I’m here at North Hills Club with my little posse, enjoying some pool time on this glorious 4th of July.

The kids and I miss Mommy, who needed to hang back and double down on rest while the ninja medicine does its thing.  It’s one of the ways in which the summer feels different; normally she’s here splashing and playing and applying sunscreen.

The miss and ever-lurking sadness caused by her thief had put me in a somewhat brooding mood of late. There’s a brilliant book written by Dr. Seuss that was published posthumously in 1996 called My Many Colored Days.  I enjoy pulling it out periodically for bedtime reading.

Moods and feelings are vividly depicted as individual colors that span the range of human emotion. My point in sharing isn’t so much to slide in a book recommendation (though you should buy it; the illustrations are marvelous) as it is to say – in an admittedly long-winded fashion – that I’ve felt “purple” the last several days.

In keeping with my mood, I had begun a blog post that was focused on some of the hidden  sorrows that shove their way into your heart when your spouse is fighting cancer.

Then, at what I can only call the Lord’s prompting, I recalled the hope-giving, gospel-induced, heart-changing benefits of giving thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). It doesn’t erase sadness or put some sort of Christian permasmile on our faces (as if that were the mark of a true Christian…Jesus is called the Man of Sorrows). Rather, it reminds you Who you belong to, how He loves you, and all of the ways in which He gives good gifts to His children, even in the midst of brokenness and suffering.

My heart pivoted.  Boy is my Heavenly Father good to the Fletchers. I started furiously jotting down things I was thankful for on a ketchup-stained napkin…

• North Hills Club, a happy place for my children.
• Grilled cheese sandwiches and French fries.
• Sunshine.
• Our school. Anne has remarked time and again how thankful she is for the ways in which our school community has cared for us.
• Manning Pruden. She loves and serves our family – both on the business and personal front – BIG.
• Inside Out. A great summer movie. It delighted my kids.
• Laura Allen and Erin Bruns, our nannies. Laura just took off for a year-long mission trip to Costa Rica, and we have Erin for the summer before she goes back to teaching. Both know our children so well and love them specifically, deeply.
• The flexibility my work allows. Working for yourself has perks, like being able to take off an entire Thursday afternoon to go to Frankie’s Fun Parks for Luke’s 8th Birthday.
• My mom and dad, who have been sweet encouragers to Anne. Mom (“Mimi” to Jack, Luke & Sarah), because she is a hard-wired encourager, has been through it herself, and gets it. Dad (“PopPop”), because this is part of his chosen field of medicine, and he’s a durn good Doc.
• The extraordinary medical system in the Triangle. We have exceptional doctors and a network of resources at our fingertips that I pray we never take for granted.
• Artificial turf. 🙂 It’s the bomb people.
• Meals. I can’t think of a single greater blessing we experience on a daily basis than the food you bring to our doorstep each evening. Tangible reminder of God’s provision.
• Cute caps.  A few of you have actually hand-made caps for her little bald noggin. Anne can rock the skull-cap like none other.
• Our church. Christ the King isn’t a wealthy church, but it’s a rich church. Rich in living out the good news that in Christ we are redeemed sinners with an inheritance that will never fade thanks to what Jesus did on the cross. Rich in mercy. Rich in fellowship. Rich in the gospel of grace.
• Suzanne Matthews, Anne’s mom. She’s practically lived with us since the middle of May, faithfully caring not just for Anne but for our family. If I could clone Suzanne, I would be a wealthy man. And then would buy her an island or something.
• All-o-y’all who are praying. Thank you for your faithfulness.

You know what?  Bright blue is my new color. 

Flapping my wings,

Van