7 Pillars of Being a Cancer Kickin Warrior
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was absolutely horrible only to find out it was actually something that was chock full of blessings and helped you become the person you were meant to be? Being a Cancer Kickin Warrior is that something for me and I’d like to share some of the pillars of what that means.
1. Transformation
I don’t know if you can relate but when I was first heard my doctor verbalizing the dreaded “C” word, I thought my life was over and he obviously concurred. It goes to show that no one can know what God has planned for us, for here I am, over fourteen years later, still very much alive. My diagnosis has transformed me and God continues to use this illness as a tool to further His work in me. I am eternally grateful.
2. Realization
After being told my condition was terminal, my first prayer was for Jesus to wake me from this terrible nightmare. When I came to the frightening revelation that I was not dreaming, my second petition was to touch the hem of His garment so that I would be healed. You see, I know God, and with all my heart I know, that He has the power to heal me – in the blink of an eye.
3. Wondering
I have to admit I still spend a lot of time wondering why God won’t just hurry up and blink, but blinking would be far too easy. If He had blinked there would be so many incredible lessons I might never have learned, experiences I might never have had, and so many incredible people I might have never met.
4. Blessing
Like my dear friend Inez Whitehead Dickens, the original Cancer Kickin Warrior. Our priest Father Nickas introduced us when Inez was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. He thought somehow my own journey through cancer would inspire her but really she’s the one who inspired me. Together we found healing, Inez through Chemo and me through Holistic Medicine.
Inez is a strong woman and when she got better she was determined to provide a service that she could not find when she was diagnosed. Determined to make a difference she started writing a Cancer Kickin Warrior column for her local paper and eventually authored a book, Cancer Kickin Warriors, my story shows up on page 67!
Meet Cancer Kickin Warrior Inez and hear in her own words how she is making a difference.
5. Surviving
When we met, we didn’t even know if we would survive, many of our friends did not, like Fran and Mirian, and we still miss them.
Now, over a decade later we are both blessed with grandchildren, living life to the fullest and making a difference in our corner of the world . It is such an honor and a privilege to call her friend.
6. Trusting
So when I start to feel the weight of this illness that I continue to live with, I think of how I have been blessed and I hold fast to Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding, always let Him lead you and He will clear the road for you to follow.
And I remember what I read in our parish bulletin all those years ago,
Faith is to be absolutely convinced of the reliability of God, without any knowledge of where the journey will take us.
7. Accepting
And at the end of each day that I live with cancer, even if God does not heal me in the blink of an eye, it is my hope that He will wink and be well pleased!