You're a good man

God has truly blessed me with an amazing husband that I am so thankful for. When Randy and I were married almost 10 years ago, the vow "in sickness and in health" hit home for both of us due to my Lupus, however I don't think either of us realized the fullness of which that vow would be tested in the first 10 years of our marriage.

Randy has always put me first when it comes to finding a job. You see, it's imperative that I have health insurance due to both the Lupus and kidney transplant. Randy had an interview today for something that would be pretty close to his dream job and his chances of getting it are pretty high, but they do not offer health insurance for spouses or family. It is such a dagger in my heart to know that I essentially am the dead weight that keeps him from moving into a job that he would flourish in. He is such an amazing man and has so much to offer the world and I can't help but think how much easier it would be for him to move to a position he loved if he didn't have to always worry about my health being taken care of.

This was the card we were dealt though, and I am beyond grateful that my husband has truly honored the vow of 'in sickness and in health" when most men his age haven't even had to entertain the thought of such a thing.

Thank you Randy. Thank you for being such an amazing friend, husband, father, provider, emotional support and all around good man.  I love you.

If you are a praying person, please keep this job in your prayers. Randy will be sending them a counter offer to include health insurance for me. We just ask if this job is meant to be that they will respond positively and agree to providing me with insurance, as well as me being able to join the plan despite my pre-existing condition.

Cheat Post

I'm going to cheat for this post and share something that I posted on another website. Plan B is all about the road we didn't think we'd be taking for our lives, and the good that can come out of it. If you know me, you probably know my story so I apologize for sharing again...but it's who I am.

My Plan B

April 2nd, 2010 at 12:56 PM

My plan A definitely didn't include being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease (Lupus) in my early 20's. I was 23 and told I have a disease that no one knows what causes it, there is no cure, and it can and more than likely will get worse and claim one or more organs. They were some dark times of not understanding and seeking something "more". My then boyfriend (now my husband) stayed by my side and gently suggested checking out churches. He was raised with a Christian background, I was raised Catholic but didn't have a relationship with Jesus by any means. The words the pastor said that first Sunday seemed to be taken right out of our very conversation from the night before. The Holy Spirit was definitely moving in me and I accepted Christ. Physically it was tough but we were still working on maybe a plan A-. We adopted a beautiful baby boy and things were going very well. Fast forward 10 years and we knew my kidneys were starting to fail so my nephrologist started putting into motion the things I'd need to do to get on the UNOS waiting list to receive a transplant. December 14, 2008 was the day that plan b came screeching into place. My husband awoke to me, his bride, having grand mal seizures. The Lupus had taken my kidneys and I was in complete kidney failure at 31 years old. I was rushed to the local ER where I suffered 2 more seizures. I was started on dialysis 3 days later and began a regime of hemo-dialysis that was 3 days a week, 3 hours a day. It was tough being a mom, wife, employee and still driving 45 minutes each way to go to my exhausting dialysis treatments, but God blessed me with those as I was able to share my faith with many of the dialysis patients who had no hope left. 4 friends and family members stepped forward saying they wanted to be tested to donate a kidney to me. Such an amazing blessing since the wait list in California is at least 7 years long (please register to be an organ donor WHEREVER you live, it's the ultimate gift). One of the people that stepped up was a good friend of my husband and I who saw it as his duty as a Christ follower to give part of himself to save another's life. We ended up being as close of a match as if we are blood related (brings a whole new meaning to brothers/sisters in Christ) and Dan donated his kidney to me on July 17, 2009. I've always "understood" Christ gift on a superficial level, but it was last Good Friday when I was still on dialysis and Dan was going through testing to be a donor that it fully hit home - There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends John: 15: 13. Wow. That passage was displayed on the screens at our Good Friday service and tears streamed down my face as I thanked Jesus for his ultimate sacrifice and for blessing me with an amazing friend who was willing to put himself on the line as a Christ follower. I thank God for my plan B now. It was a rough road, but it made me who I am today as a Christ follower, wife, mother, friend, co-worker. I am passionate about organ donation and volunteer for an organization and through registering people to donate I am also able to share my testimony and hopefully save people's souls in addition to their lives. Just remember there is hope. God is a God of hope and faithfulness and if He brought you to this place, He will bring you through it. Blessings.

Amazed

I'm always (and I hope I will always be) amazed at the little flourishes in life that God find the time to display for specifically for us.

Volunteering with Donate Life California as a Donate Life Ambassador has been something that's been on my heart for a while now. I'm going to deviate for a second and say as a side note, if you read my blog and you are not registered as an organ donor, you seriously need to click on that link and get that remedied. The rest of us will wait for you.......

Ok, ready? So it's been on my heart for a while but I was just lazy and kept thinking that I'd send them an email the next day. Last Thursday I finally sent them an email. A while later I got a text from a friend asking if he could give my phone number to a mutual acquaintance. This mutual acquaintance is heavily involved in Hepatitis awareness, liver transplant awareness, and organ transplantation/donation awareness in general. She wanted to let me know that she would be attending a training on the 21st and wanted to see if I was interested. I looked up the training and no joke, it was the training I've been meaning to get info on for the past month or so. She has absolutely no affiliation with the organization other than she does her own form of sharing about donation.

Isn't it amazing how God just shows up and says "hey, I know you want to do this and you are on the right track for me and my plan so get going!" It'll be such an awesome opportunity to be an Ambassador and share my story which goes hand and hand with my faith and sign others up to be organ donors! So stoked about it.

Also seriously stoked about a door that I've wedged my toe into. It's something that I can't share about but God knows what's up and I just ask that you be praying for His guidance and protection while we peek inside the proverbial door.

Be Praised!

I started this post on Wednesday, and had some time this afternoon to come back finish...enjoy!

All praises to the One

From whom it all began

The One who formed the stars

And who gave life to man

You set the world in motion

Created sky and ocean

And here I stand, beloved

And called by name.

The lyrics from this awesome worship song have been stuck on repeat in my head today. Yes, we should always give praise and thanks to the Father, and quite honestly I think that is one of my stronger suits given the trials we have gone though - please know I'm not saying I'm SuperChristian (now there's a comic book character!). Today is a day of celebration and praise. For the first time in longer than I can remember, we are not financially struggling. Yes I know, money isn't everything, but when you're piecing together money from both sets of parents to pay rent, not knowing on the 5th of the month if you'll have enough for rent and it was due 4 days ago, having your parents pay for your medical insurance, your husband works 9 days in one month, and your scrounging up change to get gas so he can even get to work one of those days, you realize just how hard it is to do things when you don't have a steady income.

This past year has broken my heart for people that struggle financially. I don't mean the people that can't afford an extra Starbucks that week, I mean the people who legitimately can't find work, can't feed their kids, the ones who can scrape just enough to stay above water and not sink but definitely not enough to ever get ahead.

God blesses us with those circumstances and regardless of how difficult, frustrating and stressful they may be, it's our duty to give him praise.

Thank you Lord for blessing me with a year full of trials and countless moments of uncertainty. Although at times I cried out wondering if you cared, your love was shown tenfold through the actions and helpfulness of those that we love. Lord, help me to be a person of generosity, don't let lessons and experiences we had be for naught. Allow us to be in a position of blessing others without expecting anything in return. Allow us to be able to surprise those that need, in your perfect timing, and allow us to never

take credit for those gifts. It always comes from you.

Be Praised!

So Blessed

I think it's good to recognize the blessings you have. I'm blessed with a loving God; an amazingly wonderful, generous husband; a beautiful, smart, healthy son; restored health through a kidney transplant (which was donated by an amazing friend); a home; great family; and some truly amazing friends.

My good friend Christal is going to Disneyland for her birthday this weekend. Last year I wasn't able to spend her birthday with her as I had suffered 2 grand mal seizures as a result of my kidney failure (more on that in posts to come). This year it didn't look like I'd be able to spend it with her again. Construction has been rough this year and work has been light for Randy. Last night I was approached with the offer of an expense paid trip to join Christal and Staci to celebrate. How many times does that happen in your lifetime? And what an awesome God we have that blessed me with such great friends with generous hearts! And an amazing husband that says "go, you deserve it." Yeah, I wept.

So I won't be posting for a few days, but I think it's excusable! Have a great weekend everyone, I know I will!