Tana's uncle Dale wrote the following that he read at her memorial service and also the grave side service.

Tana

A woman of courage, wisdom, and grace
A life well lived in witness and service to the Lord

Her family so loved and blessed by her presence
Sweet songs of music filling the years

She lived out her appointed days full measure
And lives in our hearts forever, a treasure

Tana's uncle visited her at the hospital often and was there daily, even spending the night at the hospital, during her final week here on earth.

Spend time with the ones that you love. Even when it's not convenient.

Memorial Service

10:00 AM, Monday, November 17

McKinney Fellowship Bible Church
2801 Orchid Dr.
McKinney, TX 75070
972.547.7000

Burial Service

4:00 PM, Monday, November 17

Canaan Baptist Church
177 Coryell City Rd
Crawford, TX 76338
254.486.2298

canaan-baptist.com

In leiu of flowers, please make donations in memory of Tana Heckel to
the Music Ministries at:

McKinney Fellowship Bible Church
2801 Orchid Dr.
McKinney, TX 75070
972.547.7000 mckinneyfellowship.org

OR

First Church of The Nazarene
2001 N. Valley Mills Dr.
Waco, TX 76710
254.772.5145 waconaz.com

I am writing this wishing that what I had to say was different, that Tana was doing fine here on earth and would be coming home to Oak Point soon. She is already home, it's a much more beautiful place and she is doing just fine, much better than ever; only not here on this earth.

My lovely bride went to be with the Lord yesterday at 10:10 pm. She had fought so hard for so long. If you knew Tana, she was not a quitter.

Men, give you wives a hug today and everyday, pray for them daily. We have all heard it said so many times that we do not know how many days we have here on this earth. It's true.

My prayer is that what Tana has written over the last 10 months would speak to you in some way no matter where you are in you walk with Jesus and that you would draw closer to Him as a result.

I will be posting the times and places for the services as we work out the details.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support these many months and now.

Tana has had 2 procedures since I wrote yesterday. The first was to relocate a drain tube in the area of her lung. The second was to remove some fluid from around the original surgery area in her hip. She continues to fight. We pray for God's mercy on Tana and as we have all asked so many times "we pray healing on every infected area and every tumor area in Tana's body; we pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to minister to her and bring comfort and rest in her sedated state. May she feel God's love in a powerful way knowing well that He is in control of all of this." We ask all of this in the Name of Jesus.

I made a mistake yesterday...the surgery was on Wednesday night.

According to what we see with our eyes, Tana is about the same as yesterday and the Dr's say she is about the same, but God's word tells us to 'walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). They took her for a complete body scan this afternoon to see if they can find the source of her infection.

Isaiah 54:10
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Tana was taken into surgery on Tuesday evening the 4th to remove fluid between the membrane that surrounds the lung and the lung itself. She is currently resting in ICU. She has a breathing tube and must remain sedated.

Please continue to PRAY FOR A MIRACLE for Tana.

I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:1-8

This has been running through my mind over and over the last couple of days as we continue to face "challenges". Last night when I sat up to get my shower, my oxygen level dropped significantly so they put me back to bed. I had been having some trouble getting full breaths for the last couple of days. They ended up taking me back over to Baylor to get a chest CT.

They found fluid around my lungs so I will have that drained tomorrow. It will probably be back at Baylor but they say I should be able to come back after the procedure. I haven't heard the final plans yet.

The more concerning news is that they see some nodules on my lungs. It could be infection or of course it could be more cancer. It's been an extremely challenging afternoon for all of us and we are asking that you pray for God's intervention and protection through all of this.

I will admit it is very discouraging not to be working through this recovery process a little quickly but the docs assure me all these complications are totally normal with a surgery the magnitude of what I've experienced. The surgery last Tuesday really slowed me down and I am hoping the procedure tomorrow won't slow me down more!

We've probably cried more today than we have throughout this process. Some sad tears, some thankful tears, some "just plain tired" tears. I just have to keep coming back to one day at a time or one hour at a time or whatever the day calls for. I was actually getting to a point where I was seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel and that was pretty much shattered today.

I had a physical therapist today who is a Katrina survivor. She read scripture over me as she did my therapy then sang to me. What an encouragement and ministry - those were today's happy tears!

God isn't finished with me yet. There must be more reserve where the previous strength came from. I cry for His mercy yet know that I am putty in His hand - obedient and totally submitted to Him. He cradles me with His love and with His protection.