My Cause Right Now

My friend Carla isn't doing well. She's been in and out of the hospital for the last couple weeks, mostly because she's been coughing up blood. Apparently the cancer in her lung has formed a bleeding lesion. They've also found a couple new spots of cancer, too, so that had to have been incredibly disheartening.

Tomorrow is a Sunday which my church devotes to fasting-- it's a time when we go without food or water for about 24 hours and pray with special intent for whatever we feel we need, physically or spiritually. I know of several congregations that will be fasting and praying for Carla tomorrow. If you don't have anything you're already worried about, please consider joining all of us in praying for Carla. I can't imagine anything more difficult that what she is going through right now.

I believe in a God of miracles. I believe that even now, it's not too late for a miracle. And I can admit that I want one for purely selfish reasons: because the idea of a world without Carla in it terrifies me.

Carla has been my best friend since our freshman year in college. She's the kind of friend who, when you're a dumb sophomore, pulls you aside and lovingly tells you to stop being an idiot. And she does it so sweetly that you know she's saying this because she truly does love you. And you can only be grateful to have a friend who does hard things like that for you. Which means you have to actually try to stop being so dumb. The kind of friend who offers to do your laundry for you, the perfect roommate who cleans the apartment when she's stressed out. The person that you plan to live in the same retirement home with some day, so you can enjoy one another's company, but also take turns turning off each other's oxygen and pulling other fun pranks like that. She's the kind of friend who drives 8 hours one-way across Japan just to have lunch with you when you're a missionary. And she brings a suitcase full of American foods and shampoos along with her.

She's the kind of friend who throws you a bridal shower and then a baby shower a year or so later.

At my wedding, my maid of honor

Who, when she's watching your baby at Disneyland, buys him his first set of Mickey Mouse ears to try to keep him happy while you're away on a ride.

We still have Bentley's Mickey Mouse ears. He actually likes to wear them now, too!

She's the kind of friend you almost want to keep all to yourself, but you know she's so great that it doesn't surprise you a bit to look at her facebook group and realize that most everyone else considers her their best friend, too. (But really, I know I'm one of the few who she calls that. Really!) And instead of being jealous, you're just glad to see how many other people recognize how wonderful she is.

A bunch of roommates who all came from St. George the same weekend I came to visit-- yup, she's that popular!

So you can see why I just don't want Heavenly Father to take her away from all of us just yet. The world needs Carla.

I love this picture from her wedding day.

Please pray for Carla.