so that people may see and know...

did you know that may is 'melanoma awareness month'?....i think this is almost funny...i'm a pretty organized person, and even my melanoma diagnosis came in the right month :) i received the diagnosis on the 18th...melanoma day is actually the 15th....also typical of me, i have the best intentions of being on time, but usually arrive a little late :)

let me back up:

a few weeks ago, i was at BSF...monday morning leaders meeting...i was LATE...my messy hair hastily thrown in a PONY TAIL...i walked in the same time as another leader - HOLLY - and we both remarked about where we would have to sit...we sat next to each other for the first time...she sat at my LEFT. we made small talk, never really having talked before...and then dove into 2 hours of bible study.

at the end, holly looks at me and says, 'i'm going to sound like a freak, cuz I DONT KNOW YOU....but, have you ever had that mole checked before?'  she was referring to this flat irregular shaped mole on the left side of  my neck...smaller than a dime...my mom had mentioned something about it a month before...but i have like 500 moles, and figured it had been there forever...and not being super excited about paying to see a dermatologist, just to hear the words 'benign' wasn't high on my priority list...i've had moles checked before, and they were always normal...why would it be DIFFERENT this time?

well...my new friend holly was quite INSISTENT that i get checked...she told me a story about her sister-in-law, who died after a long battle with melanoma...it was heart breaking...and thats all it took...that pleading look in holly's eyes...i got the name of HER dermatologist...and made an APPOINTMENT

when i went to the doctor,the first thing i see as i walk in the office is a sign tht says 'WELCOME...and the passage from isaiah 55:12'...thank you God...a reminder that you KNOW me...in the examining room the doctor said, 'why are you here?'...my only response was, 'a girl in my bible study told me she didn't like the looks of a mole'....i had no other explanation

fast forward...it IS melanoma...it is SUPERFICIAL...LEVEL ONE...curable with minor surgery...it was caught EARLY....

PRAISE GOD...HE IS GOOD!

so...not liking attention...not wanting to make a big deal of things...i completely planned on keeping this info to myself...and then i saw that as being prideful...how would God receive any credit for how he orchestrated such a beautiful intervention on my behalf...

Isaiah 41:20

"so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it"

knowing how God doesn't like to waste ANY of our life experiences...

do you like the sun? do you love the beach? do you have freckles & moles? do you have the best of intentions with sunblock, but sometimes get burned?

go get checked.

right now.

make an appointment with a dermatologist.

it is so worth it.