My Dove

Psalm 40:1-4 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD.

Today is three years since I lost my precious cousin Laura to Breast Cancer. I being the youngest kid of the oldest of six children and she being the youngest of the youngest child, there was a great difference in age growing up along with 2000 miles of distance between creating two separated lives, but still with a family tie and many personal similarities. When a family reunion brought us together as adults, the most incredible connection was immediate as family, in both bloodline and the blood of Christ was established. Have developed cancer prior, I only had a year plus of being blessed by this amazing woman. Our talks and correspondences were priceless and she truly touched and changed my life for the better. Her fight against cancer became her ministry to others about cancer awareness and prevention. Her Blog @ http://loloplunkett.bloggspot.com/ reached out to all of us in compassionate love and care, which inspired me to start my own Blog. Today, I give tribute to my cousin, who went to be with the Lord. Laura is now my dove that reminded me of the purity of God’s love. Here is one of her letters and a story that she wrote, to give you a glimpse of the loss that this world had in her passing and the gain that heaven has today.

Brian, I truly appreciate your genuineness...and I totally GET it. I am the same way. We are both Christians and it is so interesting to me that we both take it so seriously...yet another similarity between us. I do a lot with my church and have found that my faith really kept me grounded when I was diagnosed with cancer. I have ALWAYS believed this experience is about God healing me, not me dying. It gets hard at times because even among other Christians, I have found that everyone’s faith is different. Faith is a spiritual gift, of which there are many. Each of us has our own strengths and weakness when it comes to the gifts....by faith is one that has always come easy to me. I try not to take for granted and always want to help others understand that I continue to feel protected and buffered by God. I continue to feel that He is protecting me.
It is so interesting because this whole experience has been surreal for me...in some respects. What I mean is, I continue to feel privileged by my cancer at times. I have always felt very guided by God, very directed to do very specific things. I know I am loved by God and have received way too many blessings by this disease.

Don’t get me wrong, I wish I wasn’t a cancer survivor. If I could take it all back or start all over, I probably would. But, then I remember the story of Job or Noah or Jonah or Abraham. All of them went through suffering and God allowed it to happen because that is just the way life is on earth. Suffering happens. It just does. I am a better person because of all of this and my family (extended, included) are much better, closer. We care about other people more and try to take on causes outside of our world. I am attaching a short story that I have written.
Blessings, Laura

My Dove
As I was sitting in the car in a parking lot, the dove flew into my line of sight. Her beautiful white image shone bright against the grey backdrop of the dreary winter sky. She flew around my car and perched on the light pole, directly in front of me. Like a guardian angel, she was watching over me. I began to tear up, got chills all over my body. I just kept looking at her; I was humbled by her presence. She reminded me of the purity of God’s love, at the very moment I desperately needed reassurance. I was a year into my fight against advanced breast cancer when I saw my dove. I was almost through my treatments after hitting many rough patches. I was weary, but she renewed my strength to confront the disease.

I was 32 when I was diagnosed, a young wife and mother with a four-year-old daughter and an infant son. I had no family history of breast cancer. I was naïve in thinking this would protect me. I realize now that anyone can get cancer, it does not discriminate. We caught my cancer as early as possible, but I still had three small tumors. I found the initial lump in my breast, which led to a mammogram, sonogram and biopsy. Doctors confirmed it as breast cancer. There was another tumor in a lymph node and one on my liver. It was harrowing to find out all of this information, but I was grateful to know my enemy.

God gave me the strength to effectively fight this battle, the resolve to win. I went through multiple surgeries, numerous rounds of chemotherapy and two life-threatening infections to get my disease stabilized. I am now in remission and plan on keeping it this way. I live with cancer, daily. I am aware that it could come back, but I constantly seek treatments and information to mitigate this risk. I am thankful to God for being the mastermind behind my treatment and for directing my path from the beginning.

He gave me many gifts along the way. He surrounded me with an amazing support system, sharpened my survival skills through sermons at COR and bolstered my faith by reminding me that Jesus healed people through their faith in Him. But, the dove was my most precious gift, a harbinger of good things to come. Not only was she was a visible sign of God’s presence in my life, but of the wings He had given me to fly through adversity. She reminded me that God was holding me securely through that entire journey, as He still does to this day.

Laura Walsh Plunkett
May 10, 1972 – December 14, 2008

Today, I honor you Laura.
We shall meet again in heaven. Brian