What A Week…

Most of you who follow me on facebook now that my father in law passed away on good Friday from Cancer. We traveled to Oklahoma on Sunday for what was expected to be a very… sad week. Marks father had a very rare cancer that there was no treatment for. Expecting the end never makes the end any easier.

Marks mom, Allana, called him 20 minutes after it had happened while we were at Busch Gardens. As soon as I saw the expression on his face and the monumentally large amounts of tears in his eyes, I knew. The trip took on a totally different feel. As soon as he got off of the phone, I suggested we leave so he could process this with out every one gawking.

I am glad we did.

As we (Mark, Me, Easton and Elijah… Emma stayed back with my parents) left for Oklahoma, I had some reservations about going and taking my children. Not because of anything other than cancer + funeral = too close to home for my children. I want to shield them from pain as much as possible where the “C” word is concerned. I wasn’t worried so much about Elijah.. It was Easton that I was concerned about. When we first found out that grandpa had cancer and was going to die, she made it very clear that she did not want to go to the funeral. It would be too hard, she said. But when Mark was talking to his brother on the phone that Friday about why we weren’t bringing the children, she sat up and said “If Grandma wants me to go, I will go…”

She amazes me every. single. day.

After looking up prices for plane tickets for four people over the Easter weekend, we (instantly) decided to drive.

Did I mention that I had singed melted my wig that Thursday when opening the oven?

True that.

So, Saturday I ran to the wig store and bought the only wig that they had in my color that looked half way decent on my head, (because they only had my wig, ya know the one I caught on fire, in gray, and that would so not be pretty), and then went to buy clothes for the funeral because I didn’t think that shorts and flip flops were appropriate attire.

Speaking of the Memorial Service. It was wonderful. The boys (Mark, Jeff, and Jim) made a video of their dads life. Mark stood up and talked about the memories that he had of his dad. I was amazed that he could stand up there and not break down.

Mark and his dad shared a obsession love for OU football. Every time they played, Mark and his dad were constantly calling each other after every play.

Mark told me later, when we were driving to the cemetery, that “Fall football would never be the same”..

While at the cemetery, while putting his urn in the bench, we all held hands and formed a circle and just stood there while Marks mom said “It just isn’t fair.” They had just recently retired (Marks dad was only 63) and bought a camper and wanted to travel the country.

He only made one trip.

I can tell you that I hate cancer. I hate what it does to families. I hate what it takes. I hate that it creeps in without you knowing and knocks you off your feet.

But It can not steal the one thing that holds us close to our Savior’s heart.

It cannot remove our names from that book.

Conquerors will march in the victory parade, their names indelible in the Book of Life. I’ll lead them up and present them by name to my Father and his Angels.
-Revelation 3:5 (The Message)

Oh death, where is your victory, where is your sting?