Response

I hope I can use what experience and knowledge I was given to share with my community.  There's a lot of people out there who have cancer or have loved ones with cancer.  20% will be diagnosed with cancer, so they say.  I just wish I could comfort all of them. 


I was lucky; it never crossed my mind that God was responsible for my cancer. My first thought was, God, I need your help to get me through this. God, I need your help to get the ones who love me through this. After that uncertain and anxious time is safely past, I can see just how God answered my prayers.


When I received my diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, I was two weeks beyond my 27th birthday. I was six months newly married. I was for eight months a baptized Christian. In this way, my foundation was set to propel me through doubt and despair. Being baptized, starting a new journey in faith, I was made bold in the belief that my God is good and He would not forsake me. I have often wondered “what if” – what would it have looked like had I not made that commitment to Christ? Yet my baptism and marriage went hand in hand. My husband, who led the way for me to become Christian, would always guide me forward. I thank God for the day I met the man who would be my partner and who would stay steadfast in the face of suffering in a fledgling marriage.

When taken into perspective, the situation during treatment just seemed to work out. We were blessed that Wilbur’s employer offered me health insurance. We happened to have moved away to an area with excellent and easily accessible medical care. Still, we were near enough to family so my mother could look after me. I lost my job, but that forced me to stay home and recuperate. We prayed, a lot. A lot of people prayed for us. I decided that whatever happened, God would provide a way. I won’t be afraid or discouraged. God will be with me wherever I go.

It took some patience to gain perspective on this experience.  Deep down I sought out to make it purposeful.  Maybe through this sort of affliction, I could grow stronger in character, to be a more faithful Christian, and to provide for others.  What I do understand is how suffering touched me and then how grace was shown to me.   
Actually, it was at Evergreen Baptist Church where I received my baptism. When I finally moved back to Evergreen after treatment, it struck me – I’m so lucky.