Suzanne, Full of Grace

My friend Suzanne is one of the few people I know who exudes God's grace—if you look closely, you just might see a halo of light surrounding her. If you're a praying person, she needs your prayers at noon on Wednesday, March 9. She's about to undergo surgery again to remove more cancer from her body.

Suzanne has taught preschool for years. Though she's just a few years away from retirement age, she's childlike herself: buoyantly happy, confident that God will see her triumphantly through every problem, kind to everyone she meets. No matter what obstacles she encounters in life, she just knows she'll come out all right. The only person I've ever heard her say anything bad about is President George Bush.

She's been married to Tom, a serious, steady man, for many years. They have three grown children and a few grandchildren. They need her as much as all her friends need her.

Suzanne has always had a reputation as an incredibly fast healer. She's physically active, often getting in a few sled runs down the snowy hills of the local golf course before heading off to work. She's broken bones before, healing so fast that her doctors were amazed.

A few months ago, doctors found that Suzanne has ovarian cancer. Suzanne with cancer? Not possible. She's too healthy. But no, the diagnosis was correct. The doctors removed her ovaries and uterus, and cancerous tissues from her intestines. Then she began chemo. Through all that, she was cheerful and determined to pray herself back to complete health. Her hair fell out, but it grew back beautifully thick and curly. She looked good.

Then she began to lose weight. Always thin, she really didn't need to lose any more weight. She found it hard to eat because of the mouth sores caused by chemo.

And now she's back in the hospital, scheduled to undergo surgery once more. Please pray. The world can't afford to be without good people like Suzanne. Sadly, they're far too rare.