I haven't even left the doc's office yet. But I wanted to give you all an update.
I am still cancer free.
Still a survivor.
Still in remission.
I am elated.
Beyond grateful.
I received an email update from a friend who is currently battling cancer. Her husband said it best...
God has given me the gift of more time.
Thank you God.
I will write more later but I just wanted you all to know for now that things are good.
Blessings.
Follow Me...
Showing posts with label Glory to God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glory to God. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
The "Official" Cancer Update & Prayer Request
So, we were so overjoyed at the news that I am now a "cancer survivor" that I realized I never did a complete update on my situation. I know there are some of you who are wanting to know what is going on exactly so here it is...
As far as the PET scan is concerned I am at what they call a "complete response" - which meas that there is not any cancer being detected.
I do, however, have a spot in my chest. Evidently it is an enlarged lymph node and I guess this is common for the type of Hodgkin's Lymphoma that I had. So, they will basically just watch this spot until it goes away or if it doesn't go away I guess they will just keep watching it for the rest of my life.
I have my next CT scan on 2/20 and then meet with my oncologist a week or so after that. If I get a clear scan then, my oncologist will let me get my port out. That will be a happy day because this thing honestly drives me crazy.
From there I will see my oncologist every 3 month with a scan every 6 months. Once I hit the 2 year mark my risk for the HL to come back goes down significantly. When I hit 5 years it goes down even more. In 8 years they will start watching me closely for breast cancer as my risk for that is up due to the radiation.
So, if you would like to continue to pray for me I would of course appreciate that. Please pray that my scans continue to be clear and that the spot in my chest just goes away so we don't have to worry about that.
Anyway, that is the situation for now. It really does feel so good to know that I won't have to have anymore treatment. I really don't know what to do with myself right now but I am sure I will figure something out. As of now, I am just trying to give myself the rest that I need. They say that it takes just as long to recover as it did to go through treatment so I am looking at another 8 months or so in order to get back to normal.
Thanks again for all of the prayers and other support so many of you have offered over this past year. We couldn't have done this without you and, of course, without God. For He receives all of the glory for giving me the strength and will to get to this point and for placing so many wonderful people in my life to help us in our time of need. I am truly grateful for each and every second HE has given me. They are a precious gift.
Blessings and Love,
Andrea
As far as the PET scan is concerned I am at what they call a "complete response" - which meas that there is not any cancer being detected.
I do, however, have a spot in my chest. Evidently it is an enlarged lymph node and I guess this is common for the type of Hodgkin's Lymphoma that I had. So, they will basically just watch this spot until it goes away or if it doesn't go away I guess they will just keep watching it for the rest of my life.
I have my next CT scan on 2/20 and then meet with my oncologist a week or so after that. If I get a clear scan then, my oncologist will let me get my port out. That will be a happy day because this thing honestly drives me crazy.
From there I will see my oncologist every 3 month with a scan every 6 months. Once I hit the 2 year mark my risk for the HL to come back goes down significantly. When I hit 5 years it goes down even more. In 8 years they will start watching me closely for breast cancer as my risk for that is up due to the radiation.
So, if you would like to continue to pray for me I would of course appreciate that. Please pray that my scans continue to be clear and that the spot in my chest just goes away so we don't have to worry about that.
Anyway, that is the situation for now. It really does feel so good to know that I won't have to have anymore treatment. I really don't know what to do with myself right now but I am sure I will figure something out. As of now, I am just trying to give myself the rest that I need. They say that it takes just as long to recover as it did to go through treatment so I am looking at another 8 months or so in order to get back to normal.
Thanks again for all of the prayers and other support so many of you have offered over this past year. We couldn't have done this without you and, of course, without God. For He receives all of the glory for giving me the strength and will to get to this point and for placing so many wonderful people in my life to help us in our time of need. I am truly grateful for each and every second HE has given me. They are a precious gift.
Blessings and Love,
Andrea
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
{Rejoicing Today} I am Cancer Free!
For those of you who have been keeping up on my blog you know that today was a big day for us. Today I found out if I needed more treatment or if my scan was clear....
I am so joyfully overwhelmed to announce that I am now a cancer survivor. It has a nice ring to it doesn't it... cancer survivor, cancer survivor, cancer survivor. Okay, I will stop now.
I do think that I am a bit in denial still because it just doesn't seem real yet....
11 months and 2 days ago was one of the hardest days of my life. It was my "d-day" (diagnosis day). It was something that I certainly never expected to happen at 31 years of age.
Throughout the last 11 months there have been many hard days. Days that I was so weak I couldn't even get out of bed. Days where I couldn't keep one ounce of food down. Days where every ounce of my body ached so badly that I almost couldn't stand it....but not today.
After thousands upon thousands of prayers said on my behalf from countless different locations across the world - our prayers have been answered. I am cancer free.
I was trying to think of a way to describe my feelings at this moment. Then I thought of a roller-coaster ride. There are the ups and the downs and being yanked from side-to-side and then you climb the big mountain. You are fearful with anticipation and then you get to the top where your fear peaks.... then you stop just for a moment and there is that moment where gravity hasn't taken affect yet and you just have joy.... That is where I am right now. Floating. Joyful. Rejoicing.
This is not the end of my ride by any means. I have many months ahead of me of tests, observations, and gaining my strength back day-by-day. But for now I am just going to sit back and enjoy the rest of this ride. It has been a long one.
All glory goes to God for without him I would not be here today. He gave me the strength and courage to walk this out day-by-day, moment-by-moment. He never left my side and I am truly grateful that he gave me this gift of life. That he has allowed me to stay here with my husband and children. I can do nothing else but weep with joy.
After we left the doctor's office I just sat and cried. It was like I had so much emotion pinned up inside of me and it just came flowing out. I told Jason that this journey began with tears and ended with tears... but I definitely prefer these kinds of tears.
My children are filled with joy today as well. I told them and my six-year-old asked me... "Can I say a cheer mommy?" Sure, why not! They chanted... Mommy's cancer free, mommy's cancer free. I am so grateful for them. I am so grateful to be their mother. I am just grateful!
Anyway, I can go on and on but I will finish this up for now. Just know that the Gressman house is definitely rejoicing tonight!
Blessings and love to all!
Andrea
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Choosing God...
This past weekend my husband gave a sermon at church on "holiness" - being set-apart from the world. In his message he made the point that choosing to be "holy" is a choice - one that you have to make each and every day in your actions, your thoughts, and the things that you say. He talked about how he himself has had to make that choice time and again and especially since I was diagnosed with cancer.
There are times when it has been so hard and yet we have kept choosing God. In a time where it would be easy to be angry and question why - we have both made the choice to glorify God to the best of our abilities throughout. Now this isn't easy and there are days that I personally feel like I fail miserably but because of God's grace, love, and mercy you can get up the next day and try to do better.
After the third service a man approached us with tears streaming down his face. He told us that he had just lost his wife to cancer. I could just see this man's pain - yet he was still choosing God. He said that he and his wife were best friends - not just husband and wife - and that they had chose God in their life together. He said now that she was gone that was the only thing that was keeping him going - choosing God.
As quickly as he had approached us he was gone again - like a whisper from God himself - leaving me to my own tears and my husband to his. But his message went deeper than the tears - it was a confirmation to my heart that now when I am weaker than ever, when the mass quantities of medications are taking their toll not only on me physically but mentally and emotionally that it is more critical than ever to keep choosing God. For when I am weak He is my strength.
I feel like I am coming to the end of the pain and suffering that I have had to endure to be well again and yet it is so hard to keep pressing on - but I must. When my thoughts start to turn to selfish ones - I need to refocus on the cross and what Jesus did for me there. When my words aren't as loving as they should be - I need to force myself to speak kindness and love as God is calling me to do. When my actions and attitude aren't the way they should be - I need to adjust them to be more like Christ. This isn't easy to do but it is what I am called to do.
I am called to choose God in all that I do - not just when I feel like it.
There are times when it has been so hard and yet we have kept choosing God. In a time where it would be easy to be angry and question why - we have both made the choice to glorify God to the best of our abilities throughout. Now this isn't easy and there are days that I personally feel like I fail miserably but because of God's grace, love, and mercy you can get up the next day and try to do better.
After the third service a man approached us with tears streaming down his face. He told us that he had just lost his wife to cancer. I could just see this man's pain - yet he was still choosing God. He said that he and his wife were best friends - not just husband and wife - and that they had chose God in their life together. He said now that she was gone that was the only thing that was keeping him going - choosing God.
As quickly as he had approached us he was gone again - like a whisper from God himself - leaving me to my own tears and my husband to his. But his message went deeper than the tears - it was a confirmation to my heart that now when I am weaker than ever, when the mass quantities of medications are taking their toll not only on me physically but mentally and emotionally that it is more critical than ever to keep choosing God. For when I am weak He is my strength.
I feel like I am coming to the end of the pain and suffering that I have had to endure to be well again and yet it is so hard to keep pressing on - but I must. When my thoughts start to turn to selfish ones - I need to refocus on the cross and what Jesus did for me there. When my words aren't as loving as they should be - I need to force myself to speak kindness and love as God is calling me to do. When my actions and attitude aren't the way they should be - I need to adjust them to be more like Christ. This isn't easy to do but it is what I am called to do.
I am called to choose God in all that I do - not just when I feel like it.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Waiting & Praying
I know I am dreadfully behind on my blogging. All I can say is "sorry" to you all who look forward to reading it each day. My mind and my heart have been elsewhere for a while - not because I didn't want to be here but I just couldn't be here.
I couldn't figure out why I didn't want to write anything over the past week or so. At first I just chalked it up to the fact that I had a couple of rough treatments and I was just beyond exhausted. But it wasn't until today that I realized the real reason why. It was because I felt like my cancer was now running my life.
Each of my days are defined by how the cancer is making me feel. They are defined by treatments and medications, doctors appointments - they are defined by the dread of what comes next. This is not what life should be defined by. It should only be defined by God and God alone.
I feel like I have done my very best to see God's wisdom in it all, to trust Him, and to feel His peace. But suddenly all the lines became blurred. I started to feel like the "cancer" had taken over my life and I didn't like it at all. I don't like being sick and tired all of the time. I don't like that my husband and my kids don't like it - I think that is the worst part. I know they are so tired of this and they want their wife and mom back.
I know that things can never go back to the way they were before - I don't want them too. I have learned to much, I have gone too far to just suddenly wish it all away. But I do desire the simple things. I have said before that I don't ever feel I have taken my children for granted - Jason and I have lost too much to ever let that happen. But I did take for granted my role in their lives. This is something I will never do again.
I just had to get away from it for a little while. (At least in my mind.) I had to focus on some other things. Fortunately God has provided me with some great research opportunities that have allowed me to focus on something besides the cancer. And through that reprieve that God provided I was able to refocus on what I really needed to be focused on all along - God.
Today I had my PET Scan. The stuff they gave me knocked me down a bit which is really unfortunate because this is suppose to be my "good week" but I am glad we are to this stage of the game. Now we are just waiting and praying for the results. I am praying that the cancer is gone and that I am in remission. I am praying that I don't need that many more treatments. I would like it to be no more treatments to be really honest with you but I am preparing myself in case that is not my reality. I remind myself that the doctor said originally that I would have to go through 8-12 treatments. I mentally prepared myself for 12 treatments at that time. Anything less than 12 is a miracle.
Blessing to you all,
~Andrea
I couldn't figure out why I didn't want to write anything over the past week or so. At first I just chalked it up to the fact that I had a couple of rough treatments and I was just beyond exhausted. But it wasn't until today that I realized the real reason why. It was because I felt like my cancer was now running my life.
Each of my days are defined by how the cancer is making me feel. They are defined by treatments and medications, doctors appointments - they are defined by the dread of what comes next. This is not what life should be defined by. It should only be defined by God and God alone.
I feel like I have done my very best to see God's wisdom in it all, to trust Him, and to feel His peace. But suddenly all the lines became blurred. I started to feel like the "cancer" had taken over my life and I didn't like it at all. I don't like being sick and tired all of the time. I don't like that my husband and my kids don't like it - I think that is the worst part. I know they are so tired of this and they want their wife and mom back.
I know that things can never go back to the way they were before - I don't want them too. I have learned to much, I have gone too far to just suddenly wish it all away. But I do desire the simple things. I have said before that I don't ever feel I have taken my children for granted - Jason and I have lost too much to ever let that happen. But I did take for granted my role in their lives. This is something I will never do again.
I just had to get away from it for a little while. (At least in my mind.) I had to focus on some other things. Fortunately God has provided me with some great research opportunities that have allowed me to focus on something besides the cancer. And through that reprieve that God provided I was able to refocus on what I really needed to be focused on all along - God.
Today I had my PET Scan. The stuff they gave me knocked me down a bit which is really unfortunate because this is suppose to be my "good week" but I am glad we are to this stage of the game. Now we are just waiting and praying for the results. I am praying that the cancer is gone and that I am in remission. I am praying that I don't need that many more treatments. I would like it to be no more treatments to be really honest with you but I am preparing myself in case that is not my reality. I remind myself that the doctor said originally that I would have to go through 8-12 treatments. I mentally prepared myself for 12 treatments at that time. Anything less than 12 is a miracle.
Blessing to you all,
~Andrea
Friday, March 4, 2011
Day 30: Reflection
So, I am a bit late posting this. Yesterday just seemed to be really busy and by the time I sat down to write this it was late and I figured no one would read it until this morning anyway.... so you will just have to forgive me for posting late.
Anyway, it is so hard to believe that it has been 30 days since all of this began. In some ways, just like a marriage, it seems like it has flown by and in other ways it seems to have been a whole lifetime ago. Of course I would not be referencing my own marriage in this analogy. ;-) (Just giving the hubby a hard time.) I adore him more each and every second I have the privilege of sharing my life with him.
Back to the point at hand.... I really wanted to use this post as a reflection of what the last month has entailed for me. For those of you who are just reading for the first time here is what has happened in a nutshell:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ~ Proverbs 3:5
Anyway, it is so hard to believe that it has been 30 days since all of this began. In some ways, just like a marriage, it seems like it has flown by and in other ways it seems to have been a whole lifetime ago. Of course I would not be referencing my own marriage in this analogy. ;-) (Just giving the hubby a hard time.) I adore him more each and every second I have the privilege of sharing my life with him.
Back to the point at hand.... I really wanted to use this post as a reflection of what the last month has entailed for me. For those of you who are just reading for the first time here is what has happened in a nutshell:
God has changed my life.
That is it - in one sentence. You see, it is much less important to me to express through what I have endured to go through the changes God is making in me as I think when I focus on those things I have the tendency to let those things define me. My focus is totally and completely on what HE IS doing. He IS changing my life and I am doing my best to embrace it every step of the way.
Here are the ways that He has totally and completely changed my life and my family's as well.
1.) I have experienced the greatest and most complete PEACE that I have ever experienced in my life.
It is beyond all understanding to even myself who is experiencing it. I have a peace from the most basic thing to the biggest things. I have a huge peace with the treatment plan that He has laid before me and the medical staff He has blessed me with. He provides an everyday peace to help me get through whatever physical or mental obstacles I may have. I absolutely cherish this peace and am so thankful for it as I could not imagine waking through this with fear or bitterness of any kind each and every day of this long road ahead of me.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ~John 14:27
2.) He has been ever so FAITHFUL.
There was a time where we did not know what the future would hold , and we still don't really, but God has been faithful every step of the way in order to, once again, give us the peace we need to walk each day out as needed. When we didn't know what type of Lymphoma I had for sure and didn't know how far it had spread throughout my body - we were very fearful that I would not see my baby girl's first birthday.I was terrified that I would not see my boys grow up and leave them here on this Earth without a mother. God has been so faithful in continually reminding us of his promise and sparing me of a future that didn't look so bright.
God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. ~ 1 Cor 1:9
3.) He has given us HOPE.
He has given me so much hope along the way. The hope that I will indeed be here to raise my children. I will indeed be here to grow old with my husband. I will indeed be here to continue to have relationships with the family and friends I cherish so much. He has placed this hope so clearly in my heart and I rejoice in it. When I think of it something wells up inside of me and I feel like I am going to explode with excitement for I have hope for a future.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~ Jeremiah 29:11
4.) He has allowed us to SURRENDER it all to Him.
How comforting does that even sound - "Surrendering it all to Him". He wants our burdens but so often we don't give them to Him. Why? Why do we want to hold onto such things that tear us down and make our walk so much heavier. He is there, he is willing, all we have to do is give it over and how often is it that we don't. I can tell you that I would not be able to walk one step of the journey on my own without His strength. People tell me all of the time how I am so strong. I have news for everyone and I am announcing it here, publicly for all to read- I am weak. I am frail. I am powerless. I am broken. It is only through Jesus Christ that I am able to get through one single second of this. He so graciously allowed me to give this all over to Him and I did.
5.) He has allowed us to SHARE our journey with others.
One of things that has kept me going through this journey is to continually strive to glorify God throughout everything. As I said above, I would not make it one second on my own. It is only because of God that I am able to get through any of this. The fact that I have been able to share that with others has been huge for me. It is my heart that others experience God's love in the way that I have. I am humbled that He has given me the opportunity to share with you all in such a candid and real manner. You all, in turn, have blessed me greatly by your continued pray, support, and love. It has truly been amazing to watch the body of Christ work. You all have been such blessings to us and we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly. ~Psalm 40:10
I could literally write for hours on all that God has and is doing in our lives right now in order to change us and I know for every one thing I realize that He is doing, there are probably hundreds more that I don't have a clue about. I can tell you that even though it isn't an easy journey that I am excited to see what the end result will look like. I know that this has changed me so drastically that I will never be the same - nor would I want to. As a friend of mine so eloquently put it - there is a life before cancer and a life after cancer and through the process God is creating a new life in me.
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly. ~Psalm 40:10
I could literally write for hours on all that God has and is doing in our lives right now in order to change us and I know for every one thing I realize that He is doing, there are probably hundreds more that I don't have a clue about. I can tell you that even though it isn't an easy journey that I am excited to see what the end result will look like. I know that this has changed me so drastically that I will never be the same - nor would I want to. As a friend of mine so eloquently put it - there is a life before cancer and a life after cancer and through the process God is creating a new life in me.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Day 29: Encouraged
I am a little bit late in posting this tonight. I have been busy writing about a bazillion other things today. This is the first time I have really felt like writing in several days and it was good to get back into it.
I had a doctors appointment today, like every Wednesday, and several things happened that just left me so encouraged. While in with the doctor I made a comment that I was really hoping that I was 1/4 of the way done with my treatments (in the case that I would only need 8 treatments) and he replied by saying that was the way he was leaning as well. Now, this isn't a concrete statement and I will still have to wait another month to have my scan to really find out what the story is but I just left feeling so very encouraged. I have been praying about this very thing for several days now and I just felt God used that moment today to really confirm to me that I was on the right track in my thinking. These are the times when that Christian hope and faith kick in. Believing in something that you can't see and having a certainty about it that only God can give. Even now when I write about it I just want to jump up and down.
If I only have to have the 8 treatments, I would get done two weeks before my baby girl's first birthday. If I have to go the 12 treatments, I will have my last treatment the day after my 32nd birthday. It was so funny because just yesterday my oldest asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told him, "not to have cancer anymore." At this moment I am truly overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of that. What a great birthday present that would be for both Kearyn and I! Yes, you will all be invited to come and rejoice with us!
The other encouraging thing was that my blood testing stuff all looked good as well. I don't know all of the technical terms yet but they said they looked really good and that is good enough for me. With me being sick the last couple of days I was kind of worried about that.
The last piece that I wanted to share with you was not encouraging. It was actually very humbling. There was a man in the waiting room and I struck up a conversation with him briefly as we both waited to go our respective ways. I asked him how long he had been having treatment for and he responded since 2004. My heart sank for him. 7 years of treatment.....it made me so embarrassed that I have even complained one bit about this whole process. I will have to have treatment for a fraction of the time compared to him yet here he was still pressing on knowing that there is still a lot worth living for here on this Earth. I pray that if I were faced with such adversity that I would be able to press on as that man has. I don't know if he was a believer or not, we didn't get that far into our conversation before he was called away, but I have to believe that there was an inner strength that was responsible for it all that only God could provide, whether the man realized it or not. May we all find that inner strength.
I have been overwhelmed once again by God's love for me. Every time I have gone to the doctors office he has set someone in my path to encourage me or motivate me in just the way I needed that day. It has been so amazing to walk this journey with God right there with me every step of the way and when I stumble he is there to help me up once again.
I just feel very compelled by the Lord to write this next part. I have been blogging about this journey in my life one day shy of a month now and there have been over 4,600 visits to this blog from 8 different countries. I know God is doing a mighty work through what is going on in my life right now and it is only because of His glory that I am able to do any of this. If it were up to my own strength I wouldn't have made it past day 1. He gives me the words and the inspiration to write every single post on here. I know out of that many people visiting there is someone out there that doesn't have a relationship with Christ and desperately needs it. As I am writing this the tears are literally streaming down my face as I just feel God so deliberately pressing this upon my heart. If anyone out there has not given their life to Christ or needs to recommit their life to Christ, do so today. Do it this second. I can tell you first hand that we do not know what the future holds.We don't know if we have 20 more years to live or 20 more minutes and there is no reason to live a minute longer without your Heavenly Father by your side. I cannot promise you life will be easy as a follower of Christ, you can see what my family and I are going through right now. But it is His strength that gets us through and it is because of Him and Him alone that I will be here to watch my children grow up.
I know there are a lot of you out there that have asked why this has happened to us. Some of you are even angry. Don't question, don't be angry. Just believe. We do and I don't regret any of this. Yes, it is hard and I don't like being sick but I do like seeing God change lives and I know He is doing that here.
If you have given your life recently or know of someone who has, I would love to pray for you or them. You can always contact me by emailing me at andreagressman@gmail.com If you know of someone who needs to hear this message, please don't hesitate to forward this onto them. God is good all the time and it is my heart to glorify Him through all of this and show others the love that He has shown me every step of the way. God bless you all.
In Christ,
Andrea
I had a doctors appointment today, like every Wednesday, and several things happened that just left me so encouraged. While in with the doctor I made a comment that I was really hoping that I was 1/4 of the way done with my treatments (in the case that I would only need 8 treatments) and he replied by saying that was the way he was leaning as well. Now, this isn't a concrete statement and I will still have to wait another month to have my scan to really find out what the story is but I just left feeling so very encouraged. I have been praying about this very thing for several days now and I just felt God used that moment today to really confirm to me that I was on the right track in my thinking. These are the times when that Christian hope and faith kick in. Believing in something that you can't see and having a certainty about it that only God can give. Even now when I write about it I just want to jump up and down.
If I only have to have the 8 treatments, I would get done two weeks before my baby girl's first birthday. If I have to go the 12 treatments, I will have my last treatment the day after my 32nd birthday. It was so funny because just yesterday my oldest asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told him, "not to have cancer anymore." At this moment I am truly overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of that. What a great birthday present that would be for both Kearyn and I! Yes, you will all be invited to come and rejoice with us!
The other encouraging thing was that my blood testing stuff all looked good as well. I don't know all of the technical terms yet but they said they looked really good and that is good enough for me. With me being sick the last couple of days I was kind of worried about that.
The last piece that I wanted to share with you was not encouraging. It was actually very humbling. There was a man in the waiting room and I struck up a conversation with him briefly as we both waited to go our respective ways. I asked him how long he had been having treatment for and he responded since 2004. My heart sank for him. 7 years of treatment.....it made me so embarrassed that I have even complained one bit about this whole process. I will have to have treatment for a fraction of the time compared to him yet here he was still pressing on knowing that there is still a lot worth living for here on this Earth. I pray that if I were faced with such adversity that I would be able to press on as that man has. I don't know if he was a believer or not, we didn't get that far into our conversation before he was called away, but I have to believe that there was an inner strength that was responsible for it all that only God could provide, whether the man realized it or not. May we all find that inner strength.
I have been overwhelmed once again by God's love for me. Every time I have gone to the doctors office he has set someone in my path to encourage me or motivate me in just the way I needed that day. It has been so amazing to walk this journey with God right there with me every step of the way and when I stumble he is there to help me up once again.
I just feel very compelled by the Lord to write this next part. I have been blogging about this journey in my life one day shy of a month now and there have been over 4,600 visits to this blog from 8 different countries. I know God is doing a mighty work through what is going on in my life right now and it is only because of His glory that I am able to do any of this. If it were up to my own strength I wouldn't have made it past day 1. He gives me the words and the inspiration to write every single post on here. I know out of that many people visiting there is someone out there that doesn't have a relationship with Christ and desperately needs it. As I am writing this the tears are literally streaming down my face as I just feel God so deliberately pressing this upon my heart. If anyone out there has not given their life to Christ or needs to recommit their life to Christ, do so today. Do it this second. I can tell you first hand that we do not know what the future holds.We don't know if we have 20 more years to live or 20 more minutes and there is no reason to live a minute longer without your Heavenly Father by your side. I cannot promise you life will be easy as a follower of Christ, you can see what my family and I are going through right now. But it is His strength that gets us through and it is because of Him and Him alone that I will be here to watch my children grow up.
I know there are a lot of you out there that have asked why this has happened to us. Some of you are even angry. Don't question, don't be angry. Just believe. We do and I don't regret any of this. Yes, it is hard and I don't like being sick but I do like seeing God change lives and I know He is doing that here.
If you have given your life recently or know of someone who has, I would love to pray for you or them. You can always contact me by emailing me at andreagressman@gmail.com If you know of someone who needs to hear this message, please don't hesitate to forward this onto them. God is good all the time and it is my heart to glorify Him through all of this and show others the love that He has shown me every step of the way. God bless you all.
In Christ,
Andrea
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Day 22: Chemo 2
I am actually sitting here in my chemo treatment writing this blog. Isn't that poetic.
As I shared last time, I met a girl that is slightly ahead of me in her staging and a little over a month ahead in her treatments. I guess about a month and a half ahead of me. She just found out that she only needs 3 more treatments! I just rejoiced for her. In six more weeks she will be receiving her last treatment and what a celebration that will be for her. She is planning on getting married in June, and what an incredible wedding present from God.
There are just so many good things happening everywhere I look. I am so grateful to be a part of them. It is through each of these that I gain my energy and it rejuvenates my hope all over again. I look forward to life after chemo just because I see so much to be done to continue to glorify God. I don't want to just go through this and then stop all the work God has done through this experience. I want to carry on witnessing and helping others that are going through tough times as well.
When we lost our baby boy in 2009 I remember God giving me a scripture that I quickly realized to be my life scripture. It is what I am suppose to do.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Cor. 1:3-7
I feel so called to help others as God has helped me. I want to look for opportunities every day in order for this to happen.
I will most likely blog some more a little bit later on. I just wanted to let you all know that I am doing well and hanging in there. It is just about nap time. :-)
Love you all and thanks for the prayers.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Choices
One thing that people continually comment on is my attitude throughout this whole ordeal. For the most part, with exception to the first couple of days, I feel that I have been able to maintain a fairly positive attitude about it all. There is no way I would be able to do this on my own strength. This is truly because of the peace God has so delicately placed on my heart.
In the midst of it all, I have realized several things. First and foremost, as much as we try to battle Him for it from time to time, God is very much in control. He is here in the present and has gone before us in the future. He has it all mapped out and there is no sense in fighting Him for that control. I know that I am in much better hands leaving it up to Him and when I try to do things on my own, I just mess stuff up anyway.
But there is something I do have control over.....my choices. I can choose to have a positive attitude about this instead of filling my heart with anger and resentment. I can choose to fight until God tells me to stop fighting. I can choose to seek God in all that I do today, tomorrow, and each day from here on out. You see, even though He has control, we have free will and that "free will" can either glorify God or not.
In the midst of it all, I have realized several things. First and foremost, as much as we try to battle Him for it from time to time, God is very much in control. He is here in the present and has gone before us in the future. He has it all mapped out and there is no sense in fighting Him for that control. I know that I am in much better hands leaving it up to Him and when I try to do things on my own, I just mess stuff up anyway.
But there is something I do have control over.....my choices. I can choose to have a positive attitude about this instead of filling my heart with anger and resentment. I can choose to fight until God tells me to stop fighting. I can choose to seek God in all that I do today, tomorrow, and each day from here on out. You see, even though He has control, we have free will and that "free will" can either glorify God or not.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Update!
Dear Family & Friends,
We are truly rejoicing in the Lord today. My diagnosis was confirmed as Hodgkin's Lymphoma, also known as Hodgkin's Disease. I am at a Stage 1b. This is such a good thing and we are overjoyed! My friend said it best today, "It is the best case scenario in a worse case situation."
I will start my chemo on Wednesday and will be having it every two weeks. The doctor estimates that it will take 4-6 months in order to completely get rid of it. He estimates an 85-90% curability rate. It has not traveled to any of my other organs and my bone marrow test was negative.
This is truly a time to praise the Lord and truly rejoice. I hope you all rejoice with me as the Lord is so good and faithful with his everlasting love.
Thank you all for your love, support, encouragement, and prayers! I love you all!
~Andrea
We are truly rejoicing in the Lord today. My diagnosis was confirmed as Hodgkin's Lymphoma, also known as Hodgkin's Disease. I am at a Stage 1b. This is such a good thing and we are overjoyed! My friend said it best today, "It is the best case scenario in a worse case situation."
I will start my chemo on Wednesday and will be having it every two weeks. The doctor estimates that it will take 4-6 months in order to completely get rid of it. He estimates an 85-90% curability rate. It has not traveled to any of my other organs and my bone marrow test was negative.
This is truly a time to praise the Lord and truly rejoice. I hope you all rejoice with me as the Lord is so good and faithful with his everlasting love.
Thank you all for your love, support, encouragement, and prayers! I love you all!
~Andrea
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Write Way to Worship...
Do you ever have one of those God moments and your just think to yourself, "Why did I not think of that before?" Well, I seem to have those all of the time but one of these moments happened to me very recently that I wanted to share with you.
If you are a regular visitor to my blog you probably have noticed that my postings have kicked it up a notch in frequency. I have always been a writer. I LOVE writing. Most of you probably didn't know about that because I have kept it pretty quiet throughout my life. My mom is probably reading this right now going...huh, I never knew that. Just kidding Mom!
Since I was in 2nd grade I remember vividly thinking that it would truly be my hearts dream to be a writer and even publish a book someday. Of course I never shared this with anyone and then you start hearing how hard it is to make it as a "writer." You hear how hard it is to get published and so on and so forth until, like a lot of aspiring writers, your dream fizzles out into a distant memory.
I would have people periodically encourage me throughout the years that I did need to pursue this venture after reading something I wrote but I didn't pay much attention. After all, if it was so hard to get published then I didn't stand a chance. So, I just wrote for my own pleasure or lack there of. I would mostly write when I was frustrated or hurting. That was really how I would cope with most anything throughout my life. Jason, my dear husband, could always tell when something was wrong because I would be frantically writing in one of my journals and I can just imagine what was going through his mind....."Here we go again...." (I thank God daily that He gave me such a patient and tolerant man!)
A little over six months ago I just felt it pressed upon my heart that I needed to write more. If I would have heard God audibly it probably would have sounded something close to this...."write, write, write." Something so basic, so simple, nothing flashy. Just one word, one command. I was obedient. I started writing about anything and everything that came to mind. I literally have hundreds of things written, stored up for whatever reason or no reason at all. For some reason though (of course we know the reason) I started writing lots of devotionals. I loved it! I had never written like that before and it felt amazing. This was exactly what God wanted me to do.
So, here we are. (Fast forward six months later....) I have this incredible desire to write but wait...I am a wife and a mom of four kids. I have other obligations. Certainly I don't have time for writing. I should be doing more important things like laundry......(sounds silly to some of you....laundry over being obedient to God.....others are agreeing with me :-) That is when it hit me like a ton of bricks. This is my form of worship. I know, I know...painfully simplistic and really quite embarrassing. I had heard about people that had other forms of worship other than the traditional music form that comes to mind but that really couldn't apply to me, right? Wrong.
Here is where you come in. Thank you so much for reading. Thank you for your encouraging thoughts, words and prayers. It is my hearts desire to glorify God in all that I do and all that I write. It is my prayer that through the words that God gives me that He can inspire, touch, and give hope. If you can join me in prayer for that I would be so grateful. I want to get my story out there. I want to share how God's love has changed my life so drastically and more importantly I want others to know and experience God's love for themselves. I am praying for platforms and opportunities to do just that. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for reading this participating in my worship to the Lord. There are no words....
If you are a regular visitor to my blog you probably have noticed that my postings have kicked it up a notch in frequency. I have always been a writer. I LOVE writing. Most of you probably didn't know about that because I have kept it pretty quiet throughout my life. My mom is probably reading this right now going...huh, I never knew that. Just kidding Mom!
Since I was in 2nd grade I remember vividly thinking that it would truly be my hearts dream to be a writer and even publish a book someday. Of course I never shared this with anyone and then you start hearing how hard it is to make it as a "writer." You hear how hard it is to get published and so on and so forth until, like a lot of aspiring writers, your dream fizzles out into a distant memory.
I would have people periodically encourage me throughout the years that I did need to pursue this venture after reading something I wrote but I didn't pay much attention. After all, if it was so hard to get published then I didn't stand a chance. So, I just wrote for my own pleasure or lack there of. I would mostly write when I was frustrated or hurting. That was really how I would cope with most anything throughout my life. Jason, my dear husband, could always tell when something was wrong because I would be frantically writing in one of my journals and I can just imagine what was going through his mind....."Here we go again...." (I thank God daily that He gave me such a patient and tolerant man!)
A little over six months ago I just felt it pressed upon my heart that I needed to write more. If I would have heard God audibly it probably would have sounded something close to this...."write, write, write." Something so basic, so simple, nothing flashy. Just one word, one command. I was obedient. I started writing about anything and everything that came to mind. I literally have hundreds of things written, stored up for whatever reason or no reason at all. For some reason though (of course we know the reason) I started writing lots of devotionals. I loved it! I had never written like that before and it felt amazing. This was exactly what God wanted me to do.
So, here we are. (Fast forward six months later....) I have this incredible desire to write but wait...I am a wife and a mom of four kids. I have other obligations. Certainly I don't have time for writing. I should be doing more important things like laundry......(sounds silly to some of you....laundry over being obedient to God.....others are agreeing with me :-) That is when it hit me like a ton of bricks. This is my form of worship. I know, I know...painfully simplistic and really quite embarrassing. I had heard about people that had other forms of worship other than the traditional music form that comes to mind but that really couldn't apply to me, right? Wrong.
Here is where you come in. Thank you so much for reading. Thank you for your encouraging thoughts, words and prayers. It is my hearts desire to glorify God in all that I do and all that I write. It is my prayer that through the words that God gives me that He can inspire, touch, and give hope. If you can join me in prayer for that I would be so grateful. I want to get my story out there. I want to share how God's love has changed my life so drastically and more importantly I want others to know and experience God's love for themselves. I am praying for platforms and opportunities to do just that. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for reading this participating in my worship to the Lord. There are no words....
Friday, August 6, 2010
We are the Gressman's.....
We are the Gressman's....Jason-31, Andrea-31, Cale-10, Kylind "Ky"-4, Creide-2, and Kearyn-2 months. Yes, we are a family of 6 which from the reactions I get in the grocery store seems to be something of a rarity these days.
The first thing and most important thing we can say about our family is that we absolutely love the Lord. We do our best to serve as a family whenever we can. Our family motto: "Serve One as one." The story of how God revealed that to us will be told at another time.
Jason is a youth pastor and I work part-time for the church as an event coordinator. We love both positions. The kids that God brings into our lives each week on either a Wednesday or Thursday night for youth group are absolutely amazing. We do our best to love them as Christ loves us. This task is easy and challenging all at the same time but we embrace it as we know God has called us to do this.
Our children are amazing as well. Truly miracles from God and each and everyday I look at them and I am overwhelmed that God would entrust them to me. I am so grateful that God chose me to be their mom. I am truly left speechless and overwhelmed. Each and everyday I feel so blessed to have the husband that I have, the three handsome boys that I call "my sons" and my beautiful baby girl. Yes indeed, I am blessed.
We are the Gressman's.....
The first thing and most important thing we can say about our family is that we absolutely love the Lord. We do our best to serve as a family whenever we can. Our family motto: "Serve One as one." The story of how God revealed that to us will be told at another time.
Jason is a youth pastor and I work part-time for the church as an event coordinator. We love both positions. The kids that God brings into our lives each week on either a Wednesday or Thursday night for youth group are absolutely amazing. We do our best to love them as Christ loves us. This task is easy and challenging all at the same time but we embrace it as we know God has called us to do this.
Our children are amazing as well. Truly miracles from God and each and everyday I look at them and I am overwhelmed that God would entrust them to me. I am so grateful that God chose me to be their mom. I am truly left speechless and overwhelmed. Each and everyday I feel so blessed to have the husband that I have, the three handsome boys that I call "my sons" and my beautiful baby girl. Yes indeed, I am blessed.
We are the Gressman's.....
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