I called to the Lord in my distress,and I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,and my cry to him reached his ears.
I remember wondering why?
There were several other things going on in my life at the same time as my diagnosis. It was a few months after my mother passed away. The same day that I got my biopsy confirmation of cancer my brother had passed away very unexpectedly in the early morning hours.
I remember thinking that my family and I were already dealing with so many things at once, how could we possibly deal with this on top of everything else?
Now, I don't know about you, but the moment I started thinking these things I immediately felt guilty. I knew of so many other people who had been tasked with walking this path, how did I not think I might be one of them?
The phrase "God won't give you more than you can handle," happens to be a mis-statement in my opinion. I firmly believe that a lot of times he specifically gives us more than we can handle ourselves because it forces us to lean on him more than we were doing before.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.2 Corinthians 12:9-10 CSB
In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Paul is saying that he will not be ashamed of his weakness, because his weakness gives Christ more room to be strong to accomplish God's will.
My personal biggest take away from this was the fact that, like Job, whatever comes to me has been filtered or sifted through God's hands first. Sometimes it is still something that I think is bad, or even horrible, scary even sometimes, but that doesn't change the fact that God is allowing it to happen. And, this is important, since I know God loves me I can know that even if I believe something is bad then He can still use it for His good and His glory.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our affliction,[b] so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
I can not tell you why specifically God allowed me to have cancer, nor can I tell you why you or a loved one had or has cancer either. However, in my own life I have seen how leaning on God through my journey has helped me grow closer and rely so much more on Him than I was before - and I'd honestly thought I was doing a pretty good job before this happened!
As I went down my own journey of doctors appointments and healing, of learning how to deal with my new "normal", as I learned that I had to stop and rest and rely on others for help, I do believe that God opened my eyes a little to see more of what was going on around me. My local church and people that I'd worked with in the past checked up on me and my family, whether a Facebook message, a phone call, text, or even bringing dinner after my surgery. I saw Christ work through the care of these people.
I was also able to talk to a few people who had something health related come up after my cancer did. Knowing that I had been through something hard made the comfort and encouragement that I tried to give seem more genuine. I wasn't just saying God would be there because I believed He would, I was saying it because I'd been there and I knew He would. I'd been a eye witness to God's love in my own life.
So, how are you doing today? Do me a favor- if someone asks you that, please tell them the truth. You don't have to say "fine" if you really aren't. Please, find someone to talk to that you can be "real" with. Someone who is deeply rooted in the faith and can help steer you back to the love and peace of God, and still be a shoulder to cry on when needed.
Action Points:
I have 2 separate tasks for you, depending on which side of this you are on:
1. If you have cancer, please make a list of at least 3 people that you know you can talk to, that love God, and that can talk to you at least twice a week while you are going through this.
2. If you have not been personally affected by cancer, do you know someone who has? How can you be there for that person? Even if you have not been close before, a simple message asking how they are doing coming from a genuine heart can mean a lot to people. And please, don't stop after the surgery, or the radiation, or the chemo. As someone who is now 1 year after surgery I can attest to the fact that some of my worst times were after it was "over" and the world seemed to have gone back to normal, but I had not.
Please leave any comments down below if you have any questions. I will get back to you within a few days at the most.
Thank you, and have a blessed week!
Love,
Kay
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