I knew the day would return when I would need to find a boost of courage and hope and today was the day.

What I found tucked inside that jar today was just the medicine I needed.

Lindsay’s career with Wounded Warrior Project began during her internship her final semester of college. She absolutely loved her time there and shared with me that if would be her dream job when she entered the job market. She loved serving with the warriors and her fellow teammates during that time. And apparently, they saw her value and offered her a full time position shortly after she graduated. She was thrilled to be back on the team handling communications.

Several years later she reached out to her team when she learned of my diagnosis of pancreas cancer. One of her bosses had recently lost his own mother to the disease and she immediately turned to him to share her fears. This boss now family friend shared that he held Lindsay in his arms as she told him the news. You see, everyone who works at WWP belongs to the family. He calmed her fears and assured her he was walking beside her thru all of this. (For that I am eternally grateful.)

Today I opened and read each and every note. Some were to Lindsay, some were to me. But all were heartfelt messages from deep within their hearts.

I was so moved and happy I had waited to reveal what was awaiting inside that big purple jar.

There was even a message from The Cookie Monster…

One was from the internet entitled “What Cancer Cannot Do” Cancer is so limited…
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot kill friendship
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit.

But, the best message of all was from the entire WWP family..

The post The big purple jar first appeared on Zjudes blog.

WWP Director, Adam Silva stopped by our hospital room a few days post surgery to tell us WWP is showing it’s support by wearing their purple shirts each Friday. They also sent flowers and had a special bracelet made for me with charms for PC, WWP and Hope. Lindsay’s Marketing Team filled a clear jug with pieces of purple and silver paper with prayers and wishes to us as we endure this trial. We love our WWP family.

In October, 2013 I attended a life-changing retreat at our Church…Our Lady Star of the Sea. This weekend is called “Christ Renews His Parish” CHRP for short. We quickly formed a strong bond with the attendees and the sisters who put on the weekend. When they heard about my diagnosis they gathered the day of my surgery after morning mass to pray the rosary. It is wonderful to have a church family.

My Bible Study group organized a prayer vigil of about 30 girls. They all came together to pray the morning of my surgery. Some of my Bible Study girls have been meeting for over 15 years. I am thankful for each one of them. We pray each other up through every trial and blessing that befalls our sisters. They are Godly women who know the power of prayer. I know when we ask them to pray they are faithful. They are my “prayer warriors” and I love each and every one of them.

Many of my friends told me they lit a candle for me as they visited churches all over the world!

Many other friends, business associates and family prayed and asked their prayer warriors to pray as well. I know that God heard those prayers and answered them that day.

Family members dropped by the hospital.

My Grand-daughter Taylor graduated from Ponte Vedra High School while I was recovering in the hospital. I watched the graduation live from my daughter in laws cell phone. After the ceremony, Taylor came to the hospital to get her kiss from her Grandma! I was so happy to see her in her cap and gown and give her that big congratulatory hug and kiss.

Our family was not accustomed to being on the receiving end of this generosity of giving. Complete meals arrived each day. Through the help of my sweet daughter Lindsay, a “Caring Bridge” site was organized and meals were planned. It was amazing.

God showed me His love for me through each set of hands that prepared a meal, rubbed my feet with lotion, changed our bedsheets and ran the vacuum! All of these tasks done with love by my angel friends. Thank you all!

The post Jude’s Dudes and more…..God’s Love first appeared on Zjudes blog.

The morning sun was just peaking thru when we pulled out of our drive in Lou’s Ford F150 carrying an assortment of 5 bicycles that would hopefully lead us across the finish line. Matt was the only team member to have attempted such a feat. His confidence was encouraging as well as intimidating. I am 61.5 years old. What am I thinking? Every other member on our team is 35 years younger than me! Plus, Tom expressed his lack of confidence at dinner the night before when he asked me what was the farthest I had ridden recently…or EVER for that matter. By noon I would know what I was made of and so would everyone else.

When we pulled into the WWP HQ parking lot it was filled with about 250 bikers plus Jacksonville Police officers who

would escort us along our route. A color guard was assembled and the opening ceremony was under way. The Chief Development Director, Steve Nardizzi started things off and turned the mic over to Dan Nevins, a wounded warrior and Executive VP of Events who told his story of how the WWP backpack he received at Walter Reed after losing one leg and learning he would probably lose the second helped to encourage him more than anything else that day. What an incredible organization this is. I was proud to be there and excited about giving this my all.

The color guard marched, we stood and sang the National Anthem and before I could retreat Team GTL was crossing the bottlenecked starting line to begin our journey. It was very exciting to see the streets lined with flag waving supporters young and old cheering us on.

The wounded warriors hand pedal on adaptive bicycles in a group in the lead. Lindsay had told us not to pass them as a sign of respect and more importantly, to stay out of their path. Once these soldiers get going it takes a lot to slow and start back up. So, it is best to steer clear.

The route took us through town about 10 miles and over a bridge toward a shady residential area just bordering the St. Johns River. The tree covered streets and the beautifully landscaped yards made the ride a pleasure rather than a challenge. I found myself easing into a steady pace and happy to be keeping up with our team. We laughed and joked along the way and continued to come upon pockets of supporters including baby strollers with small flags and even dogs with bandanas and tee shirts all supporting the soldiers.

We averaged 12 miles per hour and looped back to the finish line three hours later at noon. I had done it with only one little break along the way. The rest of the team also finished. Matt could only restrain himself and stay with us for about two-thirds of the ride. Finally he unleashed his borrowed street bike and sped out of our sight. Brad was a hoot, just being Brad throughout the ride, speeding up then lagging back, but finishing just ahead of me. Lindsay finished just behind me and deserves a medal for encouraging Louis and completing the ride on her rusty old “Specialized” bike that had two nearly barren tires and only a couple of working gears. Louis was able to finish with his knee throbbing the last ten miles, but providing us with many laughs and great music from his ipod with speakers.

It was a beautiful day. Not only did Team GLT finish Soldier Ride Jacksonville 2011, we collected $800 in donations supporting the ride and we proved to ourselves we could accomplish anything if we just believe.

The post Some days I just surprise myself! first appeared on Zjudes blog.