Counting Every Blessing - SOLD

6" x 8"

I have always loved the sun.  I loved it when I was 19 years old and my friends and I laid out at the lake soaked in baby oil, I loved it in my 20's and 30's when we lived on the lake and were out in the boat with our kids all day.  I even loved tanning beds when I worked in my 40's and did not have as much time to work on my tan.  Well, over the years I have had several skin cancers that have had to be removed, squamous and basal cell.  Three years ago I had to have Mohs surgery ( a precise surgical technique used where thin layer of cancer containing skin are progressively removed and examined until only cancer-free tissue remains.)  Two weeks ago I had my yearly dermatology visit and skin check and I had 4 biopsies.  Two came back bad.....wow....melanoma.  That is a little more serious.  According to the Melanoma Research Foundation, melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and the most common form of cancer in the U.S.  If not caught early, it can metastasize to other parts of the body.  I had a wonderful surgeon, Dr. Chris Harmon of the  Surgical Dermatology Group of Birmingham and he assured me that he got clean margins and the cancer was caught very early but I need to be reassessed every 3 months.  
I have a biopsy healing on my left arm, a 2" inch incision on my right arm from one removal,  a 2" incision with stitches above my right clavicle that provided a skin graft for my lower shin.  My lower leg is still dressed so I am unsure what it looks like but it has been very painful.  I started to stay quiet about this but I just want to encourage SUNSCREEN and please see a dermatologist if you have any question regarding any skin discolorations or changing moles, even if you call them freckles.  

I have been listening to Rend Collective today and love the son "Counting Every Blessing" and I feel this so strongly.

I am counting every blessing, counting every blessing
Letting go and trusting when I cannot see
I am counting every  blessing, counting every blessing
Surely every season you are good to me