Transformed.

I was driving down the back roads of Ohio this morning going to help my mom.

This is one of the best times to drive here. The trees that have been a vibrant green all summer began to change colors.

The colors are always captivating to me and indicate a change is coming.

The weather has cooled and the days keep getting shorter.

As I drive I realize the beauty truly is in the change.

The time when things shift and take on a new look for a new season.

This week Brady gets a “rest” week. No chemo until Monday. It is a welcomed break to recover and relax with family as we head into a very special weekend.

This weekend we get to celebrate as my sister in law and her fiancé tie the knot. The kids have literally been looking forward to this day for years. Years.

This weekend is like a picture of the leaves on the trees. What once was beautiful before will now be changed and transformed into something far more magnificent than ever thought.

As I reflect on the changes of the leaves and seasons of life, I am reminded of all that have been transformed through the changes that have been upon them.

I look at Peter. One day he was Simon the fisherman. Then, he was Peter, disciple of Jesus. Then, when the change in season came, he was Peter, leader of the Christian movement and the rock upon who Christ built his church.

Ordinary to extraordinary.

I look at Paul. One day he was Saul, murderer and persecutor of all followers of Christ. Then, transformed in an instant by an encounter with Jesus and became Paul. Paul, the man who wrote most of the New Testament and gave his life to spread the good news of Jesus.

Sinner to healer.

I look at Brady. He once was Brady, our nine year old son, nervous to speak in front of people and uncomfortable with attention on him in any way. And now I see him. Transformed by this season of cancer and hardship. Using his pain to speak life to others and share his testimony of how God has used his cancer to be a blessing.

Timid to confident.

I look at myself. I see how my own faith has been transformed over the past 17 months. Never could I have ever imagined the road we have been walking upon. I never thought I’d be the parent of a cancer kid. But here we are. We have been been faced with the scariest of images. The hardest of decisions. The agonizing uncertainty. The darkest of days. But. But we continued to be changed. To be pushed. To be challenged. To be strengthened. The Lord is using our battle to illuminate something so bright within us.

Common to courageous.

And now I look at this season. We are still here in Ohio. Patiently waiting on the phone call that’s it is time to go. We don’t know when other than it will most likely be sometime on the next few weeks. We don’t know any details other than they will help us figure it out as soon as everything is lined up. That is, Brady’s B cells have recovered indicating the new warrior cells will have a target to fight.

But a funny thing has happened while the leaves have begun to change here in Ohio. I also find myself changing. I have found a new confidence and hope in what is to come. A hope that is refreshing and brings much more peace of the journey ahead.

So no, we don’t have any real idea of when we are going or where we are staying, but hope transforms us as the leaves continue to guide us.

Tonight as I put Brady to bed we discussed a possible apartment in Philly only a few blocks away from CHOP. “I think that would be great,” he told me. “Then we could jog to and from the hospital. I would stay stronger and we wouldn’t have to worry about driving in all that crazy traffic.”

You want to stay close so you can jog to and from treatment.

The one that we are doing to save your life.

Yep, sounds about right.

Transformation through this season bringing renewed strength and hope.

Way to battle, Brady. Way to battle.

My prayer is that you too can find hope in the transformation upon you. Whether you are in a spring season of growth and learning, a summer season of work and exhaustion, a fall season of leading and guiding, or a winter season of love and rest, I pray that you walk through your season seeking hope and peace and determined to not leave the season the same way you entered it.

May you be far stronger and wiser, and full of exponentially more compassion and love, than ever before.

Here is to finding the beauty in every season and the transformation that comes with it.

Shields up.

Swords out.

Living a transformed life,

Kristin

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

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