Count it all joy

James 1:2 Consider it pure joy,my brothers, whenever you face trials or many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perservance.

As I laid in bed this morning, I was thinking and praying. I was thinking about how since being diagnosed with breast cancer, friends from my past (here and out of town) and some family have popped back into my life to walk along beside me as I journey through cancer. Also, I've been drawing nearer to some other family members. This is one of the joys I am experiencing through this difficult time. We are to count it all joy when we go through trials and we often think, "how can we see joy when things are bad". I always knew we could find something joyful and this is what I am experiencing. I was wondering, why is it when things are going bad, that is when we tend to reach out to others to encourage and help them through--why aren't we like this all the time. I think we get busy in our daily lives,therefore relationships tend to slip through the cracks as time goes on but when someone is having a bad time; we love our friends and family and want to reach out and encourage them as they walk through these valleys in life. When life is good, then we 'think' that we are not needed so busy ourselves with other things. So, today I am being joyful and feeling blessed by my family and friends.
Having cancer has also made me come out of my comfort zone and do things I rarely do such as have a blog and then last night I went and joined a breast cancer online support group. On my blog site there is a pink ribbon and if you click on it, it takes you to a breast cancer website which is wonderful. I've been reading it and learning about chemo. Then I decided to check out the discussion boards. Wow, overwhelming at all the stuff but I found this one thing that had a long, long, long list of things to buy to have at home before starting chemo!!! It was almost overwhelming to read some of these discussions for I learned alot about what it might be like to go through chemo--no fun for sure. I even looked at sites for wigs. (um, what style shall I choose?) In my support group, there is a lady who is absolutely hilarious for she said that since she will lose her body hair, she won't have to shave, pluck eyebrows, or worry about bad hair days. What a positive thought!!!

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times.....
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