him. 

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? .... No. In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8: 33-39

I could probably say a lot more to you, ma'am. But it is Monday morning, and class is calling.

I just want you to know that I see you fighting. 

You are fighting cancer by going to the grocery store today.

You are fighting for the millions of people who have lost the battle.

You are fighting for the millions who are fighting it alongside of you right now.

You are fighting for the millions, like me, who statistically speaking are extremely high risk for the future.

Keep going.

I don't know you ma'am, but I am praying for you.

And I'd like to share with you this poem that I found the other day, by an anonymous author.

What Cancer Cannot Do:
Cancer is limited.
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot destroy peace.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot suppress memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot invade the soul.
It cannot steal eternal life.
It cannot conquer the spirit.

And to me, it cannot define the memory of the lady I love and miss the most.

Cancer is a lot of things.

But it is not all the things.

And cancer will never, ever win. 

Take heart in that, friend.

Sincerely,

Alana