Things Are Always Changing

There was a song on Sesame Street that went something like this: "Things are always changing, but don't be sad and blue! Change can make you happy 'cause it brings you something new." I remember this song running through my mind when we were preparing to move from Florida (where I had spent pretty much my whole life up until I was 36) to Arizona (where we had visited, but only knew two people). We looked at the move as a big adventure, and ended up loving Arizona and meeting some wonderful people.

That song has been running through my head again lately. This time the change is definitely NOT making me happy. My dearest friend in Arizona, Heather, is sick. Very sick. As in cancer. She's going through chemo, and her hair is pretty much gone.

I can't even say how much I love Heather. I couldn't ask for a better friend. I look up to her a lot, and I love her whole family to pieces. I know she's going to be fine, when all this chemo stuff is over, but still, it changes everything. She's the most healthy, active, and energetic person I know. She's the one who's always available to help everyone else - she offers advice on homeschooling, fashion, and nutrition; she babysits (even my son, who although I love him dearly, can really drive a person barking mad); she brings homecooked meals over (she even brought me a meal when I broke my pinkie toe).

Now she's the one in need, and there's precious little I can do for her. I have a bag of some of her favorite goodies ready to deliver, but since my son and I are sick, I don't want to deliver it and expose her to germs. I plan to get her some excellent lotions and soaps (chemo is hard on your skin, and winter in AZ is hard on your skin anyway). But those seem like such little things, a drop in the bucket.

To make it even worse, she's moving to Florida next month! Her dh has a new job in Orlando, and their families live in FL. Now, we visit our families there once a year or so, and we do plan to move back to FL eventually, but still... how can she move away? When I told my son they were moving, he wailed, "How can I live without Josh?" (Josh is Heather's son, and Noah's patient and longsuffering buddy.) I know how he feels. How can I live without Heather????

I know that God is faithful, and He'll continue to meet my needs even after Heather leaves. But I don't like it one bit!