Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

Brandy's energy never waned as she shared the story of what happened. The girl approached Brandy and
told her she'd been praying for her every day since she'd gotten sick. But that afternoon, the teammate felt
sure God wanted her to bring Brandy a Bible and share the truth of Jesus with her.
It doesn't matter so much whether you run again or even if
you get better,' she told me. `But if you miss out on knowing
Jesus... that'll be a real tragedy."'
Brandy took the girl's visit as the sign she'd prayed for. "She
told me about Jesus and placing my faith in Him. She said if I
trusted Him, I'd go to heaven one day"
"And you agreed?" Jade squirmed in her seat, her heart bursting
with joy. She took Brandy's hands in her own and squeezed
them.
"Yes! I'd be crazy not to. All of a sudden it was like I got it.
This Jesus you always talked about, the one my teammate loved,
He was not only real, but He loved me. I didn't want to wait
another minute to accept that love and start loving Him back."
"Oh, Brandy, that's wonderful." Jade leaned over and hugged the girl close. "You'll never be sorry. And
your health..." Jade stood and checked the chart near Brandy's door. "You look so much better."
A laugh bubbled up from Brandy's throat, and she clasped her
hands. "Doctor says if my counts stay good for another week I can
go home. I'm in remission, Jade. They thought I was done for, and
now I'm in remission. Isn't that, like ...so God?"
Jade fired a grin at Brandy "Yes, it's definitely, like, so God!"
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H A L F W A Y T O F 0 R E V E R
The file told the story. Jade read it and shook her head. The rl was right; her blood counts had been
excellent for the past
e weeks. She returned to Brandy's side, hoping she would
:`lever find out about the brain cancer.
The expression on Brandy's face changed. "Now tell me why
4Oou took off work so early. Don't most people wait until the baby's
,about to come?"
Jade's pulse quickened. Give me the words, God... please. "Yes." She searched her mind for something to
say. "But, uh, my morning sickness was worse than most." She lifted one shoulder. "I was
too tired to work."
The answer pacified Brandy, and the two of them talked for
another thirty minutes before jade told the girl good-bye. "I have
an ultrasound downstairs." She grinned at Brandy "In an hour I
should know if we're having a girl or a boy"
Brandy waved a finger at jade, her face masked in mock seriousness. "Don't forget, now If it's a girl, you
name her after me."
Her eyes sparkled. "Hey, and you can bring her to one of my track
meets next year!"
,we wouldn't miss it." Jade laughed. "Get some rest, Brandy. And if they spring you next week, don't
forget to stop by and
visit." Brandy grew quiet and she reached her hand toward jade
once more. "No matter what happens, jade, I'll never forget you." Sudden tears burned at jade's eyes and