Completeness

This post is dedicated to the women who were a beautiful example for me of living a life to its fullest; striving for completeness with the people that they loved; and inspiring me to see how there is a beauty, faith, and dignity even in how they take their final breaths.   Thank you AnnMarie, Judy, Marie, and Mina.  They are the reasons that I am honored to continue this work.

When I reflect back on 2011, I am in awe of all of the new people that I have met, the places that we have travelled, the lives that have been impacted and the dedication of the work of our volunteers.   I have a huge list of accomplishments that I could share about where we have come in just our first year or share the upcoming community events or list the new retreat dates.  But today, what I would like to do is something a little different.

The journey of Little Pink started for me with God giving me a purpose and making sure that every gift that would be needed to make his vision a reality come to life.  It never seemed simple and involved having a faith that I never imagined possible of my doubting self.  I was always a person who prayed, but usually because I wanted something or something seemed to be spinning out of control.  Rarely, did I put my full faith in God because I still believed that I had many of the answers- he could fill in when I could not do it on my own.  This past year has been a transformational year because I made a decision to truely have faith in the destination that he had planned- a place of service and love.   Talking about my beliefs has never been a place of comfort for me- but I am learning to trust God with that as well.  I often times try to explain to people that I feel like my journey with Little Pink is like having a front row seat to the goodness that exists in the world today.  I see the best in people- what moves them to give, serve, fight, love, dream, sacrifice, and be amazing!

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others," - Mahatma Gandhi


I have tried to keep a journal, but for some reason find myself forgetting to do it (that whole busy thing).  But I went back and looked at the journal for the entry that I made the night before the first retreat, it reads, "Is my body healing- I  don't know. Is my cancer really gone- Who can say?  But what I do know is that my heart is full, my faith is strong, and I am moving towards my definition of a cure- completeness in this life".  Thanks to everyone who has helped me see how to be a more complete person.  Thanks for letting me have a chance to serve.  And the biggest thanks of all to a God who carved out this work and continues to be in charge of the direction of Little Pink.   The vision became a reality this past year for so many families, volunteers, and people in the community.  My wish for the New Year is to listen, follow and enjoy the view from the front row seat.