We love Aunt Kristin!!!

Most of the blog-o-rama faithful know this already, but Linda and I have a very unique relationship with our friends Kristin and Hendree.  We like to joke that Kristin married a boy that thinks just like Linda, and I married a girl that thinks just like Hendree.  It's no wonder that we're all such dear friends, we are each partnered with the other one's partner (p.s.  Kristin and I share a brain sometimes, too).  

We are so grateful to have such amazing people like Kristin and Hendree in our lives, and not a day goes by that we don't think about them or miss them.  Most days, I talk to at least one of them just to check in... even if it is only about things like Jalepeno Kettle Chips and their delicious crunchy goodness.

Hendree and I have an almost daily conversation about the joys and frustrations of being thirty-something priests in the Episcopal Church, and the absolute craziness of being called to such a wonderful (and sometimes bizarre) vocation.  So... when my partner in crime called me a couple of weeks ago with some scary news about Kristin's health, I didn't quite know what to say or what to do with news that he was giving me.  

I was in Honolulu at a diocesan meeting when Hendree told me that Kristin, his wife, (and Cooper's Godmother, by the way) had been diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer.  They were waiting to hear what the course of action would be for treating the beast with which most of us have such terrible associations.  Little could be said, other than we love you and we're saying our prayers.  Linda instructed Hendree that he needed to buy his wife an iphone... which is funny in their world.

Two weeks passed, and nobody could really say what treatment would look like, but I was just sure that it would involve chemo, huge challenges, and the scary prospect of Uncle Benny shaving his head in solidarity.  And then...  almost as quickly as it began, I got another phone call.

Again, I was in Honolulu when Hendree called to tell me that the pathologists in Nashville had informed Kristin's doctor that what she had wasn't cancer.  What?  Not Cancer?  How is that possible?  It's not like the first set of Doctors took a guess... they knew what they were talking about... they had taken tests...  it WAS cancer... Right?  Nope.  Definitely something for the scientists and the medical journals, but not cancer.

So, what does this mean... 

Well, I don't know anything about oncology.  And I don't know very little about medicine or science.  But I do know a thing or two about the hundreds of incredibly faithful people who lined up to show Kristin how much they love her.  I know that in my congregation, in my family, and in my circle of friends, there were prayers of intercession and prayers of frustration put out there over and over again.  Who's to say if this was a miracle or not, but I know that I've never been more proud and excited to say that what I saw and heard in the voices of my friends was nothing short of miraculous.  

When we asked Hendree and Kristin to be Cooper's Godparents, we knew that we were trusting them to help us bring her up in the life of faith.  Little did we know that they would be such good examples.  They are (and have always been) living examples of God's good grace, and we (and the entire world) are better for having them in our lives.  Yea Kristin and Hendree!  We love you! 

p.s.  Linda still thinks Kristin needs an iphone.