Above Us Among Us
The other day I met Phil, he was part of the team that saved Jessica from the well over thirty years ago. Phil had an incredible story...about his wife.
Rosemary is a tiny, pistol of a woman. A west Texas native. Born and raised in the Permian Basin, she's tough with a capital "T". One could sense her attitude when she walked into the room. She wasn't haughty or crass, much the opposite. Rosemary exuded a confidence and strength to be envied.
Born in a time where conveniences were rare and everyone had to carry their own weight, this tiny woman clearly had a big determination, a strong character and little fear. Her voice was strong and matter-of-fact as she greeted the receptionist and as she chose her seat to wait I knew she was a strong woman. .
As I sat in the waiting room with Rosemary's husband, he started a conversation with me. I could barely soak up the stories he told me and my head began to pound as I focused on everything he said and tried to process each detail so I wouldn't forget a single morsel. This big, soft-spoken man openly shared with me the journey that they had been on during their life together.
Moving from Odessa only to decide a few years later they were too far from emergency help; they moved again. Barely unpacked, Rosemary was diagnosed. 300 miles from "home", far from any friends or family.
It wasn't enough for Rosemary to have a heart attack. No. Next she had an aneurysm, then a stroke and eye surgery. Now she had to face Breast Cancer.
Her response to the cancer diagnosis is understandable to me. She dug in her heels and said "NO!".
As this quiet man shared the dark details of a scary and painful part of their life together, I nodded my head vigorously at that statement. Recently life had brought real questions to my mind around how I would deal with certain situations.
Rosemary's story got even better when she returned to the waiting room....
This beautiful woman sat down beside me, whom she'd never met, and began to open up about her experience. A revelation that would impact me more than she knew. I hadn't told her one single thing. Not even my name. I had only smiled at her, but she knew...she knew exactly what to say.
Rosemary told me that her mother battled cancer. She had witnessed what the horrid treatment of the disease could do to someone first hand. Therefore, this was not an option for her as far as she was concerned. Radiation was out of the question, but she hadn't considered Chemo...
One afternoon as she sent her husband to the store, she yelled to him on his way out, "And stop by that little church while you're there!"
At the time she didn't know why that had popped into her head except that the church was in the same strip mall as the store he was headed to and they were new in town and hadn't yet found a church home, so she beckoned him to check it out.
Phil didn't exit the car in the parking lot of that little church before he was welcomed by the pastor. Before he made it home with the groceries, four ladies were at Rosemary's door. Skeptical and defensive, she cracked the door open and soon found herself in tears as they informed her that she was NOT going to go through this fight alone. Each one of these women, including the pastor's wife, had all battled breast cancer and they knew what she was not only going through, but also what she was up against.
The five of them rallied together and bonded like no other group of friends could. They cared for Rosemary, cried with her, cursed cancer alongside her and loved her.
Patiently and openly she shared with me; her change of heart and how she gained support from the church she now calls home. She never sought help-so to speak, she didn't attend any of the suggested support groups, but boy did she get some wonderful help. She was never alone of course- She's a believer you know. In His divine way, knowing Rosemary and her strong will, God placed some mighty warriors in her path. Not only were they her kind of strong, they were her kind of caring, supportive, understanding and loving. She could not deny they were put there specifically for her.
That day I had the pleasure to meet Rosemary, A true Angel, as she visited her cancer doctor for a four month follow up from her last Chemotherapy go 'round. She is cancer free. And I can't help but thank God that He put her there specifically for me.
Psalms 91
...(vs11) For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
