This is the foreword for the book that Mom Roan wanted to be written posthumously about her journey through cancer. Keep posted and you will find out when it is ready to be published... By: Kari Roan "When I found you, I found somebody who cares. When I found you, I found my most intimate prayer. When I found you, I found what every heart dreams of. When I found you, I found love." Bebe Winans, "I Found Love" It is a rare thing, their love. Noticeably few times in life do we find a love as fortuitous, as enduring, as breathtaking as Mom and Dad Roans'. Sickness, in all its horrifying attempts to strip away human dignity, fell hopeless in the face of their love. No amount of implacable weight loss, no amount of gut-wrenching nausea or vomiting, no amount of demeaning hair loss could alter the magnitude of their love. In fact, the strength of their devotedness grew from the ashes of this journey. As I sat on Mom's bed painting her nails or taking notes for this book, Dad would often come in and kiss her forehead gingerly. Or, he would hold her hand affectionately and give it an emotion-filled squeeze. I remember him, on more than one occasion, looking at her with a look that said so much, and I remember being utterly amazed. So few people will ever experience what it is to have someone look at them the way Dad looked at Mom, especially after forty years in relationship. And, the rarity of the experience is heightened because the depth of feeling in his eyes never faltered, despite the ravages wrought on her body by the cancer and chemotherapy. Mom began walking the path though cancer during my second year of coursework for my doctorate in Educational Leadership at Dallas Baptist University, and at the University, servant leadership is the primary tenet. I have a professor who explains the three different types of love according to his native Georgia's colloquialisms: if, but and anyhow love. Love that loves in an "if" or "but" fashion is conditional, but anyhow love, that's the stuff of which servant leadership is made. It's the matter that comprises the love we should have for those we lead as educational leaders. And it is the stuff that constitutes the love between Mom and Dad Roan. Mom's vision for her book was for it to be an encouragement to others who will have to walk this way. This book, then, despite its difficult moments, is a sort of celebration. A celebration of love between two people. It is a celebration, moreover as I am sure this would be Mom's wish, of the love lavishly poured on us by a passionately persistent and pursuing Father God. Scripture touts that the love a husband feels for his wife should be an earthly mirror of the love of God for us, His bride. Mom's prayer for you who read this book is that you be encouraged. Know that no matter how difficult the journey ahead of you, there is hope in the love of a compassionate God.