Tenacity

"Tenacity is more than endurance, it is endurance combined with the absolute certainty that what we are looking for is going to transpire. Tenacity is more than just hanging on, which may be but the weakness of being too afraid to fall off. Tenacity is the supreme effot of a man refusing to believe that his hero is going to be conquered, . . . Remain spirtually tenacious."
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, February 22

After reading this quote that was in my Bible Study for today, I have decided that "tenacious" is my new favorite word for describing Tammy! Her response to lung disease from the very beginning has born the proof of her tenacity. She was doing much more than "hangin' in there," she has looked forward with confidence. There has seldom been any "ifs" in her conversations, alway she says "when." She is convinced that God is with her and He is going to finish whatever it was that He started in her. And, it is great to know that her confidence has also been supported now by proof.

There a some of you that she has met because of the first transplant. There are some of you who have watched her live life, and know these things are true. There are those of you who are encouraged through your own struggles because Tammy has been going through so much and hasn't stopped moving forward. There are those of you who knew Tammy before and realize that at times, when she is well, that you can't even tell a difference because she still laughs as easy, still jokes as much, and keeps pushing herself even physically. There are some of you who have never even met her, but know someone who has, and this story of God's love for her, this story of His power transforming her life and restoring her health, has become an encouragement to you.

You see, even while she is lying in the bed, dependent on someone to read her lips for communication, even with a collapsed lung (no new word today on that), God is still fulfilling His purpose in her life. It is her confidence that God is already victorious in her life. She doesn't preach it. She doesn't drag it in to every conversation, though she is not shy about it. What she does do - loudly, clearly, and pointedly - is LIVE it.