Category: College

Where/How Has The Time Gone?

Recent events have brought reflection on years of the past and years, months, and days that are to come. A high school graduation, a twenty-year anniversary, a first-day-of-school pic with just one and walking into an empty bedroom of our missing college student. By the way, after spending the weekend getting him settled in and spending time, the hug and driving away was not as bad as I thought. Walking into his bedroom to pick up a little, let’s just say, I was on the struggle bus. Then when it was time to say goodnight to the boys as before, the bus kept going, so I had to text him to tell him I could not say goodnight in person, so he was getting a text. Reflecting on not “where has the time gone” but “how has it gone?”

If we evaluate our time God has given us, we can really see what is important to us. In the past week, there has been time with God, but how meaningful has it been? It can be the most important time we have as a Christian. We want to see our behaviors, our care for others, our relationship with God as meaningful, but if that few minutes is not worth the time, we need to figure out how to make it. God’s word tells us over and over those who accept Him as their Savior are His children, and if our time with our children or our parents mean so much, the same goes for God. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” And in Romans 9:26, “And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.”

So, we evaluate our time with God based on our time with our family. Granted, time with family can be limited with the coming and going of the members. There are times that we are like ships passing in the night at this house, but we are very much aware of interactions needed the next time the ship is in at the dock or a phone call or text to say what is going on that day. If that interaction does not happen, what kind of relationship do we have with our family? That really does not seem right. We head to a play date or event or church and we hope to see…who, because we want to cultivate a relationship with them. Then it is time to make the same eagerness a feeling for our family, and then ultimately that feeling needs to be one for God. Church is not to replace that one-on-one relationship we are to have with the one who created us as individuals. Psalm 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” We were especially created first for Him. Church is to feed our soul through the singing and preaching of God’s Word and refresh our spirit through the fellowship of God’s people. But our soul and spirit need to be ready to receive that goodness by already spending time cultivating the eagerness for the goodness.

How has our time gone? We cannot beat ourselves up for lost time; not good. I can promise there are many more years combined that have been for God and for our family when we reflect, but let us work toward additional minutes, day, months, and years that we previously have not used for this. Eager to hear from God instead of just reading the passage for the day. Eager to read and study a subject that we feel like we are going through at that time. Eager to pray for ourselves and others for God to work. Miracles still happen, just saying. But then sometimes God is silent. We must be eager for Him!

As a teenager on death’s doorstep, there really was not much of this reflection time except for the one day my dad asked if I had ever thought I could have died. I had not; I was just trying to get all this over with to get back to normal. I was angry at cancer and hated what it had done to my life. At that time of reflection, I realized that if God had not allowed me to survive the surgery and diagnosis, I would have not gone to Heaven. I was a sinner in need of a Savior, and I asked Him to save me shortly after that. Other than that life changing moment, I still never really spent anymore thoughts on where my time was going or had gone. Let’s just get through this and my homework done or a new outfit or call my friends. So shocking, but just in survival mode. We hear about hikers in the wilderness that get lost and do whatever it takes to survive. Desperation kicks in and a strength that they had never found before comes to the surface to survive, to get out of the situation at hand.

Where has our time gone or how has our time gone? Do we see the past years and are in desperation mode to make the future new? Is that strength that we never knew we had allowed to come to the surface and make God and our relationship strong? It does not matter how old or young we are, we are responsible to take the eagerness we have for any other situation or time with others and make it the same for our God, as an INDIVIDUAL. Here is the step-by-step process right in God’s Word, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Deuteronomy 6:5 says, ” And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy might.” And in Luke 10:27 and 28, “…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he (Jesus) said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”

God Said Cancer In The Pool of Grace

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3/10/20

It does not really matter how long I sit and ponder the current biggest issues in my life, there is a God in Heaven that has everything in the palm of His hand; He’s got it covered. We are on this earth for a reason, and because we are on this earth, created in His image but with a sinful nature, issues come. But, at this very moment a dear friend has started her cancer journey and is fighting for her life. Nothing right now that I have in my life can compare to what she is going through, yet God Said Cancer to me almost thirty years ago, so I can relate to most of what she is facing. The reason I started writing down my cancer journey is because cancer may come and go, but it never leaves the fabric of who a person is. It changes so many things about a person, not just the physical aspect but mental and spiritual as well.

Our friend and coworker, who is now fighting this fight, had been given the hard and not so promising news recently. With more details, more doctor visits, and more tests, a plan was formed. When we visited her, her spirits were up because a plan was in place. A specific phrase she made at the hospital will never leave my mind and heart, because I can truly say she is right. “I feel like I have jumped into a pool of water and GRACE is all around me; above me, beside me, below me, and I am just surrounded by it.” Her peace was intoxicating. She was able to see her God through the midst of the chaos. A God of Grace.

In my cancer journey, I cannot say I ever realized this grace was surrounding me, but it was. I was thirteen, and God was real to me but not mine. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I was saved about a year into my journey when my dad asked me if I had ever thought about cancer taking my life. I realized I was a sinner and would have gone to hell if I had not lived. So grace, although it was there, it was not something I can say was a part of my journey early on. My parents, they were in the pool. They were made strong through God’s grace.

Paul says it perfect in II Corinthians 12:7-9: “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance  of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh,… For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he (Christ) said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Paul was given his “thorn” just like I was, and he asked God to remove it, as I did. Paul realized that when Christ died for him, God’s strength and grace surrounded him, and he gloried in his “thorn” so others may see God. Wow. Oh, to be someone that glories in my infirmities, so God can be seen!

Have we seen those Olympic size pools that are super long and deep? They are so large-God’s grace is bigger. In college, God showed me this pool of grace that I had been swimming in since my diagnosis. He showed me the grace to spare my life so that I would see His love for me and my sinful nature and accept Him as my personal Savior. Hebrews 12:16 “Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” He showed me so much grace that was poured over me and my family for the year and a half of chemotherapy, doctors, bowel obstructions, I could go on but my past blog articles catalog those things. He showed me His grace given to us when the cancer “disappeared” at the three months scans. “It was a miracle.” It was GRACE. In October of 1993, the doctors put the stamp of CURE on my chart. “We do not need to see you again unless you have complications. It would be good to have an annual checkup.” Again, GRACE.

I had to realize I was swimming in the pool already. Hearing God’s word preached so often was the turning point in my life and the realization that I was in God’s pool of grace, and I have been there ever since. That is so fascinating. And yet when I hear others go through what I went through, I cannot breathe. I am encouraged when a visit with them shows me they found that GRACE in the midst of their trial. Then I praise God that His grace is still there, still helping someone put one foot in front of the other in bad times and the good times. Were it not for grace; another side effect of cancer? Most definitely.

This song was released my first year of college.

Were It Not For Grace by David Hamilton

Time measured out my days,
Life carried me along,
In my soul I yearned to follow God,
But knew I’d never be so strong.
I looked hard at this world,
To learn how heaven could be gained.
Just to end where I began
Where human effort is all in vain.
Were it not for grace,
I can tell you where I’d be.
Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere,
With my salvation up to me.
I know how that would go,
The battles I would face.
Forever running but losing this race,
Were it not for grace.
So here is all my praise,
Expressed with all my heart,
Offered to the Friend who took my place,
And ran a course I could not start.
And when He saw in full,
Just how much His would cost.
He still went the final mile between me and heaven,
So I would not be lost.

Plans Change Constantly

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11/6/19

Fall 1997/Spring 1998

Is there really anything more to say when the cancer has been cured, and a person is going on with life? Just because chemotherapy, constant trips to the doctor, IV tubes, CT scans, throwing up, and hair loss is not my life now, cancer is a part of me daily. And because of that daily reminder, I feel like this journey is still worth sharing. I am a cancer survivor, having been at the lowest of lows and in the depths of despair and death. Fortunately for me at this time, I am not there; but unfortunately, others are.

When life happens, whether we label it as “good times” or “bad times,” we have to live life. Psalm 139 is such a strong chapter, I want to hold on to it today.

“O Lord, thou has searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”

Summary: Good times and bad times are known to our God, and wherever we go, He is there. Wherever we go physically, mentally, emotionally our Wonderful, All-Knowing, All-Powerful God resides in Heaven watching. When we feel like it is too dark to God, it shines brighter to Him. Good times and bad times are no different to Him; granted, they are to us.

While beginning my senior year of college, I was looking at pretty cool times. The totem pole had my name at the top; life was so exciting. Shortly into the fall semester, our family had a significant change. My dad, who was a part of the board of directors at the college, had been asked to be a part of the faculty on campus. He accepted, and planned to move the rest of the family down to southern California in January of 1998. CANCER SCARE! During this process, I had noticed a hard spot that raised major concerns in my heart and head of a recurrence. Man, the thoughts and anxieties that occurred. After doctor appointments, it was decided to remove what they classified as a fatty tissue tumor. I would return home at Christmas break and have the surgery. Senior year, fall semester: beginning-good times, middle-bad times, middle-good times, Christmas-bad times, good times. I have an immediate thought of a Charlie Brown character with a giant mouth open wide screaming, “AAUGH.” My life was in craziness mode; I may not have been doing a good job trusting God here.

I remember coming home and help pack the house up and then saying goodbye to the most precious people in my life for the last nine years. Our little church in southwest Wyoming had grown to include wonderful people who had stood by our family’s side during some of the hardest times in our lives. God was moving us away from them. Why? He knew the reason. That move along with other decisions were instrumental in where I am today in all aspects of my life. After saying goodbye at church, I entered a hospital which I had sworn off ever placing another foot in the door. Returned back into the cold, white walled surgery room with the hard bed and a gazillion medical instruments, and let a doctor take another knife and cut me open. Check – another surgery to add to my resume’. Cancer, heart, benign tumor… The tumor was just as they had said AND we had hoped, so we left two days later, saying goodbye to a place that we loved so much. We return every few years to visit with many of those friends and see God’s beauty in the mountains.

At the same time my home address changed, I was in search of my future address because graduation was just around the corner. What in the world would I be doing and where would I be? During this time, I was student teaching, and after a few days I was 100% certain God had NOT been leading me into teaching. No way, no how would I want to go into the classroom. It was an extremely rough classroom situation. I was totally wrong about my career! At the same time, I was approached about going back to the church camp I went two summers ago to work for the summer. With no other future plans, I signed up to return after graduation to Colorado; my future address was still undetermined. That would change quickly.

Within a couple of months and many turn of events, my parents would be moving to Oklahoma because the entire college was moving. I knew one thing: I was going with my parents after my summer in Colorado. Before and right at graduation, I would be offered a couple of teaching positions, but since my future did not have TEACHER in it anymore, those were easy decisions. Again, Charlie Brown – AAUGH!

But as a planner, things were being planned for me, and the good times and bad times were aligned; I was ok with that. At least I did not have cancer, even though it had raised its ugly head at me again, in a way. I knew at that point that I was going to have to keep this cancer past in my periphery, not the back of my mind. It would not be going away as easily as I had tried to remove it. God had made me aware that He was still in control, and after my amazing life-changing college lessons, my relationship with Him had changed dramatically. He was so good to me. I stood amazed at who He was and trusted Him for my past and my future. Proverbs 13:12 is my life verse and pushes itself at me constantly. I have used it once already in a past post. “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”

We Do Not Know What We Are Missing…

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10/28/19

Summer 1997

A recent sermon, make that many recent sermons, that I have heard have been about prayer. Boy, do I need the reminder. People have needs, and prayer is the conduit between us and our Faithful to Listen God. Answers are not necessarily readily available, but how many times have we heard someone say that prayer changed everything or they knew prayers were being sent up to God. Like a thousand times here! I am an obvious answer to prayer, and much of my life is as well. But, I would like to submit that some Christians would like to change their prayer life to be more meaningful. A prayer life that sees God and feels His presence. To develop this, we have to take time out of our lives and show God we mean business.

When the team and I went to the Philippines between my Junior and Senior year of college, we experienced many major life lessons. Of course, the lack of things that people have in other countries hits a person right in the face when that person was born in America. We see the videos and pictures on TV. They are portrayed to us pretty accurately from what I have seen even on a recent mission’s trip to Peru. But as a college student, it was the first time for me to see them in real life. I will never forget what I learned though. Even when the people of these countries seem to lack everything we take for granted, they are not lacking anything. Why? Because they do not know what they are missing. The way they live is all they know. They do not realize that their home could have an actual floor and not dirt, or their windows could have screens and panes and not just wood that swings out to let air and light in. They do not realize that sewage should not flow in the cut out ditches next to the road, or their clothes do not match because they were hand me downs from the local missionary who received them from Americans.

A small little, old Filipino lady beat me up with her words as we sat across from her in her one room shack with dirt floors. Through an interpreter she said that she was happy the way things were for her, and she would never change it. But the young people of her country see that Americans have so much and the only thing they want to do is go to America. They work hard in school trying to get good grades so they can get on a list to go to a college in America or try to get a job there. “Their only goal in life is to get to America.” That was crazy to me. These people had so little and never knew they had little until they saw that Americans had so much, and they wanted that life. They were the happiest, kindest people I had ever met, yet they wanted to be me?

Why did these people, whom we would consider poor and impoverished but who really were not, want to be me? It made me think what was my purpose in life? Who was I and where would I be going? I did not realize I had not answered those questions before. I did not know what I did not have was missing because I had never had it. The older people in this country were in the same boat with material things; the younger people had figured it out. They saw what was missing and knew they wanted something different. I needed to pray about this phenomenon in my life because cancer was instrumental in whom I had become.

I was not missing material things life food, clothes, family, friends. I had that covered. I had all of the things needed for a cozy dorm room, good grades, and a goal set to teach in the classroom. There was a fantastic job in college and a car to drive there. Plus, I would be graduating in a year. Absolutely nothing was missing from my life until the above questions came to light. The people from another country help me to get a hold of God in a new way and ask for the guidance that I did not know was missing. The direction in where I should be going, and who was I, really. So enlightening. I began to see answers to those questions as I searched. God gave me a peace about my career path, which would waver, unfortunately, but He would still be there to show me He was in control. God gave me a sense of purpose; looking at lost souls with a new set of eyes, and sharing the Gospel with them. He would answer for me who I was, and why He had chosen me to have cancer.

Cancer is followed by the word why. It really helps us see our prayer life in a real light. But if cancer is not near or has been placed in the far corners of our minds, what do we really pray about? Do we have a time and place for our prayers? Honestly, we NEED the time and place. God is felt and moves in our spirit and soul when we kneel before Him and fellowship in prayer. Most likely we will have a prayer list, but maybe the list should be shorter. Then we could intercede at a more intimate level when we concentrate on that name on the list and pray about their inner self, their well-being, and their needs. People all around us need us. Not only them, but we need us. We need to pray and really pray. I tend to be pretty faithful about lifting someone up in prayer when I am driving. It is a good time for me, but I would like to take more time in my “prayer closet” for me and my fellowship with a God who took my life a totally different direction than I had expected. He is pretty real to me, so I want to be the person He wants me to be.

Psalm 39:12, “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.”

J – Others – Y

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9/29/19

Spring 1997

Reaching outside of our bubble, our life, who we are, is extremely important. I realized this with a recent family trial that has turned into a journey. It began when my husband’s mom had a major stroke, and I emphasize major. Here comes the medical-there are a few types of strokes ischemic, hemorrhagic, brain stem, and cryptogenic. Hers was a hemorrhagic which is not as common and often deadly. God spared her life. We have known stroke victims, but this was our first experience first hand. Medical terminology, recovery, statistics, blood pressure, etc… are a new road of travel for her family. Many stroke victims lose something from the stroke, and no two people are affected the same. Because of this loss, the family tries to fill in the gaps. It is a trial that has an end result of a new normal. My husband, his siblings, and dad have spent endless hours learning the ropes of a stroke. This education is exhausting and ever changing. The new normal is a full focus on helping their wife and mom regain strength, movement, and cognitive ability. They have taken their lives and reached past their giving threshold and then given more. It is what a person does when life changes in an instant. Life is about others, right?

My junior year of college brought to me my first lesson about others. I had become very much aware of others when I walked into my first dorm room. My friend and roommate my Freshmen year and I grew up with only brothers so we did not have to share with any other girl in our homes. We really got along great! But then there are others when a person lives in a dorm, and one realizes that quickly. I loved each of the dorms I lived in, and for the most part it really went well. But, again, life is not just about us.

My junior year brought an opportunity to see others and serve them. I was able to work in different ministries at the church and spent time telling others about Jesus and His love for them. Our college had been taking mission’s trips each summer, and I signed up to go to the Philippines. Growing up in a pastor’s home allowed the opportunity to meet many a missionary family as they circumnavigated the United States getting ready for the final destination of another country. They are dedicated families that have said “I will go,” taken up their roots in a place they call home, said goodbye to friends and family, and would say hello to a group of people that most likely will not even know the word. These families I met growing up were just like my family, called by God to tell others, serve others. As Christians, we all have that commission.

Missionaries were my heroes. I was more than excited about going to the Philippines. The group going consisted of a couple of close friends and other college students plus a Filipino man from our church at college. He had taken a few groups over in the past, and would set up for us to be there for five weeks with national pastors. These pastors were actually Filipino men who were pastoring churches that in the past might have been started by an American missionary. Pretty cool.

We began in January getting our funds together for the trip, passports sent in, and time off of work depending on where we would be going that summer. We would spend the last week of May and the whole month of June in the Philippines. All of us were excited and began to prepare for children’s programs, testimonies, and youth services. With the preparations, it is really easy to look past what would hit a person right in the face when they go to the mission field. The people are what we are there for, and the experience of going to a foreign field and serving in a ministry aspect is priceless. But the way of living is so different than America, or the America I had experienced growing up. My parents provided all of our needs, and when we moved to Wyoming they both worked full time jobs outside of the ministry to support the family. We were very much taken care of and would have never considered ourselves in need. There are people in this country who would have needs that I had never experienced.

Going to a foreign country opens up a whole new world. People are people no matter what country we live in, and they may have many needs, but the one common ground we have is just that: we are all people, created by God with a heart and soul and mind. We all have a soul that needs Jesus. Whether we live here or in another country, the act of serving others should be in the forefront of our minds.

When a person goes to the mission field for a trip or to minister full-time, they have one goal: to serve others. They have put Jesus first and themselves last to serve others. Across this world people need the Lord. But, what if we are not sent over to another country or never have that opportunity to go on a mission’s trip? Are not people there the same as people here? Yes, they are, so let us serve them here, too. Let us tell them of Jesus. Why in the world are we too busy to do that?! Many a person, myself included, are in too much of a hurry or to even take five minutes to lay out their long schedule for their day or week. Others are the last thing on our minds. Live our lives; that is what God wants us to do. Be diligent, be responsible, but be loving and considerate of lost souls right next door to us. That cashier has a soul and our busyness might skip over that. Our soccer mom friend needs a home church. We live in the “Bible Belt” of the United States. I have met people even here that do not know about Jesus, and many that want to hear of His love. Who are we living our life for?

J-O-Y. I think most of us have the “Jesus” down. I would not question that about the majority of Christians I know. The “You” is an obvious problem with myself included. The “Others” needs a little work. I submit that if we take the amount of “Jesus” on one end of the spectrum and the “You” on the other end and meet in the middle, our “Others” might be just right. Philippians 2:3-5 sums it all up. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus…”

Life Is Good

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9/13/19

Fall 1996

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I am very much aware of this because my dear friend lost her little girl this year, and she is sharing her story. I am also a Childhood Cancer Survivor so of course I think about it this month. But what does this really mean to me? I have basically sat back and been a statistic: at thirteen, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, had eighteen months of chemotherapy and spinal taps, was told cancer free and cured at seventeen. Survivor. Made it! Done.

But cancer has never left my life; it just left my body. Sure, I have not walked around telling every person I meet, “I am a cancer survivor!” Why not? I am not quite sure how to answer that, but I do know that God has placed on my heart about a year ago to tell my story. Again, the audience is small, but someone I know, let us make that, many someones I know have been or are being affected by cancer. And if any one of the someones need another step forward, maybe hearing my story will help their brain tell the nervous system to move down to the muscles in the leg and make that foot take the next step to fight this horrendous disease. Because most days, it does not feel like it is worth the fight; cancer takes so much from a person.

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is a great time to become aware of children with cancer, and the research to fight those cancers is critical. As with most cancer patients, the family will be involved with the fight, but with a child who has their whole life ahead of them, their family is their only way of making it through. How important is family? Very. In previous posts I have shared about my family and their fight along with me to conquer this disease, and then about two of my family member’s same fight in the years that followed my diagnosis. I pretty much hate cancer. And then on the other hand I am grateful for the story I get to tell. God has done some AMAZING things in my life through Childhood Cancer.

In my cancer story timeline, I have completed eight weeks at a summer camp listening to God and seeing Him work in my life. I met a super fantastic, over the top friend who was my roommate at camp, and we quickly decided to request to be roommates in college since she was headed there for her first year and me my junior year. We were granted that request and parted ways after camp excited about being roomies again in a few weeks. I spent a couple of weeks at home and my brother, who was also planning to join me at college, and I packed up our cars and parents and headed to So. Cal. I will mention here that So. Cal. is a great place to go to college! For one, the weather is wonderful! Living in Wyoming for nine years where they say we have nine months of winter and three months where the snow is not as bad, is a bit of an overstatement, but we have shot off many a firework with snowflakes falling. That means: it snowed on the Fourth of July at least twice! Back to So. Cal. There was Six Flags, Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm all within 30 minutes to an hour and every beach about an hour. Anyway, I enjoyed living there.

My brother and I were very excited for the new school year, and we were ready for it to begin. I was assigned a new dorm as assistant RA and my new roommate and I settled in to the college schedule. We also had fun times with a group of friends that was quickly growing. She had come down with some from her church, and I had also reconnected with my friends from the previous year. Life Was Good! I remember being on a spiritual high from the summer and anxious for the chapel services and guest speakers visiting the campus.

I had an easy life, far from my four years of cancer life. Who needs cancer? It was extremely easy to leave that all behind and enjoy what I had to the nth degree. But why is it, we go through something, and because it does not have place in our lives at the time, we push it aside and focus on other things? For me, I was moving on; I did my time and wiped my hands clean of all the ugliness of cancer. Is that bad? No, probably not. But other people are going through trials, and I should care. When Life Is Good, it is someone else’s trial. True, but I would NEVER have been able to recover, first without the Lord, and second without family and friends. Sure, I was determined to beat it myself, which is crucial, but my family and friends were my ROCK, no doubt about it. Those that prayed for me, yes, God heard those prayers. He tells where two or three are gathered in His name, He is there Matthew 18:20. Prayer is essential, but so are actions.

Raising my hand, I would be the first to admit, my cancer advocacy is non-existent, but my husband and I have invested ourselves into where we feel most compelled and that is our church and the precious people that attend with us. I applaud those organizations and groups and research for what they are doing because those people helped me fight the fight. Thank you. But many times I get complacent and sit back and say, Life is Good. Those around me are doing well, too.

Let us make sure that those trials around us stay fresh in our minds. When the diagnosis is a few months removed, are we still praying for them? When that friend who was critically injured in a car wreck, they are home and their car is crushed at the salvage yard, are we still praying or calling them up and asking if they need anything today? When that special friend lost her little one, how is she doing? Pray today for them, and then act. Not sure what actions should be taken because I feel inferior in this area, but there has to be something out there we can do. Others are worth it, right? We have our own families to care for and those around us to invest in, I understand, but let us not forget about others where the Life is NOT so Good. They will remember us when it is our turn.

James 5:13-15, “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you?…  ….And the prayer of the faith shall save the sick”… Galatians 5:13, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”