When BG asked me to “guest blog” for her, I was hesitant to
say the least. Firstly because Beeg thinks I’m hilarious (and I say this with
the utmost modesty) she seems to laugh at everything I say; I think it’s the
medication really…but regardless, it leaves me feeling like I have to be at
least slightly amusing. All I’m aiming for is to not be completely boring! The
second reason for my hesitation is simply because this is BG’s blog. She is so
honest and upfront and, for lack of a better word, raw with her thoughts that I
constantly find myself challenged and inspired by the words that she has
published.
I guess that is exactly what I want to share about BG and
what I’ve seen through her in the past few months…
BG’s diagnosis came to me as a shock. There is no other way
to say it. I had just finished a hectic university semester and some crazy
summer classes and had not made enough time for the people in my life that I
value most. When I was invited for coffee I thought it was an ideal time for a
catch up - but rather it ended up as an ideal time for tears and at the same
time hope. Beeg is the strongest girl I know. I say that without hesitation,
not only could she beat me in an arm wrestle (even during chemo) but she has an
endurance, a faith and a courage that is second to none.
When I found out that a biopsy was being done I decided
right then that it was time I stepped up and became the friend that BG
deserved. What I didn’t realize was that through the time I spent with her BG
would be more of a help and blessing on my life than I could dream of being for
her.
The months since her diagnosis have been filled with more
laughter than tears. It was difficult for me to not baby her at first, I still
joke about how I want to protect her from the world, but I realized quickly
that she is still the same independent, quick-witted, eclectic person that I
have grown to love over the years. She didn’t (and still doesn’t) need my
protection at all. She just needed my company. And Oh Boy let me tell you the
adventures we have had. Zombies. I had never watched anything that wasn’t on
Disney channel before, okay, that’s not true, but I had certainly not watched
anything that had a zombie in it and yet Beeg and I embarked on the adventure
that many call watching “the Walking Dead”. I now have: a new-found
appreciation for make-up artists, a new TV show addiction and, most
importantly, my own plan of how to survive a zombie apocalypse (feel free to
ask me for details on this at a later point).
We embarked on other adventures as well, I can now eagerly
say that I have been to winners more times in the past 5 months than I have in
my entire life (anyone who knows BG knows that this is her happy place for
suuure!)
When not shopping or drinking tea, or watching TV I was just
really blessed by the fact that I was able to spend time with BG and be one of
many people to walk with her on this journey and see her commitment to being
cancer-free first hand. When a group of her friends organized a team to join
the “Light the Night for Lymphoma and Leukemia” 5km walk in honour of BG she
didn’t simply sit on the sidelines or appreciate her friends efforts from home
she herself walked for the cause – and made it no problem. If that isn’t
inspirational I don’t know what is!
While I would love to embarrass BG and use this opportunity
to tell you great stories about her speaking to red-peppers or asking me if I’ve
seen “What to expect when you’re expecting” every second day for two weeks
(slight exaggeration) I don’t think that those are the important moments I’ve
seen while alongside her and many others on this journey. So I will share
instead just a few if the things I have seen that I do think are important:
I’ve seen how passionate BG is about God, her church and her
work. A prime example of this was this past Monday, I was driving BG home from
her chemo treatment and she asked if we could drive through UVIC. I assumed she
just wanted to see if there were any stray bunnys around but realistically she
wanted to pray for the campus and the students. Even on one of the hardest days
she remained selfless and dedicated. I was utterly humbled.
I’ve seen first hand the care that BG’s family has. Not only
for her (sorry if that sounds selfish). Regardless of how many of us were over
to watch a movie or visit, BG’s mom would ALWAYS have an amazing meal just
hiding in the kitchen for us. Her sister allowed us to overtake her living
space and became more than just a friends sister…just became a friend herself.
I’ve seen friends brought together by a unified hope.
I’ve seen BG get out of bed on days that I would not have
had strength to and have been brought to tears by the true beauty that she
holds both inside and out.
Really, I am just so grateful for BG. For the person she is
in my life, in the life of her church and in the UVIC campus. I could write
about her and her amazing redemptive qualities that make me forgive the fact
that she sometimes forgets I don’t eat artichokes for pages on end… but if
you’re reading her blog then chances are that you don’t need my words. You’ll
have seen her grace first hand yourself.
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