To Everley, with love.

The past couple of days have been beautiful outside. As intended, I took the weekend to breathe, pray and take care of myself. I saw a great movie Limitless (it will blow your mind), went to the piano bar Big Bang with my roommates and enjoyed music, shopped some great sales and had such an incredible night at church with my small group. I have finally kicked the relentless cold that plagued me for weeks just as the sun kicked the rain out of the sky - perfect timing. I slept in, ate healthy, and even cried which is a rarity for this emotional fortress who didn't even cry at the movie The Notebook (I know... there is something wrong with me. You can pick up your jaw now).

It would have been the perfect weekend of restoration, with the exception of the worry in my heart for baby Everley Lauren - my coworker Ginny's sweet baby girl who was prematurely born via C-Section Friday morning at only 34 weeks. The baby had an extremely rare baseball-sized tumor in her abdomen which caused premature labor and propelled the Burton family into a waiting game of anticipation of their child's projected 8-hour long surgery to attempt to remove the tumor (scheduled for this morning). They called in a team of specialists but the family had no concrete answers with a case so rare. Ginny, Sloan and their family, all weekend long, had to just wait and see.

A waiting game of any kind is never like scrabble or Yahtzee. You don't get to roll some dice, say "Uno" or shout "Bop It." The stakes are high and the emotions are even higher. You simply sit. And wait. Pray. Cry. Push away doubt. Cling onto hope. And pray some more. There really are no winners in a waiting game. Instead, you feel as though you are suspended in mid-air somewhere between the best and worst case scenario. And like peanut butter and jelly, doubt is a waiting game's best friend. You will never find them apart. So unlike the delicious pairing of my two favorite spreads or a round of Twister, I do not care for waiting games or doubt. I simply do not want to play.

I am an instant gratification kind-of-girl. I need answers. I like closure. I seek clarity, and rarely settle for less. Waiting does not fit into any of these categories which merely points out the lack of faith I often have - especially at times when I need it the most - times when you hope for a miracle but feel it slipping through your hands all at the same time. I am sure this is exactly how the Burton family felt this past weekend as they were forced to play the most unimaginable waiting game of all. Their strength is absolutely inspiring. I am not sure I could have held it together as well as they have. I saw Ginny last night - the eve of the most frightening day of her life - and she was taking care of her two little girls, mustering a smile, and as faithful as ever. Her and Sloan will forever be an inspiration to me.

Ginny and Sloan as they found out Everley was going to be okay.

I am so happy to report that Everley's surgery went remarkably well and she is stable with the entire tumor removed - basically the absolute best case scenario we could have asked God for. The surgery began this morning and took half the time they thought it would! It turns out the tumor was covering the entire left kidney, with the right functioning perfectly, so they removed the left kidney, and a little piece of the pancreas and they were able to get the entire tumor removed. We got the call around 2pm at the office and the relief was like running into the ocean on a hot summer day. I was overjoyed. And with a happy outcome such as this, I truly hope this story makes it into an episode of Grey's Anatomy or at least a Lifetime movie ;). And if it does, I have a request: I would like my two-minute cameo during which I declare to the entire office that Everley is going to be okay with tears streaming down my face (in the middle of the work day...) to be played by Anne Hathaway :) (something tells me she can handle this kind of epic emotion).

Stories like this remind us all of how sweet and precious life is. I cannot stress enough how much this little girl has taught me already. Hoping and praying for her has strengthened my relationship with God, my parents, my small group and reinstilled the importance of living in the moment and not taking the people you love or the life you are given for granted - not for a second.

That's me. And my birdie friend.

In this moment, I sit on my porch, watch the white flowers on the newly bloomed trees sway in the breeze and listen to the birds tweet and I feel nothing but joy. I literally feel like I am in the Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah music video because I am just so happy. Not even the pesty bee circling the porch or the sound of rush hour traffic from the nearby highway can take away my peace. This peace is refreshing. This peace is a sigh of relief. This is the peace that comes from an answered prayer. 

Thank you for those who knew and prayed for the Burton family and for being a support system for me in turn. Never forget the power of prayer and how amazing God can be. I felt so fortunate to have the people in my life supporting the Burton family and praying for them. And once I wrap my arms around that sweet little girl, I promise to tell her how many best friends she already has and what a miracle she is. I will tell her what incredible parents she has and how much we all couldn't wait to meet her. I will tell her how much God loves her.

And of course, I will thank her for finding the strength to stick around.