Goodbye “dollies”!

“I wish you joy, and happiness, but above all of this, I wish you love...And I will always love you….oooooohhhhhh, And I will always love you!”  Yeah, I know y’all are singing right along with me!  Does that song choke you up EVERY SINGLE TIME like it does me when it comes on the radio? It hit me for sure yesterday at the sweetest “Goodbye Dolly” party that my best friends hosted.  Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers have always been two of my favorites. I’ll never forget my mom telling me that she went and saw Kenny, 9 months pregnant, sitting in the nosebleed section, praying she wouldn’t give birth to me at the concert. So technically I loved Kenny Rogers since before I was born. So when Dolly and Kenny sing one of my favorite songs ever and THE greatest duets in country music history, “Islands in the Stream” ...goodness!  If that song doesn’t make you want to turn the radio up and grab your sweetheart, I don’t know what would.   

Dolly has always been one of my favorite country music stars and actress, but after a trip to her Dreammore Resort in Pigeon Forge, I began to love her even more.  It is absolutely beautiful and if you haven’t had the chance to visit and stay…do so soon!  The rocking chairs on the front porch, story time by the fire around the pool, with smores, and more, made for a perfect little family getaway.  It’s just a “dreamy” place with Dolly’s special touches.  She is an amazing woman with such a giving heart.  Did you know that she gave over 8 million dollars to those who lost their homes, in the form of $1,000 checks, each month for a 6 month period of time? She also has a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth to 5, called the Imagination Library.  Jett loves getting his book from “Dolly” each month and they are always ones that we’ve never read before, that have the sweetest message.  So she’s a pretty special person.  Being one of 12 children, raised in the Smokey Mountains, she didn’t have much as a child.  But she overcame that and with her determination, she became one of the greatest country musicians of all times.   Her quotes are the best and this one showed up on her Instagram account a few weeks ago.  It meant so much to me…  “the way I see it, it you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”  And the rain poured on our family July 12.  But the rainbows of blessings that have also come out of this have been unbelievable. 

So when Dolly’s birthday came around a few weeks ago, my friend Susannah texted Erica and I to let us know that it was Dolly’s birthday and said that maybe a national holiday should be made for her since she’s quite a spectacular woman.  I quickly responded back with “She sure is special and I’m getting ready to say goodbye to my “dollies”, so let’s celebrate.”  We all know that Dolly has her own “dollies” . And that was all it took.  Erica and Susannah set into party planning mode for the sweetest party, with lots of my friends and family.  Every little detail of the party was perfect.  The prayers spoken, as these Godly women circled around me, meant so much.  I cannot imagine the smile Jesus had on his face, hearing them pour out their hearts, proclaiming His name and asking Him to heal me.  Tears literally fell to the floor and my knees got weak as I listened to each of them. 

Another one of Dolly’s songs that I love so much is “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” and y’all…I cannot tell you how much love was in my heart leaving after a celebration like this. 

So my heart is full and my body is ready.  God has carried me this far and I know his grip will be mighty tight on Wednesday morning.

A lady that heard my story through a friend of mine called me last night to wish me luck, as she’s been a cancer survivor for over 10 years.  She told me the story about a stranger calling her the night before her surgery telling her that she would be in her prayers.  The lady also told her that she was jealous, which stunned her.  She asked her why and she proceeded to tell her that in the hours leading up to her surgery she felt closer to God than she ever had in her whole life and that was why she was jealous.  She said that she was afraid she’d never be able to experience that feeling again.  Wow! That phone call and story meant so much to me and that’s my hope.  I pray that the Lord will consume from the inside out.  I will give him complete control and that’s a promise.  Take my “dollies” and give me life, that’s all I ask!

So tomorrow is my last day at school.  I’ll miss my kiddos and the amazing staff I work with so much as they close out another school year.  The support from BCES has been so comforting and I love you all!  

Big prayers for this Wednesday.  6:30 am is check in, as they’ll map the lymph nodes for the sentinel node biopsy, and then surgery at 11.  Here we go!  I’m ready to be CANCER FREE!   

“Do not be frightened.”  1 Peter 3:14