But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God. Psalm 22:9-10 NKJV

Unlike my previous posts, this one is not about food but about the person who fed me for many years, my mother.

About two weeks ago, I received some serious news. After a long day at work on a Saturday night, my mother called me to let me know she’s on her way to the emergency room. I didn’t think it’d be anything to be concerned about because she’s a strong and healthy woman. I look at her and I still see her in her 30’s, raising me and protecting me from evil. The next day, I had a conversation on the phone with my father. In tears, he informed me that my mother might have pelvic cancer. My mom? Cancer?

I’m ashamed of thinking this, but immediately I thought how lucky my dad was last year when a tumor in his lungs turned out to be benign. I wondered if someone were to have cancer, it would be him, not my mom! I quickly erased these thoughts and replaced them with how faithful God has been to bless my family. It’s not luck, but we were truly blessed to have my father back after his cancer scare.

The good news is my mom feels great! She’s not experiencing any symptoms and doctors told her nothing’s spread; although, they still insist she’s going to have to undergo chemo because they think she has cancer. She will have her surgery this coming Tuesday, the day before my 2nd wedding anniversary. I couldn’t help but stare at the picture above and think of one word, her legacy. I’m her legacy.

I wouldn’t have a testimony if it wasn’t for her. You see, it’s not the first time that doctors misinform her. She saved me from the doctors that advised her to abort me while I was in her womb. For the past year, when life seemed hopeless and without purpose, Psalm 22:9-10 reminded me that whatever I was feeling was a lie.

This is not the first time she’s been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. Right before I was conceived, she suffered from Stevens-Johnsons Syndrome and it almost killed her. After being miraculously cured, she became pregnant with me. What was supposed to bring her joy transformed into despondency because of what doctors told her. She still didn’t listen to them despite their warnings, she chose to trust God. Even when she didn’t have a relationship with Him, she knew everything was going to be ok with my birth. She decided to keep me.

After staring at my grandmother’s dead body the day she passed away, I kept thinking how life is only a fleeting process we all must go through. Why go through so many misunderstandings, fights, disagreements with people that we love, or even with people that we dislike. Life can seem meaningless at times, but then there are those moments such as one’s wedding or a miraculous healing that we can find purpose again. When I found out about my college mentor’s death, all I kept thinking was “but he was so young, he was only 33.” But, oh the legacy he left behind!

Last night, Kenny and I joined an engaged couple from work to watch Steve Jobs’ biopic, Jobs. With negative reviews, we were expecting it to be a major failure. I’m not going to lie, Ashton Kutcher’s speech at the Teen Choice Awards made us wanna watch this. Oddly enough, the word legacy came through this film brilliantly. Steve Jobs was an intellectual and a businessman. He had it all… or so he thought. He lacked humility, compassion, and empathy for others. He started his business with the enthusiasm of connecting people with his product; but in retrospect, he only cared about the product. In an interview before he passed away, Jobs admitted that the best thing that happened to him was getting fired from his company. When he regained power of Apple Inc, great successes happened but he once admitted that the reason he tasted victory was because he once failed.

Many are now writing about Ashton Kutcher’s speech as being honest but necessary in Hollywood; hence it went viral! I agree. He talked about true victory: opportunity, being sexy, and building life. He first apologized for deceiving people into thinking that his first name was Ashton, it’s actually Chris. Then Ashton talked about Chris. Chris worked hard in every job he ever had, whether it was a dishwasher in a restaurant or the actor he later became in life. He never quit a job unless a new opportunity came along. Then he talked about being sexy and the crowd went wild as they chanted: “take off your shirt, Ashton.” He didn’t. Instead, he confessed what he found sexy wasn’t what the industry finds sexy, but being smart is sexy to him. Not only being smart, but also being kind, compassionate, honest, etc. Lastly, he talked about building one’s life around others. Everything else is crap to him! And all I said was “WOW.” We must realize how we’re all works in progress and when we expect people to extend grace to us, we must also practice that same grace we preach.

My mother has gone through joys and heartbreaks in life, but one thing she is constantly reminding me of is to trust God above anything or anyone, and love people even when they are not lovable. She’s been betrayed, but that never stopped her from forgiving and praying for those who betrayed her. She’s my legacy just as I am hers, I want to be just like her as I grow older. Someday when I have kids, I hope to be that example she’s set in my life. I love you mom.