Thank You to My NICU Friends

Today I learned that wonderful things can happen even when you are walking through a desert. So much so, that you can even forget about the desert for a time.

This morning I was excited to be able to go into the hospital to work. It had been two weeks since the last chemo treatment and I was feeling well. I love my profession and find such a sense of fulfillment in being "God's Hands" as I care for His tiny babies and their families.
As I began to take report from the night shift nurse, I heard someone call my name. I turned around and I saw about 20 of my co-workers from both night shift and day shift standing there. When I walked over, Ann, our manager presented me with the most touching gift I have ever received.
It was a hand made quilt, nearly the size of a full sized bed. The quilt was made up of many, many squares. Each square was hand written with a different inscription and signed by my friends in the NICU. Each saying was different, but they all had one common thread that said "We Love you, We care about you and We are praying for you." The back of the quilt was made of a warm, soft fleece (perfect for the cold chemotherapy sessions) with a heart in the center also filled with hand written squares. The center of the quilt was made up of pink squares and in the center square was my favorite scripture verse "Lamentations 3:23".
What a wonderful gift!! I was so humbled I couldn't speak. The hours of time spent in stitching it together, the incredibly kind words written by each of my friends touched my heart. I kept thinking about how God just keeps blessing me so abundantly with good things. Not only does He bless me with a profession that I love but He gives me people to work with whom I can truly call my friends.
I wanted to share an e-mail I received just tonight. It is an example of just one of the many, many cards and e-mails I have received from my NICU friends:
"Dear Roxanne, If the sheer will, thoughts and prayers can help to cure you, then you've got it all "sewn up." They say you are judged by the company you keep.....wrap yourself in that company. The NICU family is remarkable. we love you and miss your "company".
XOXO, Karla.

Yes, God sometimes asks us to journey through a desert. But NEVER does He leave us to journey alone. He gives us good friends. He provides us with all that we need to make the journey. And some days life will be so good you forget you are even in the desert.