A New Semester

Tomorrow I go back to Birmingham to start spring semester classes on Monday. I'm a little nervous about going back because the first two months are going to be a little hectic. Less than 5 weeks from now, I'll be finished with chemo!! I'm so glad. It's funny because I really don't think about it much at all anymore until a few days before and for a few days after, when I feel pretty bad. During the time in between, I feel normal. The PET scan that I had a few weeks ago, when I was half-way finished with chemo, showed little to no cancer cells left in my body, which is amazing! God is so faithful, and prayer is extremely powerful. After I got those results, I wanted to stop getting chemo and going through all of this. But, I know that the doctors know what they are doing, and in order for the cancer to never come back, I need to finish this process. Chemo stinks, but I'm more than willing to finish so that I will never have cancer again, and I will healthy for the rest of my life! Now, I just have 3 more, and I have to get them all in Birmingham. I am more than ready to be back at Samford, but I honestly am a little anxious because it is going to be tough to finish chemo and then have radiation 5 days a week after that. It's not fun, and it's not easy, and I'm trusting that God is going to get me through it and keep me from getting too sick after my treatments so that I don't have to miss too much class. I'm already going to miss 3 Thursdays and 3 Fridays in the first 5 weeks of class, which is a lot. Also, I'm going to be more tired than normal, especially when I'm on Samford schedule instead of break schedule. I'm taking 14 hours(5 classes), and I also have to work on the yearbook a lot, and I'm interning 2 days a week at Flower. I think that my classes will be manageable, it is just the matter of having energy to make up the work that I miss and also to be able to do the things I enjoy, like going to Campus Outreach and to my bible study, and spending time with people! I can't imagine my life without the people I know at Samford and in Birmingham. Most importantly, I can't imagine it without God, and there is no way I could make it through this without Him. I'm dealing with all of this because He knows I can get through it, and it is part of what He has been planning for me before I was even born. He knows everything about me, and He gives me strength to get through everything. I'm leaning on Him and trusting Him to get me through the rest of this process and to help me have fun at school at the same time, and to continue to enjoy my time and my relationships there. In 2 months, I can see myself rejoicing because I will still be cancer-free like I am now, and I will be able to live life with one less weight on my shoulders, and I will see even more clearly why God has placed me in this situation this year. I love Him no matter how hard things get, and I love Him even more when I see how faithful He is through the storms of life, and that I can still have so much joy because the Lord gives it to me constantly! I'm looking forward to this semester because I know God has so much to teach me and show me through everything that will happen and through everyone in my life. I thank Him for that, and I feel blessed to be able to spend another semester at Samford:)