My mother.

The day these pictures were taken continue to be one of my most favorite days.

I know that many of you are probably wondering how my mom is doing. It is not that I don't want to share, it's more for the fact that I must stay hopeful, full of faith and positive because in the eyes of a person who doesn't believe in miracles or that God can do the impossible, things don't look too good.

My mom has bone cancer as I shared a few months back. It's a very rare form of cancer and all the treatment my mom has received is experimental. The doctors have no idea what to do and the doctor's don't know how to treat the type of cancer she has. To be honest, it is scary for all of us but at this time all we can do is pray because everything else is truly out of our control. Whenever anyone ask what it is I need, I always reply with more prayers for my mom. I'm so grateful that we have an army of people praying for my mom every single day.

She was receiving chemotherapy but unfortunately the cancer continued to spread and grow. It is now in her esophagus as well as in her lungs, my mom who never smoked a day in her life. Life is unfair that way but I'm old enough to know that life never promised to be fair. My mom's doctors decided to change her treatment to the pill form. These pills are extremely expensive and the side effects are way too many to list. My mom was coughing up blood the second day of this new treatment. The doctors advised that, that's a side effect. It was a scary side effect to see. All I could do was rub my mom's back and comfort her.

But my mom is so strong. Such a woman of faith and I'm so proud that she's my mom. My mom was laying in bed so I went to lay besides her and we began to talk and she said something that struck a cord within me. She said, "Ruthfaith, I thank God because if it were not for this experience I never would have known the pain and hardship one goes through when they get cancer. Now I can relate and I thank God for that". It moved me because not only has she gotten cancer but she has also lost her leg due to this cancer. It moved me because I would love to live my life that way. To see my life change so drastically but still be able to say something like that. To be able to thank God for teaching me rather than being angry with God.

I do not know what the future holds. I do not know what next year's Mother's Day will look like but my mom is here right now and continuing to teach me the type of woman I want to be and I'm so incredibly grateful that she has been my teacher for my entire life.



Happy Mother's Day to the woman who has shown me what it really means to be a mother.
I love you more than you'll ever, ever know.