Francis, party of 20, your table is now available.

There is no greater cause for family togetherness than a terminal illness.  And it’s a well-known fact that nothing says “family togetherness” like hamburgers, hot dogs, and hashbrown casserole.  So, of course, Peter was completely justified in inviting 20+ family members over to our 1100 square foot house for an impromptu family barbeque with only a few hours’ notice.  At least, that’s what he keeps telling me.

I’ve made a concerted effort lately to comply with Pete’s hair-brained notions.  Part of this is due to my innate need to take care of him, and part of it is simply due to the fact that nobody wants to say “no” to a guy with a brain tumor.  Pete knows this, and he plays it well.

So there we were on Saturday afternoon, speeding through Kroger like coke addicts on a munchie binge, filling our cart with massive amounts of food and practically running down small children in the process.  It was great.  Somehow we managed to pull together a Francis Family Funtime Extravaganza in a matter of hours, and it was well worth the effort.

For the first time in I can’t remember how long, Peter’s entire family (minus Becky, you were missed!) was together.  We did a lot of catching up, shared a lot of old stories, laughed until we were in tears, and had a sweet time of prayer for Peter.    It was that night that Pete and I sat down and recounted all the blessings we’ve received since his diagnosis.  I know this probably sounds like an ironic statement to most people.  Cancer is not a blessing.  Losing your spouse is not a blessing.  Not being there to see your children grow up, get married, and have children of their own is not a blessing.  But the love shown to us by others has been completely overwhelming.  The support and words of encouragement from complete strangers has blown us away.  The renewed bonds among family members have exceeded our expectations.  And the peace we’ve experienced in the midst of this chaos is something that can only come from God.  In a word, we’ve been “blessed”. 

So, while we trudge through this mess and face obstacles we never thought we could handle, we are constantly reminded that we are loved and well cared for.  Though life has taken turns we never expected, we know that this is always the way it was supposed to be.  Whether Peter is healed, cured, or succumbs to this illness, we know we are in good hands.  And that is truly a blessing.