Five years ago today, I was in surgery to have my cancer removed. We were just at the start of a very long journey. We had no idea what was in store for us. We were lucky. It could have been a completely different ending.
At the time, it seemed, we may have been handed one of life’s most sour lemons. With a little faith and a lot of prayer we made something beautiful and unexpected out of that lemon. We didn’t make the usual lemonade …we made it special, we made it a lemon drop!
Last Thursday I shared our story to over 300 women. I still can’t believe that me, the girl who was terrified to talk in even a small meeting, had the courage to speak in front of a crowd that large!
I told them the story of how Ben and I did lemon drop shots the night he cut my hair. I told them of how Ben quit a successful career to return to school to pursue his God given talent of helping others. I told them how, one year ago, I heard a woman speak at the same event and heard God tell me I should be doing the same thing. So, I went home and wrote down how I would finish my book, publish it and be the speaker at the same event. I told them how each struggle brought us closer together and me…closer to God.
I have never felt so much joy as I did sitting there sharing all of the cool things that has happened in our lives. I have never felt so blessed.
Thank you to all of my prayer warriors who have been there for me from the very beginning. I was lucky enough to have been surrounded by some of my biggest supporters.
My Ben couldn’t be there. I have to admit I could have used a bit of his technical expertise (my PowerPoint gave me a little trouble 🤔). Years ago, the old me, would have been mad he didn’t make it. The new me is so proud he wasn’t there…you see, he was helping others instead that day.
Five years ago, he sat in that hospital waiting room feeling helpless because he couldn’t “fix” me. Last Thursday he couldn’t be there because he was assisting a surgery to remove someone else’s cancer. I am so proud to say that he is currently in a surgical oncology rotation. He is now “fixing” other women’s cancer. That my friends is how you turn a lemon into a lemon drop!
I pray today that you all take your biggest lemon and ask God how you can turn it into something amazing. You have two choices. You can sit around worrying about it or you can pray that you find a way to turn it into something special. Have a great day. 🍋
Natalie's Inviting Balance 
You are such an inspiration Natalie. Your book really put into words that dealing with cancer is difficult but the positive attitude really helps It helped me when I was diagnosed with melanoma I kept thinking about what I read and making jokes helped through the tough times, thank you. All the best to Ben you must be so proud because it truly is an accomplishment to go back to school and totally change careers,
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