honored to work with soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and had the privilege of going on two mission trips to Baumholder Germany to work with soldiers and their families as well as visiting the wounded at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. In addition to soldiers and their families, I have also had the privilege of helping those recovering from the trauma of abuse and other crimes. My clients teach me so much as I walk through the journey of healing with them and bear witness to what they have endured.
I feel very blessed to have an amazing family and friends. I have two brothers, Cletus is my older brother and Gary my younger brother. Yes, I am a middle child, but the only girl and a Daddy's girl for sure. My parents are Mac and Levonne McGee. I have amazing nieces and nephews and one very handsome great nephew. I have cousins who are like my sisters and cousins in law who are more like my brothers. They are all my cheerleaders, guardians, my anchors, and reality checkers among many other roles they fill in my life. My friends have been with me through thick and thin and come through more like family and that is what I consider them to be. Not a day goes by when I do not thank God for the people in my life and how they hold me up, watch my back, pull me through tough times and rejoice with me as well on this journey.
Outside my work I enjoy doing a number of things. I am a freelance author with two books published, a chapter in a book just released this fall all addressing treating traumatized children and teens. I also have written articles for magazines. Right now I'm working on two book ideas, one about dealing with cancer. I love photography, painting (pictures not walls), spending time with family and friends, traveling (my next big trip is Greece), being outside enjoying nature, particularly the beach, and mission trips (hopefully going to Haiti next) as well as so many other things.
I love my church and my church family as well. I attend First Baptist Church (FBC) on "historic downtown Perry Street" in Montgomery Alabama. I have been attending since I was a baby and accepted Christ at age seven. Until my diagnosis I had taught two year olds in Sunday School with the amazing Ron Glover for about 23-25 years. We lost count on exactly how long we have taught together because we have been doing it so long. I hope to return to that when I am well and my immune system is better. My job is art projects and I love watching the children create something and see the amazement of the parents when they see what their child has created.
Through this battle my church family has been priceless. Prayers, cards and letters, meals, coming to treatments with me, books, support for my family, gifts, many hugs, and countless words of encouragement have helped us all through this time. Connecting with and staying connected to my church family has provided support beyond what words can express. My pastor, Jay Wolf, always says we need Jesus and we need each other. That is so true. In my opinion, church is not about the building, a particular doctrine or being perfect or any of those stumbling blocks that man seems to create when it comes to faith. It is about relationships with others and with God. My church family has been amazing. Mr. McCrary from FBC uses the term holding the rope to encourage us to remember in prayer all the mission teams that go out from our church. My church family has and continues to hold the rope for me and my family.
I also love animals. Since I was a small child animals have held a very special place in my heart. Just ask my brother Cletus who hunts why he'd never take me in the woods with him. (I'd be yelling run wildlife run!) I cannot stand it when children or animals are mistreated. I contribute to the Montgomery Humane Society and I am the proud "mom" to a rescue named Shadow. He is a cat that thinks he is a dog. He appeared in my back yard one day in the woods behind my house. I never intended to adopt a cat. I'm pretty much a dog person, or at least I was. It took months before Shadow would come near me. It was obvious that he had not only been abandoned but abused by some human because he was very afraid of people. He ended up injured pretty severely likely from foxes that live in the woods behind my house. Being injured and in need of help seemed to over ride his fear of me. After excellent care from my vet he healed and has had a loving home for almost four years. He is incredibly sweet and very funny even playing hide and go seek though he hasn't figured out if he hides in the guest bathroom sink I can still see him. He is unlike any at I have ever heard of. He follows directions just like my dog Barkley would. Last year Shadow was the 1st runner up in the Humane Shelter's Pet Pals contest and raised quite a bit of money for the shelter. I think God brought him into my life and he has been such a comfort in this struggle. He is a great snuggler and loves to be loved on, but when I do not feel well he makes a special effort to comfort me and be more snuggly.
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| Shadow in one of his favorite spots. |
Hopefully people would say I'm an optimist with a "the glass is always half full" attitude. Years ago I gave my nephew Stephen a magnetic plague which reads "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity," Albert Einstein. That's how I try to see life on most days anyway. Since this battle began my nephew sent that magnet back to me to inspire me as it has him over the years. When I'm well I will be sending it back to him. For now it is on my refrigerator to remind me of the opportunities that are all around me every day and the love of my nephew. There is not a day that goes by that I do not realize I am blessed in so many amazing ways. God has been faithful even during the trying times in life.
I love writing real cards and letters to people because it seems to have become a lost art. I love buying cards and stationary to use. I keep cards and letters people send to me and I've done that since I was a child. I have boxes of letters and cards from as far back as kindergarten. It goes back to my love of getting mail. Little children don't get much mail but I always loved it when I did. Whether a letter from my cousin Kathy who lived far away from us when we were kids to a birthday card from my Grandma, mail was exciting. It still is to be honest. Except when it's just bills :-) but since my diagnosis my mailbox typically has a precious note from a caring friend and I love it. Try your hand at the art of writing cards and notes to people you love. You may never know how much it means, but it does and notes are great to go back through and read again.
I also love doing little things to be a blessing to someone else. It's especially fun if I can do something without anyone knowing I did it. It is truly so simple to be a blessing to others through such little things. Think about how you can be a blessing.
I enjoy all types of writing from journals to stories. I've been writing since I was a child writing my first poetry. It has helped me so much over the years. When I started feeling more like myself after the surgery, diagnosis and chemotherapy started, I thought about how I could combine my love of writing which could help me and desire to help people. My ultimate goal is to write a book because I have not really found many that speak to me in all this. Ones that have are in the inspiration section of this blog. In the mean time I thought of a blog. It is a way to express things I want or need to and hopefully help someone else even if just a little bit. It will also become the framework for my book. We will still keep the CaringBridge site going. All the notes from people on there are so encouraging to me. The blog is just to have a place to put more personal, maybe more detailed things going on during this battle and to begin to structure a future book I hope.
Basically I am just pleased you have chosen to check out my blog. Sign up for the email alerts when there is a new post on the home page. If you know anyone who might benefit from this blog please pass it along to them. You will learn more about me as I post blog entries and share with you along this journey.
Sharon McGee
