#1,867 Great News + Tourism.

I haven’t mentioned a word about it to y’all, but I’ve been a nervous wreck the last couple weeks with the news that a dear friend was experiencing some curious optical issues, that as a breast cancer survivor, made her eye doctor nervous about the possibility of new cancer forming somewhere else and causing the issue. They called for an MRI (modern day torture), and she had to wait 3 whole. days… to find the results of what they told her “might be symptoms of a brain tumor.” Today she got the phone call that there are absolutely no tumors, no lesions, just an inflamed optic nerve they can treat easily with medicine. My heart poured open at the news from such relief. I just felt like cancer again couldn’t be possible, and had committed my head and my heart to that in prayers, but you just never know. And yesterday, Mrs. Ina, the amazing, warm, inspiring mama who leads our young adult Sunday school class, sent out a mass text telling us that after completing her last round of chemo a week ago, they did a CT scan… And the very rare stage 4 lymphoma they found all over her body in September has disappeared 100%. She is cancer free. Her doctors are calling it a miracle.

Today I’ve been walking on clouds. I know that people with incredible faith pray for healing and don’t get it. I know that praying for health is not the right prayer. I know that it doesn’t happen this way for a lot of people who are just as beloved and faithful. I don’t know why it happens that way. I know that life is frail and wonderful and difficult and inspiring and devastating but most of all—it’s a gift. And their lives, advice, faith, and love are gifts to so many people like me who are just plopping one foot in front of the other, figuring out life as I go with the guidance of women like them. I can’t tell y’all how thankful I am for all this news today. Nothing could overshadow it.

This is Lucy and me being happy about that:

In less important, but very good news—Ben and I were fortunate enough to have a meeting with Malcolm White, the director of tourism for the state of Mississippi who has been spearheading the creative economy initiative (read this—it’s awesome!) and is the point of contact for all things entrepreneurial and creative, and promoting everything that’s special about Mississippi. He has invited me to be keynote speaker alongside with him at a statewide creative economy event next month! How fun is that?! He’s going to be working with us on some other projects that are still developing, too.

Jeez, Louise.

So y’all don’t feel totally lost, here’s the deal.

There are 2 major events occuring that I just can’t elaborate on until they happen. Well, maybe more like 4 major events, but 3 of them are part of the same event. There aren’t like, a million things happening all at once as it probably seems with so much vague referencing I’ve been doing. By February 6, we can talk about one thing. By April at the latest, we can talk about the real big thing(s). None of those things are babies. #spoileralert

It’s gonna make a good blog post though, I promise. So hang in there with me.