Phew!

My ultrasound brought good news! The cyst....is just a cyst! I have also developed a fibroid tumor but I know that both of these things are pretty normal for someone my age....OLD!! I'm very relieved. Later this afternoon, I noticed a rash all over my chest and neck. I'm still trying to figure out if it's just prickly heat or stress. I think all of this is just more than I can handle sometimes. Have you ever heard anybody complain more than me? I swear...I haven't even begun treatment yet and I have more woes than anybody I know!

After dropping the kids off to school this morning, I walked on over for 8:00 mass. It always feels so good when I can start my day this way! The first reading was I Corinthians 12:31 - 13:13....you know the one that is read at most weddings:

Brothers and sisters:Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.But I shall show you a still more excellent way.If I speak in human and angelic tonguesbut do not have love,I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.And if I have the gift of prophecyand comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;if I have all faith so as to move mountains,but do not have love, I am nothing.If I give away everything I own,and if I hand my body over so that I may boastbut do not have love, I gain nothing.Love is patient, love is kind.It is not jealous, love is not pompous,it is not inflated, it is not rude,it does not seek its own interests,it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,it does not rejoice over wrongdoingbut rejoices with the truth.It bears all things, believes all things,hopes all things, endures all things.Love never fails.If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;if tongues, they will cease;if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.For we know partially and we prophesy partially,but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,think as a child, reason as a child;when I became a man, I put aside childish things.At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,but then face to face.At present I know partially;then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.So faith, hope, love remain, these three;but the greatest of these is love.

Anyway, Fr. Fred was saying in his homily that it might be interesting to see how this passage plays out after couples have been married a few years!! In essence, this passage is a description of Jesus' attributes and our job is to strive to be like Him! It is easy to follow these guidelines for love while we are newly married. It's another thing to hold these virtues close after the honeymoon is over. I agree with this, in theory...however, it hasn't really been my experience as of yet. Dan and I haven't been married all that long. We're working on 11 years, but, I can tell you that I love him more today than I did back then. To me, it's easier to love this way now. We aren't trying to impress each other...we know faults and short comings...we know attitudes and habits. Sometimes, these aren't things we're proud of about ourselves...but it's real....it's really who we are.
Our lives have changed drastically since we first met. In our early days, we moved about our lives much differently. When God says, "the two shall become one" he wasn't kidding (is He ever???). I know that we did become one on that day back in November of 1997...but it was more symbolic to me then. Today, this is reality. I feel as though Dan is just an extension of myself. We are on such a deeper level now. Our hearts are one, our thoughts are one, our lives truly are one. This is how I know that without a doubt, God brought us together for a purpose...a Divine Purpose. Three of those "purposes" also live in this house with us. God has brought Dan and I closer to Himself through our committment to each other. I understand now in a real way, the analogy of the Bride of Christ. I am blessed with the best husband and father ever!! He truly is my soul mate and I'm so glad we are sharing this adventure together.

Whew...that was a little deep for a Tuesday! How did I go from talking about uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts to the Bride of Christ???? Oh well, I suppose if you can follow my train of thought....you can follow anything!