Day 19
Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-20
Sing, Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
“I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes
before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.
Story from the Blue Seats:
In June 2017, I was looking forward to the return of my husband from a year-long deployment overseas with the Air Force. It had been a hard year, but we made it through. We were excited to be moving to Florida for his next job and were looking forward to some fun in the sun with our three children.
However, life did not unfold according to our plan. In August, shortly after our move, I was diagnosed with stage three triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). A rare and aggressive form of breast cancer, it had already spread to my lymph nodes. I was in shock. I had just turned 40 and had no significant risk factors or family history of breast cancer. How could this be happening?
Over the next two years, I endured 46 weeks of chemo, surgery, six weeks of radiation therapy, and finally, two reconstruction procedures. It was an incredibly trying season, but God showed up in my suffering — and my family’s — and I learned many lessons on my path to healing.
The first lesson was how to receive the help of others. This was a difficult lesson because I was used to giving help. However, at the time of my diagnosis, our children were only 6 years, 3 years, and 20 months old, respectively. The thought of undergoing chemo while keeping up with the demands of my job and raising three young kids was overwhelming.
I knew we would need help, but I was not prepared for the extent of our need or the outpouring of love and support we received from family, friends, and even strangers. God provided someone to take me to weekly chemo, watch our kids, walk our dog, and even fold our laundry when the chemo side effects made such tasks impossible for me.
God calls us to bear one another’s burdens. This is only possible if we admit we need help and let others into our lives. When I did this, so many people stepped forward to meet our needs ― and they were all glad to do it! If we hadn’t been willing to humbly accept their help, not only would we have struggled more than was necessary, but we would have robbed them of the opportunity to be a blessing for our family.
The next lesson was to trust God’s sovereignty and rely on His strength. While the physical hardships of battling cancer were significant, the mental challenge of facing an uncertain future was the hardest. The thought of my children growing up without me was terrifying. As I pondered my mortality, God began to change my perspective. I realized that even 100% healthy people aren’t guaranteed a tomorrow. The only time anyone has for certain is the present. I resolved to make the most of every day. I saw cancer as a thief ― one day it might rob me of everything, but I refused to let fear of the future steal my joy in the present.
This wasn’t easy. A point came in my treatment when I came to the end of my strength. I needed to surrender my fear of an uncertain future to the God who held my times in his hands (Psalm 31:14). I needed to completely trust my life ― and my children’s ― to the God who ordained all our days before even one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16). I prayed and asked God to give me the strength to continue to walk this path. I chose to trust what I knew about God: He is good (Nahun 1:7). He sees me (Genesis 16:13). He is fighting my battles (Exodus 14:14). Come what may, He will carry me and my family through it. After crying out to God, I felt an increased sense of peace.
Finally, I learned that suffering can also be filled with purpose. Jesus tells us that in this life we will have suffering, but He also says, “Take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). When you’re battling cancer, Jesus’ words take on a new and deeper meaning. Because of Jesus, I was never alone in my struggle.
Moreover, if we ask him to, Jesus enters into our suffering and uses our trials ― even cancer ― for our good and His glory. As Tony Evans said, “No pain or experience is wasted when you are a child of the King.” We can comfort others with the comfort we receive from Christ during our affliction (2 Corinthians 1:4), and our perseverance in the face of suffering can become a source of healing for others.
About eight months into treatment, God led me to join a cancer-survivor cooking class, where I met Sydney, a woman battling a rare adrenal gland cancer. We realized we had been in surgery at the same hospital during the same week. She also had young children, about the same age as mine, and we became good friends. She later shared that I was the first person she met who understood what she was going through, and she was a great encouragement to me, too. Sadly, Sydney passed away in 2021, but she never doubted God’s goodness. Her mantra was “cry, pray, praise, repeat.” Never letting her circumstances dissuade her from living out God’s call, Sydney resolved that her life would be a testimony, not a tragedy.
Over the past five years, God has brought other cancer survivors into my life, including three women diagnosed with TNBC. Currently, I help lead Fairfax Church’s Cancer Support Group. I’m thankful for the opportunity to share my experiences and the hope I found in Jesus. As Sarah Young said, we can trust Jesus “to not only guide us through our life but afterward take us to be with him in Glory.”
Today, against significant odds, I am cancer-free! Like the woman in Zephaniah, I give thanks and praise to God, “who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, and who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:3-5).
