Surprise!

This year is the year of the Forties for the majority of my graduating class (of 2000). Darek and I both celebrated our 40th birthday’s in May, and of course he surprised me me with a dinner out with one of my long time best friends. It was such a sweet surprise, and a great night out!! I have mentioned this previously, but Darek is a great gift giver! He pays attention, and does a great job surprising me in many different ways.

This past Friday we had plans to go to a Twins Baseball game at Target Field with these same friends as a surprise for Her 40th birthday (or so I was told). A dear friend from church and her daughter babysat for us, which our kids completely loved! Friday was a pretty busy day with gymnastics for Carina in the morning, a fantastic birthday party for Makaiya and her friend Maddie in the afternoon, and finally the Twins Game. I hurried home after dropping Makaiya’s friend off in order to change clothes and grab a hat and water bottle and the gift for my friend before heading back out the door. We had just enough time for me to order a salad to eat on the way as well. YUM!

We arrived in Minneapolis plenty early because all of the travelers must have already left town for the July 4th weekend. There was NO traffic as we were anticipating. We got to the gate, Darek showed them our tickets on his phone, and I never even thought to ask where we were sitting. I was just excited to surprise my friend!! We walked through the concourse, and I was scanning the crowd in case we ran into them before getting to the seats, but I didn’t see them anywhere. We proceeded to the elevator lobby, which was very strange to me, because I know where those elevators go. We have had many tours and events at Target field, so we both know the stadium quite well. We always take the escalators up if we are not sitting in the lower levels, so this had me a little suspicious. I didn’t ask questions, though. Again, I was just excited to find out where we were meeting our friends! We exited the elevator on the 3rd floor (suite level) and proceeded down the hallway to the right. I was then thinking hmm…. her husband got a suite for the four of us?

WHAT. IS. HAPPENING. HERE?

We approached a suite and I heard a voice I recognized, but it wasn’t the voice I was expecting to hear. I was SO confused! Darek and I entered only to be greeted by a bunch of my closest friends, including my friend who I thought we were surprising!!! They all shouted “SURPRISE” as we entered. It took me a moment to gather myself once I realized that this was a surprise gift for both my friend and me! I may have had a few tears as emotions overwhelmed me. Apparently Darek and our friend had been planning this for us for over a year! We had a suite, with so many people near and dear to us celebrating and enjoying one of our favorite outings together. The Twins won with a walk off homerun by Buxton to culminate an already fantastic evening. We stayed to watch the fireworks at Target Field before heading home. My heart was absolutely full! For an evening I basked in the gift of friendship and love, and forgot about the weight of my current health challenges.

There is glory in 40!

Every birthday is beautiful as God gifts us special moments with our families and friends. I am thankful for my people!

1 Thessalonians 5:11 - Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Friends are important and I pray that you find your people. People who will encourage you, and who you can also encourage. People to do life with. People who will stand with you, next to you, and in the gap for you.

… I’m coming for you, Round 5! God’s got this and I am going to trust that this next round will not leave me with any additional side effects. My tongue is still numb and my hands still hurt in the cold, but the hope for healing is what matters most. I will have more answers and guidance after the coming scans. There have been a few changes in my upcoming schedule so here is the update:

July 6: Round 5

July 11: MRI and Thyroid Biopsy

July 12: Consult with liver surgeon

July 13: PET scan

Thank you for standing in the gap for me and standing with me as I heal!

I’m ready for the Summer of Healing to prove itself. Lets GOOOOOO!