A Heavy Week, A Light Weekend?

Well- it has been a few days! Here's a breif update of life before I get to the meat of the post. School is going great! I love my classes and they are not nearly as demanding as I was thinking they were going to be, at least at this point in the game. In fact, I had enough time to read a book for fun! I sat down on my couch at about 3pm on Tuesday and started the book Twighlight (its part of a series that has gotten popular as of late) and read straight through till 10. I would recommend it- the plot was meh, but the characters are soooo interesting!

Today, my roommate Cassie and I (we more or less comprise the Conservative Club) organized a 9/11 memorial and service. We put 1500 flags on the main lawn on campus and gathered around 6 with a few other students to pray for those who lost their lives and the families that still mourn them. It was really a nice time and I'm glad that it all came together as easily as it did. We got interviewed by the local news station right before the service and Cassie and I were both featured tonite! It was very exciting.

On a different note- this week has been a very heavily emotional week for me. A few days ago, one of the men in Ocean View recieved news that his brother had been killed in Afghanistan. His brother was his best friend and the reason that he was in ROTC out here. Ryan, the man on our Ocean View staff has been more involved with him this year, but nevertheless, its weighing heavy on my heart. Then today, a new but very close friend gave me a little more than I was expecting for when I asked how his morning was. Instead of the generic 'Good, but I'm a little tired' I was expecting, He very honestly said, I'm not having a very good morning. After proding him a little further, he confided in me that he had been diagnosed with cancer last fall and after chemotherapy, had been cancer free for 5 months. Lately he hadn't been feeling well so he went to the doctor and had some bloodwork done which was supposed to determine whether the cancer was back or if it was the repercussions of the chemo just making its way out of the body. This morning, he had recieved a call from the doctor telling him that 'he wasn't going to say that the cancer is back until more conclusive tests are done.' He is 21 years old. I was touched that he chose to tell me because he was trying to aviod being known as the kid with cancer at Westmont and hadn;t shared with very many people at all. He asked me not to share but since most of you are non-westmont affiliated, and since I didn't use any names, for the sake of sharing the story to lighten my load, I thought it would be ok to post about. I admired him before I knew this, but I can't even imagine going through chemotherapy once, being 'cancer free', and less that 5 months later having to deal with it again but more severly...

So needless to say, my heart is bearing a heavy load this week. Its one that I'll glad take if it makes it easier for them, especially because I'm not sure what kind of help I can offer otherwise. I'm not very good at offering advice or comforting words, but I am very good at being present and listening, and I am also ok at remembering them in my prayers, but I still feel like its an awful lot to take on, even if all I am doing is praying.

We are so inadequate. This is testament to that fact. The trajedy that we face day to day is no match for our ability to cope. The greatest relief we can hope to find is putting our faith in God, that his will will come to fruition and that we can embrace what ever the outcome might be faithfully and with assurance that He will see us through. Please keep me in your prayers, that I might continue to be a reliable sourse to confide in, and tha tI might have enough strength and courage to bear the wieght of the world, if that's what's required of me. But more than that, please keep these two men in your prayers, that God might comfort their hearts and work miracles through the pain and suffering.