This much I know....

In the past few weeks I have seen and heard more tragedy than my heart can bear. From the senseless act of a man throwing his own children from a bridge to the tragic drowning of Bronner Burgess my mind wonders to my own daughter and the all-encompassing love I have for her. Everyone told me the love a parent has for a child is powerful and hard to put into words. I never imagined just how powerful my little girl’s presence in this world would be. Here is my story.

As many of you know I love sports. My fondness for games and competition didn’t just happen; it was something taught to me by my Dad. He loves sports and from a very young age I can remember him teaching me the rules of the games and even coaching me as a little girl. It is a special bond we share even to this day. I tell you that to help you understand that my Dad is more to me than just a man, he is my hero. He taught me what a strong, Christian man should be and I can say with no reservation that is why I married the man I did. I love my Dad more deeply than most. We have a very special bond and he means everything to me. He, most of all, was overjoyed to hear I was going to have a baby, but nothing in life comes easy.

For the past two years he has been seeing his doctor for suspension of prostate cancer. He had several indications that he was at risk but all the biopsies came back negative, this is until last November. He went to a regular doctor visit and was told his PSA, Prostate Specific Antigen, levels were still elevated. This is an indication that the body is trying to fight something off, so he would need a more extensive biopsy. On November 6th he was told what I had feared for 2 years. He had cancer.

Keep in mind at this time I am 8 months pregnant with my first child. I will be honest; when I first found out that I was pregnant I was scared out of my mind. I was still a kid myself, how could I be having a baby. I wasn’t ready for this……it was too soon……I wasn’t ready.

As I listened to my Dad, my hero, my everything, tell me he had cancer I thought to myself, How could you God?! How could you give me this baby, only to take away my Dad, her Papa? I was angry and my soul ached. Then my Dad said something that shook me to my core. He took my hands and said, “Donya I will beat this, I have to, this baby is gonna know her Papa.”

If I know anything from all this I know God has a plan. Maybe I wasn’t ready for a baby at first, but little did I know she had such a purpose. She is her Papa’s reason to fight. She is his reason to win. The first time I saw my Dad hold his granddaughter, a mere 2 days after being diagnosed, I knew everything was going to be all right. We may not always know or understand why things happen when they do but know this, THERE IS A PLAN BEHIND IT ALL.

I praise God that as of now my Dad is cancer free. His doctors are optimistic that the cancer was contained and with the removal surgery he will be around for years to come. My daughter will know her Papa, one of the greatest men I have ever known.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer 29:11 (NIV)