Praying for Vision

There's something incredible about mothers. They have this insatiable desire to be selfless, giving, and abounding with love. Even though I'm happily married and adult-ish (this notion has been heavily debated between JD and me due to my urges of jumping on the bed and still watching cartoon movies), I immediately become a puddle of helplessness when my mom is around. Seriously, if she offered to cut the food on my plate, I'd easily oblige.

As I've mentioned on my blog before, my mother battled brain cancer and eye cancer while I was in college and law school and while she's technically in remission, her health is extraordinarily fragile. She has a rare autoimmune disease called Relapsing Polychondritis that pretty much attacks the cartilage portions of her body (ears, nose, parts of her eyes, etc) and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Watching her suffer for so long--it's been a six-year battle--has taken a toll on my family, but it's also caused us to rally together in my mom's time of need. At while it may not seem like much, our dinner arguments have been stymied to brief squabbles over who drank the last of the Perrier and we try not to make fun of each other as much. Ahem, we try anyway.

Through her ordeal, my mom has remained optimistic and a pillar of strength. Sometimes when I see her struggle, I begin to cry. Instead of comforting her in her time of greatest need, she's the one soliciting words of faith and hope. She's truly amazing.

Last night, while sitting in the wooden bleachers of a high school gymnasium, my family cheered on my brother during his basketball game. When the team took a time-out, she leaned over to me and said she saw my recent engagement session on my blog (besides JD, my mother is my biggest fan) and said she was praying for me. Uh, thanks?, I replied to her statement unsure if she thought my work was so unbearable only divine assistance could improve my work. No, Jasmine, I've been praying that God would give you the type of eye you desire...that your vision and your photography can be equal to each other, my mother said.

I stifled a sob and thanked her. Then the buzzer rang and the teams resumed playing.

My mother, who almost lost her eyesight to cancer and still struggles to keep it, is praying for MY eyes. I was emotionally choked by the irony. My mother is selfless, giving and abounding with love. I don't ever truly know if my vision and my photography will every truly align, but knowing that she's sacrificially praying on my behalf is more than I could ever ask.

**This is actually a picture of my twin sister and my mom...I couldn't find a recent picture of me and my mom, so I just a picture of someone who looks like me and my mom. Ahhh, the perks of having a twin! :)