God Mirror Girl

God Mirror Girl

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Purple Mirrors

If you're new to my blog, please take a second to read my first few posts...the whole God Mirror may concept may become clearer.  (Pun intended)
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Whoa, God.

I. HEAR. YOU! 

You are in charge and have the perfect plan!  And even if it's not our plan, you have wonderful ways of revealing it that can unite an entire community!

Anybody who is Facebook friends with me knows what I'm talking about...

God showed me a totally new mirror in 2013.  The Crane Family.  Sarah Crane is a wonderful 15-year-old girl whose love and faith united people from all over the globe.  She was diagnosed with Stage Four colon cancer in July 2013. 

What?!?  15 with Stage 4 colon cancer!?!?  Yup.  That's what I said.  She was one of (if not) the youngest people in America to have this diagnosis.

Did she let it get her down?  Did she let it define her life here on Earth?  No way, Jose!  Sarah FOUGHT with every ounce of energy she had!  And with a SMILE on her face!  Not only her, but her family also fought alongside her.   Sarah had been known to say that others had it worse than her.  I'd say that's wisdom beyond her years...or GODLY wisdom!

Some may say that Sarah's God Mirror was broken...if it was telling her to keep smiling and fighting and to not let it get her down because others had it worse than she did.  I may have been one of those people...*she wrote ashamedly*  I'd say cancer really IS a big deal! Ummm...Yeah!  It sucks!

What we have learned is that Sarah's mirror was probably clearer than any of ours!  Maybe she couldn't see the entire path ahead of her, but she could see the Pathfinder and had her trust in him!

Sarah's path was one of unity.  It all started out as a way to raise a little money and get shirts for friends who wanted to support the family.  It was there that SARAHSTRONG was born.  Big sis and a family friend said, "Wouldn't it be great if we could sell like 100!?"  Well, 9,000+ shirts (hoodies, long-sleeved- and t-shirts, and other items) later, I'd say it was PHENOMENAL.

SARAHSTRONG began to grow little-by-little and I said "Hey, let's start a facebook group so you don't have to keep repeating everything.  You can update once and everyone can read.  This idea that was set out to share with family and friends grew, blossomed, and EXPLODED into a group of more than 11,000.  This group includes photos of many celebrities (Tom Cruise, Cee Lo Green, Bon Jovi, etc) holding a SARAHSTRONG shirt.  We shared her story and asked for prayer everywhere we went.   Sarahstrong is a group that is still active long after she lost (or some might say won) her battle with this hideous disease. (www.facebook.com/groups/sarahstrong)

Sarah followed her Pathfinder Home on December 7, 2013.  She was healed by the Ultimate Physician.  The SARAHSTRONG community not only rallied around the family, it continued to grow!

This wonderful family succeeded in turning an entire community purple (because it was Sarah's favorite color) in just a few short months.  It was unity and healing that Elkhart had been missing for quite some time!  And the joy of it all is that Elkhart is still SARAHSTRONG, and so is Sarah's family.  The SARAHSTRONG foundation will launch in mid 2014 with the purpose of paying-it-forward to other families in need and donating to childhood cancer research.  There's even a 5K in March!  www.sarahstrong.org if you're interested!  You can run it in your own hometown or in Elkhart with an amazing community! 

This young lady who, out of nowhere, learned of this miserable disease did not back down.  She looked it right in the eye and vowed to beat it (I believe more than a few of us said 'kick its ass').  I believe she did beat it, just not in the way we had all hoped.  She is now healed and well and kickin' it with Jesus.  I believe that's an ultimate ending we all hope for.

We saw God in this beautiful young lady with a beautiful heart and soul.  I think she was our Purple God Mirror.  I pray that we all approach life and struggles with the same strength and resolve as Sarah.  Rest in Peace, Sarah.  Whether we knew you well, met you, or just heard your story, you've changed us all.  I thank God for sharing us with her for 15 short years and I thank her family for letting us all tag along for the journey.  I hope you never stop hearing stories of how Sarah has affected people positively.

Last, but not least, in Sarah's honor and memory, PAY IT FORWARD.  It can be big or small, anonymous or not...but give to one another as Sarah always wanted to make others happy.

I shall bring all of my major challenges to my Purple Mirror from now on!


This logo (minus the wings and wording underneath) is what we all wear when we're feeling #SARAHSTRONG!



1 comment:

  1. Beautifully put my dear, I was in tears by the 2nd sentence. Sarah was truly amazing and an inspiration to us all. Heaven received an extra burst of light that day when God welcomed her home, and while we are still here on earth, she continues to live thru us because we are all SARAHSTRONG!

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