REFLECTING ON THE JOURNEY
Pastor Wendy
called me for a “wellness check” when I was halfway through the six, three-week
treatments that began just before Christmas last year. She asked me if there was anything I had been able to draw from my faith? After finishing the sixth treatment, my care
team declared the cancer to be in remission after a final Pet Scan.
There were three
salient drivers that sustained me throughout my treatment to eliminate
Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer for four months that I’d like to share; 1) an
attitude for prayer, 2) living one day at a time and 3) the firm belief of
never being alone on the journey.
First, in
the Lord's Prayer, the
phrase "thy will be done" is a petition for
God's purposes to be fully realized on earth just as they are in heaven.
It is an act of humility
where the person praying submits their own desires to God's plan, acknowledging
that His wisdom is superior. This is often modeled after Jesus' prayer in
Gethsemane. “He said, Father if it’s
your will, take this cup of suffering away from me. However, not my will but your will must be
done.” –Luke 22:40-42
When looking for comfort, this phrase allows for trusting
God with outcomes, rather than desperately trying to control them.
Secondly,
from scripture:
“Be strong and
courageous. Do not be afraid. Do
not be discouraged.
For the Lord
your God will be with you wherever you go.” —JOSHUA 1:9
I began cancer chemo treatments after having a port implanted in my right
chest to facilitate the six chemo infusions. After the second infusion, the port started to bleed due to an
unexpected infection. By the grace of God, my radiology team was immediately available to
evaluate and remove the port while injecting a PICC line in my left arm
which resulted in little time lost and most importantly, no spread of
the infection into my blood stream, which would have been life-threatening.
My oncologist was being honest when he said, “The longest path in
treatment is rarely a straight line.”
And of course, that applies to life in general. God walks with us on those paths and
sometimes even carries us on those treacherous detours!
At Bethlehem, He was “God
WITH us.” At calvary, He was “God
FOR us.”
And, At Pentecost, He became “God IN us.” Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus gives us the Great Commission at the very end
of Matthew’s gospel, so others in our community can benefit; “Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations…And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.”
And third, I had to repeatedly remind
myself many times a day to;
“Live one day at a time” and “Don’t get ahead
of your skis!”
My older sister overcame breast cancer and counseled me to get
the facts which are always more sensible than our human imaginations.
In Matthew 6:34, Jesus teaches us to live in the present and avoid anxiety
about the future. He urges us to focus
on the current day's responsibilities and trust, rather than being overwhelmed
by what may happen later.
Ultimately, this teaching is a call to choose
peace over worry and to live in the assurance that God is already in the
future providing for His kingdom.
Worry
is a conversation you have with yourself about the things you
cannot change.
Prayer is
a conversation you have with God about the things He can change.
Finally, I came across these short thoughts from
Ullie-Kaye:
“Nothing teaches you gratitude, like having walked
through something hard—
Knowing that at any given time, your whole world
could come crashing down and change again.
I am thankful for a past that couldn’t destroy me.
A present that still looks for miracles and a future that is
secure,
Not because I’m holding it all together. but because God
is!
.JPG)