Cancer: Heartfelt Gratitude Among Tears

Has it really been 21 years (May 4) since our dear, faithful mother died of BRAC1 breast cancer at age 58? It seems so long ago, yet so recent too. When someone has such an impact on the lives of those around her, the hole left by her loss is enormous and forever present.

The world goes on, however, and so did we. The years passed and our children grew into adults. Then their marriages were celebrated and soon gifted with children - 9 of them so far (with 5 little saints in Heaven). We've been immeasurably blessed!

Yet cancer struck again! First I was diagnosed at age 48 - the same demon BRAC1. Though there were trials, times of fear, a temporary sense of hopelessness, and a resurgence of trust in Almighty God - I've survived for almost 10 years now.

Six years ago, against the normally accepted odds, our daughter was also diagnosed - at age 28! That she was also 20 weeks pregnant was an unfathomable horror. When local doctors told her that she had only two choices - 1. Wait to give birth and then undergo treatment or 2. Terminate the pregnancy (abort) and undergo treatment - she balked at either choice. Instead, our scientifically trained daughter began her own research.

What she found was both amazingly encouraging and appallingly horrible.

The encouraging aspect was finding that doctors had been treating cancers in pregnant women for over 20 years - with great success and zero harm to their babies.

The appalling part was that so few doctors across the country seem to share this information or even appear to know about it. How many woman have killed their unborn children through abortion in order to survive? How many other women have forgone treatment for themselves because they sincerely thought it was their only option for saving their child?

As our daughter, and her daughter, celebrate their 6 year cancer-versary today, I'd like to share this information with the public. Consider it my public service announcement for the day. If this information reaches even one woman who is tragically faced with what she thinks is a choice between her own life or the life of her baby, these few words will have been blessed! In your charity, you might even consider sharing this information with others. The Holy Spirit has lead our daughter to share her story publicly and it has touched those who needed it.

In the mean time, I praise and thank Almighty God, the Great Physician, for allowing us the priviledge of these past 6 years. The vast numbers of people across the country and even the world, who prayed for both mother and child, cannot be ignored. If ever we have seen the power of prayer, it was during those months of cancer treatment. We even witnessed a miracle at one point.

Erika and Rachel, you are truly loved and are our miracle in this world. That you are such faithful souls and give so selflessly to others is a blessing to all who know you and even to some of those who don't!

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Links to past posts about Erika and her Miracle Journey (please consider sharing):

Bald Pregnant and Living

Evangelizing for Life - Chemo While Pregnant

Erika's Miracle Journey - Erika's blog

Erika's Miracle Journey Continues - Facebook fan page

Cancer While Pregnant - Facebook fan page

Cancer is no excuse for abortion.

Then and now! Praise the Lord!

Scarlett or Saint?

A recent essay entitled, Strap on Your Bib, It’s Time for Humble Pie, contemplates our need for humility and childlike trust in God. When we 'let go and let God', we're admitting that it's not ours to resolve the tempestuous aspects of our lives. Like Peter, walking across the sea to Jesus, we aren't in control. But, in his weakness of faith, Peter knew to call out to Jesus for help. Our own fallen human nature often brings us to a spasm of fear so paralyzing that we shy away from the very One in Whom our safety lies.

We aren't particularly unusual in this frail human reaction. Therefore, scripture continually admonishes us to offer our trials and fears to Jesus. The same Jesus Who gave His very life for us. 

The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is my helper, and in him will I put my trust. My protector and the horn of my salvation, and my support.  Psalm 18:2

Finding the wherewithal to do this, however, is not an easy task. Our mortal, life-preserving instincts all too often send us in the opposite direction – fleeing away from His assistance. 

When we are finally spent - having fled away from the things we fear and breathless - the exhaustion we feel blunts our emotions. It’s then that we're able to resist the eerie pull of terror.

But is this faith? Or is it an attitude of "I'll think about it tomorrow"? The answer lies in our will. Do we thrust those abysmal fears away, into the deep and dark recesses of our minds – hidden from all but our subconscious mind? Or to we bring them to the glaring light of day and then offer them to God?

The answer to that question will show whether we are successfully working toward being a saint – or imitating Scarlett O’Hara, from the 1936 novel Gone With the Wind.

“I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.” Scarlett

If we deny ourselves the opportunity to faithfully present our fears to God the Father, we are doing nothing more than repressing our trials for another day. On the other hand, if we face them head on, we are putting our faith and childlike trust into the all-powerful Hand of God.

“I can do all these things in him who strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

Reaching For Our Wants

Sometimes we strain and reach for something that we want so badly only to get it and realize it wasn't in our best interest after all. This is a conclusion we draw more easily, later in life, after our bubble has been burst a few times.

Try as we might, we aren't always the best judge of what it is that we need. Only when we begin to listen to the whisper of the Holy Spirit are we able to discern what is in our best interest.

Today, let us reach wholeheartedly for the Will of God instead of our own human wants. Only the Creator of us all knows what it is we truly need. The answer lies in the thirst of our immortal souls for Eternal Life with Him Who created us!

Happy weekend, friends!

There are many thoughts in the heart of a man: but the will of the Lord shall stand firm. 

~Proverbs 19:21

Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

~Matthew 18:3

Following A Winding Path

Simplicity.

Oh, how we humans cling to it in certain aspects of our life. We're comfortable in our own little niche of the world and we like it that way. No muss, no fuss - that's how we define comfort and security.


Yet how many times is that desire to keep things the same - to avoid the discomfort of change - detrimental to our growth?

After all, growth = change. It's been said that nothing stays the same - things either get better or worse. Yet, if the truth be told, we'd like the option to stagnate in our self-defined comfort zone.

What's that say about our faith, though? If we fear change, of flying without a net into the unknown, aren't we a lot like Peter? He sought to follow Jesus as He was walking on water but faltered in faith to the point of sinking.

As much as we would like to take the shortest path - a straight line - our lives will always be dependent on following a winding path.

As we traverse our way toward Eternal Life, let our faith in God help us to trust the unknown directions He presents to us as life's challenges. After all, to do otherwise would be to deny His trustworthy love!

Let it not be said of us, "O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?" ~Matthew 14:22-34