Cancer - Part 15 (Lessons)

One thing I took away from this whole experience is to value what matters most. We had so many ups and downs, we felt like this whole year was a roller coaster. But what remained constant were our Saviour and our family. Because of the closeness I developed with family members, I wouldn’t trade what we went through. I also feel like our little family of 4 grew closer too. Even still, Mike and I are feeling the effects of what happened in 2009. We learned to appreciate each other more than before. And it is so wonderful to see his bond with his daughters blossom.

During that time our Bible Study was doing the "Living beyond Yourselves” book by Beth Moore. In there, I read something that stuck with me. She wrote, “Through his trials, Paul learned something I believe God desires for all believers to learn: the presence, purpose and power of God is best discovered through difficulty.” She talked about learning to discover Christ in the midst of your struggles! Everyone has struggles. Jesus never promised us an easy life. The question is, what do we do with those struggles? How do we respond? For some, the word “cancer” can turn your world upside-down. For others, hearing the word “pregnant” can be devastating if it seems to be at an inopportune time. Some of you have heard words like “diabetes”, “surgery”, “moving”, “affair”, “addiction”, or “accident”. These words are life-changing and incur immediate reactions. There are a variety of emotions one experiences when being dealt a blow like this. However, Jesus does not break His promises. In His word, He speaks to us over and over about His unfailing love and faithfulness. He urges us to cast our cares in His lap and He will sustain us. He reminds us repeatedly that He is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Many of us have read these promises most of our lives. But do we really hear Him speak to us? Do we believe? Is Jesus Christ real in your life? When we are put to the test, defeated and weak, do we let Him be our Rock, our Strength? He loves you and me so much, and He longs to be with us.

At Christmas time I bought the latest CD by Steven Curtis Chapman. This CD was created after the devastating loss of his young daughter, Maria. His website describes the CD as “part lament, part praise, part grief, part hope, part wrestling, part pondering.” As I began listening to the songs on my way home from the store, I was overwhelmed by the title song, Beauty Will Rise. Music has always been a huge, important part of my life, during all the highs and lows. I’d like to play this song for you now. I’ve provided the lyrics so you can follow along if you want. The lyrics are so moving, and such a great testimony of how God can – and does – create beauty from ashes.

Right from the beginning of Mike’s diagnosis I felt that this illness ad God’s hand upon it and would bring Him glory in the end. I related to the words that Jesus spoke when He was told about Lazarus being sick. He said “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s son may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4) As I began praying for Mike and our family, the word that came to me repeatedly was ‘transformation’. I firmly believed that not only would Mike be transformed by this journey, but our whole family as well. I knew that this sickness would not end in death, but there was a very real purpose for this cancer which invaded our life. And, even through the devastation, I still inwardly rejoiced because I knew that God was working in our life. Unless you have been there, it is so hard to understand what this joy feels like, just knowing that God has a plan and that everything works together according to His big picture. I knew God had a purpose for this and I wanted His will to be carried out to completion.