It must be because...

I haven't blogged in awhile. I guess life has just been a little too crazy lately. We know about all of the horrid tragedies in the world that have been striking lately but let me also remind you of a tragedy that my friends and I fight for every single day.

Cancer.

Breast cancer is a tragedy. I have recently seen it take the lives of people who are good.  There are many beautiful things in this world there but  aren't as many people who are genuinely as good as these people like Bridget Spence or others who are battling or who have battled. There's a special place in Heaven for people who have battled disease. Some of you think that you're invincible from disease and I hope to God that you're right.

I hope you never see a chemo chair.
I hope you never have to lose your hair. 
I hope. I hope. I hope. 

Is hope a good enough avenue to travel down? If we hope long enough will we get what we want? Perhaps but I believe that hope has to be paired with determination and faith. When combined, it's a cocktail being shot down the back of your throat except it lands in your soul, heart, and mind. It's not something to go into your stomach and be digested. Hope is an dream. Determination is an action. Faith is a choice.

In 2010, I had unshakable determination to complete my first Susan G. Komen 3-Day. Failure was never an option. It just simply never crossed my mind. I took a blind leap of faith and embarked on a journey that I thought would only do good for others, not do good for me. Boy, was I wrong. The choice that I made that dreary January evening would be a choice that would change my entire life; I just didn't know it at the time. Eight months later, after training my feet off, after raising well past my $2300 fundraising goal, my mother was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. And through my unrelenting anger, sadness, and confusion I chose to focus on hope. It was all I really had. I had to forge ahead. I had to choose hope over hate.

I don't just walk for breast cancer. I walk for all cancer. I fight for all who are diseased. 

So here I am in April of 2013; a changed young woman. I know the world of breast cancer (and other cancers) far more than what I had ever desired to know. Far more than I would have ever planned to know. I beg for your hard earned money. Why do you think that is? It must be because:

• I've been in a doctor's office when a cancer diagnosis was given
• It must be because I've been to doctor's appointment after doctor's appointment deciphering jargon I can't even spell, let alone pronounce so I can make sure I keep it all straight
• It must be because I've seen what chemotherapy and medications can do to a person (the good and the bad)
• It must be because I've slept on the floor next to my mom's bed during a cold night in November just so I can make sure I was right there if she needed anything the first night home from her double mastectomy
• It must be because I've heard the words "Is my mom going to die?" play in my mind 1,000 times
• It must be because I've seen people die from this (too many times)
• It must be because I've seen people that have lost friends, mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, aunts, partners, teachers, and wives to this and it's too heart-wrenching to watch again
• It must be because no matter how hard I hug someone I can't take their cancer away

Make no mistake, folks. These are not complaints. These are reasons. I've got plenty of reasons why I could choose not to be involved. All I'd have to do would be to turn on the excuses faucet and they'd flow out like Niagara Falls.

Now, if you can find it in your heart to open your wallet and make a donation then I'll continue to stand by my reasoning for doing this. I'll tell you what. Even if you don't open up your wallet I'll still stay involved. You know why? Because everyone deserves a lifetime!

www.the3day.org/goto/seattleaubrey
There is no donation to large or too small. Thank you!