We all know the saying "Beauty is only skin deep", or my husbands personal favorite, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". He told me this often during my I'm-so-fat-and-pregnant days. I usually rolled my eyes at him and told him to stop being cheesy but I'm beginning to think this is a rather good motto to live by.
Just last weekend we were invited to our dear friends Stephanie and Darren's wedding. Oh you know how it goes, you get all dolled up and you feel good and confidant and ready to have a good time with friends. As I took one last glance in the mirror I noticed the small red mark on my face that was a result of a mole my dermatologist removed a few days prior. Normally I would use some consealer to cover up my imperfections but in this case I would rather not put make up on this small crater in my face for fear that it might get infected. I reminded myself that at least I have my health and it could be a lot worse.
Just yesterday I got a call from the dermatologist. Turns out the spot on my cheek had strange cells in it. They are calling it Atypical Intraepidermal Melanocytic Proliferation. To explain better, if you think of melanoma as being on one end of a spectrum and a normal mole as being on the other end of that same spectrum, this mole I had removed would be placed somewhere in between. It has some unusual or atypical features within the melanocytes, which are the cells from which melanoma develops. So rather to be safe than sorry they are sending me to a specialist to have a bigger area of skin removed. This will then be tested and if the lab result say there are no more of these "strange cells" then I am in the clear. If there are, then I really don't know what the next step will be.
So, when I go in for this second procedure I will come out with stitches and swelling that will last for a week. I don't think make up is going to do the trick.
Every Thursday I enjoy a fun Zumba class instructed by my good friend Kelsey Mast. (Stick with me here, this does tie together.) At the end of class she offers some small pieces of paper with encouragement's and verses on them (kind of like fortune cookies) and you pick them randomly from a little basket. As I was cleaning off my dresser I came across the last note I got. It reads "There's no need to be perfect to inspire others. Let others be inspired by how you deal with your imperfections" .... WOW! I don't think its coincidence that I came across this today or that I saved it. I think God is trying to teach me something ~ that beauty IS skin deep and that I can be confidant because of who He made me to be on the inside and not what I look like on the out side. I am writing this now in hopes that in a week or two I will be inspired even though my face may look.... ummm..... different :)
Salena you are amazing and so encouraging!! i will be praying for good results!!!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that you're going through this. I'll be thinking about you and praying for you. Stay strong my friend!
ReplyDeleteMichelle