First follow-up mammogram.

Today I went back for my first mammogram, and I was super nervous - I mean, the last one didn't go so hot, and since that's the only experience I really have with mammograms, well....yuck.

As I was having a nervous meltdown, though, I started reading through my Bible, and ended up in Psalms (which is a very good book for melt-down moments), and I read the following:

Praise be to the Lord,

  for he has heard my cry for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

  my heart trust in him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy

  and I will give thanks to him in song.

The Lord is the strength of his people,

  a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

       ~Psalm 28:6-8

It was exactly what I needed.  One thing I noticed:  The psalmist, David, never said everything felt better.  He said that his heart trusted in God, and because of that he was helped.  There is joy to be found in trusting Christ, no matter the outcome of our circumstances.

When I was waiting for the results of my first mammogram almost a year ago, I determined that whether good news or bad, I would give praise to God.  I decided right then and there that my heart would trust him.  The news then was not good, but with my whole heart I did my best to praise him, no matter what, because the truth of the matter is that God is good, all the time.

This time, I was really nervous to go back for a follow-up mammogram.  I really didn't want bad news.  But, once again, I determined that whether I received good news or bad, that the Lord would be my strength and my shield, and in Him would my heart trust.

I am blessed beyond measure to be able to share that my mammogram came back completely clean and cancer free!  Praise the Lord!  No matter what, my purpose and determination in life is to praise him, but I must say it is incredibly easy to do so when receiving such good news!

One last update - I go in for my final surgery on Wednesday, December 8th, to get my power port removed.   I am dreading it and a little nervous, but after talking with my amazing surgeon, I feel confident in how we decided to move forward, and I'm at least looking forward to having it out and over with.

For now, please join with me in thanking the Lord for a clean bill of health!