Happy Wednesday! Another day home from school due to the weather. It was a nice day to stay inside with a great pot of coffee, my dog Lamar and Matlock! When I read Carme's Guidepost blog about Casey's shirts I decided to share it with you. Enjoy the reading and take joy in the journey!

Carm Russell: The Faith Family T-Shirt

By 3 Guideposts.org Readers, February 9, 2011

This week I want to tell you about a T-shirt that we are dubbing the Faith Family T-Shirt.

This T-shirt was a gift from my best friend. It belonged to her son (our godson) Casey. She gave it to me as my special remembrance of Casey. You see, Casey passed away from soft tissue sarcoma more than two years ago. I had the privilege of helping care for him when he was undergoing treatment at MD Anderson in Houston. He wore this T-shirt frequently. Shortly after he passed was when I was diagnosed with breast cancer and I took this T-shirt with me into my own surgery. I also wore it afterwards. It made drain tubes easier to deal with because the arms were torn off. It had been put away until recently when we got it out again for my husband.

David wanted to take the T-shirt into his own surgery for kidney cancer. What makes this T-shirt so special? Well, first it represents the friendship that our two families have shared for almost 30 years. Second, it belonged to Casey. It brought him comfort, it brought me comfort, and it brought David comfort during times when we all needed some hope. Third, the words on the T-shirt are the most quoted scripture from the Bible and Casey's favorite: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."— John 3:16 The numbers of hope on the front and the words of hope on the back. As my husband successfully went through the removal of a kidney this past week those words on the T-shirt once again sustained us through a difficult time. They reminded us that God's love is always hopeful because of the gift of his Son.

Keeping God close, always present, was something that got me through my own cancer journey and I did not want to give up that spiritual practice. So I have made the effort ever since to keep God's love close whatever the circumstance. This past week it took the form a much beloved T-shirt.

—Carm Russell

Submitted by resolutions-blog on February 9, 2011 - 18:07.

From Casey's Mom (who was not sure how to post a comment):

My name is Gaylene. I am Casey's mom and Carme's best friend as she is mine. In our thirty year friendship we have been through several lifetimes. Between the four of us (two husbands, two wives) three of us are cancer survivors. And we have both lost children. She lost little Katherine when our girls were both 2 years old. I sang at Katherine's funeral. We lost Casey at the age of 24. At the celebration of life service for Casey, David and Carme sat by our sides. At this writing Bruce, my husband, is in San Antonio helping David through his healing and recovery. This friendship has stood the test of time through the days of darkness and light and joy and sorrow.

The bond that has forged this long time relationship is the love and faithfulness of God. We met and chartered a Sunday School class together for young married couples without children. Our friendship was founded in a house of faith and we have journeyed in faith ever since.

Carme shared about Casey's T-shirt. It was his favorite. The sleeves were cut out of all of his shirts because of the PICC line that was located on his arm throughout the many months of chemotherapy he went through. For some silly reason I saved all of the sleeves of those shirts. A friend of ours from church is a quilter. She crafted those cut off sleeves into a quilt that we sleep under each night. As I was searching online for a cancer awareness shirt with a green ribbon, the kidney cancer color, I found a T-shirt with a cross and in the center of the cross is a green ribbon. Underneath the cross are the words Faith and Family. It was perfect! We are not a family bound by blood type, but we are most certainly a family bound by the love and blood of Christ.

Take joy in the journey.

Gaylene Chrystie