I’m not sure what happened to May this year. I think they call it “writer’s block”, but I
haven’t been inspired to write about anything for several weeks. The circumstances of life can sometimes
sideline us; but it’s time to get back in the game, so to speak.
While I was daydreaming, an extraordinary milestone was
crossed: the illusive month of May marked my 25th anniversary of being cancer-free! The indiscriminate disease that took away six
months of my life was conquered by modern medicine, and I got to go on living
my life. I am so grateful that God chose
to heal me.
I’d like to tell you that everything has worked great in my
body since that last day of radiation treatment in 1993; but it didn’t take
long for me to realize that new life
after cancer would look different than before. Within the first year, I began to take
medications, have procedures, and adjust to failings within my body that continue
today and are direct results of the drastic methods of radiation treatment used
in that era for my form of cancer. I
will spare you the details, but suffice it to say that nearly every system of
my body was damaged in some way by the cure that saved my life.
We all know older people who seem to have nothing to talk
about but their ailments. I have never
wanted to be one of those people, so I have tried to keep to myself most of
what I face daily. And, for my own
spiritual and emotional health, I try not to focus on what is now wrong with my
body – but rather on the life I’ve been
able to live in the last 25 years:
- I had the privilege of continuing to raise my sons to adulthood, sharing in every precious step along the way (they were ages 9 and 4 when I had cancer)
- I’ve shared 25 more years of marriage with my husband
- I’ve had numerous ministry opportunities and continue to be able to serve God in ministry at church
- I’ve made many new friendships with people I didn’t even know in 1993
- I’ve read dozens of good books and been able to continue studying God’s Word on a daily basis
- I’ve mentored several younger women and had the joy of teaching many more
- I’ve learned a plethora of great worship songs as well as enjoyed many other genres, and I continue to expand my library of music
- I’ve been able to travel to numerous states as well as several other countries
The list could go on, but you get the picture. We can always choose what part of our lives to focus on – and what we choose will help to define who we are and who we become.
My ever-present lack of physical strength reminds me of God’s words in a favorite verse: 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” My weakness is the platform for God’s strength to shine; and the weaker we are, the better we are able to reflect him and bring glory to him instead of ourselves. Praying for more weakness doesn’t seem exactly right, but maybe we can ask God to continue to use whatever weaknesses we have to glorify himself through us – and to touch a few other lives along the way.
