April 7
When you pass through the waters, I shall be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; …
Isaiah 43:2a
There are many times on this journey when it feels as if we’re drowning – drowning in fear, drowning in uncertainty, drowning in exhaustion, drowning in forces beyond our control. A cancer diagnosis sweeps us up into turbulent and raging waters. It brings with it violent storms of doubt and distress. We feel as if we are being carried away against our will. We wonder if we can overcome all that has poured out upon us. But God promises us we can. God tells us we will. God reassures us that no matter how far we are plunged into cancer’s depths, God will be with us and we need not be overwhelmed. God is here to keep us from going under. We always need to remember we have this lifeline, constant and true.
Being overwhelmed seems to be a way of life for me so often, dear God. So often I feel as if I’m being pulled under. When I feel out of control I need you to lift me up and I call out to you for that today. Amen.
April 8
For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
The support we have through the cancer journey is essential. We need people around us who can listen to our fears and worries without judgment. We need people around us who are positive and encouraging. We need people around us who have only our best interests and needs in mind. There are many days when fear and anxiety strike us hard. We need around us those who love us enough to allow us to express what we’re feeling and then who will walk through the fires with us until we emerge from them. One of the most helpful things we can do for our healing is to know who these people are in our lives. Give thanks for those relationships and nurture them in every way you can. They provide a crucial lifeline that is a blessing in countless ways.
Just when I think I can’t do this on my own, you provide for me a reminder of how much I am loved and cared for. Just when I need someone to show me a more positive way, you bring someone to me to give me just what I need. Thank you, O God. Amen.
April 9
When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Isaiah 43:2b
The intensity of cancer’s journey gets to be far too much at times. It can burn through our lives and destroy many of our yearnings and dreams for what we hope our lives to be. Too often we allow cancer to consume every bit of our lives. We can’t stop thinking about it, talking about it or worrying about what might come next. It gets in the way of our living joyfully and fully the way God has created us to live. When we feel as if we are being consumed by cancer, we need to allow God to fight the fires that burn. We need to allow God to control all the destructive fires that burn within and around us. We do not have to confront them by ourselves. Indeed, we should not; because we cannot do it completely on our own.
I’m walking through fire a lot, O God, and I’m having a hard time getting out of it. So I pray to you today to help me learn how not to be consumed. I pray to you to help me step out of the fire and put each of my days in a more positive perspective. Amen.
April 10
Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?
Ecclesiastes 9:11
Again and again, God highlights our need for support and encouragement. God created us to live in connection with one another. Laughter is better when it is shared. Love is deeper when it is mutual. Life is richer when it is blessed with cherished relationships. When difficulties come into our lives, when disease and distress challenge us, the way through them is made much easier when those in our lives help to sustain us. The daunting tests we face with cancer can be far less intimidating when the laughter, love and life we experience is shared, mutual and cherished. How do your relationships sustain you? Hold onto those special ones that give you just what you need. They are gifts from God that we cannot do without.
The comforting embrace that comes from knowing there are others who really care for me is more important than I know how to say. Dear God, I can’t express enough how wonderful it is to know I walk this path with the help of others who truly care. Amen.
April 11
They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; they shout from the west over the majesty of the Lord.
Isaiah 24:14
In many ways there doesn’t seem to be much to celebrate when cancer comes into our lives. The anxiety and disruption it causes doesn’t lend itself very easily to good times and fun. It’s very easy to lose sight of the things that are good – the love of those who care about us, the activities that bring us contentment, the wonder of creation around us. It’s especially easy to lose sight of the blessings that come with faith – hope for better days, confidence that healing can really happen, reassuring guidance for our spirits and lives. We can quickly overlook the parts of our lives that are positive. We can simply forget that practicing gratitude will change our attitudes profoundly. Our challenge is to create an atmosphere of thanksgiving and to live in it. When we lift up our voices in thanks and live in joy our lives truly do change in positive ways.
When I struggle with the things I don’t like about my circumstances, I pull myself down and I don’t like how that feels. When I’m in that frame of mind, I ask you, dear God, to show me a better way, a way of gladness, goodness and joy. Amen.
April 12
And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes: 9:12
There can be a lot of negativity surrounding cancer. The realities of weakened immune systems, the side effects of many treatments, the consequences of bad test results and the concerned, but misplaced comments of people around us, all can serve to bring us down. When we feel bombarded and beleaguered, it’s very easy to focus on all that’s going wrong. If we allow it we can become easily broken down. That’s where we need the positive influence and encouragement of caring people around us, people who help us see beyond the frustrations and enable us to envision the very real possibilities and hopes that lie in front of us. We are infinitely stronger and more able to withstand the challenges when we can be reminded that the difficulties are not the only things in our lives.
I really do need to be reminded that there is so much more to my life and in my life than cancer, O God. When that is all I think about I am quickly brought down. But when you speak through others to show me there is more to consider I am lifted to where I need to be. Amen.
April 13
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.
I Corinthians 12:1
We should not underestimate how important it is to pay attention to our spiritual natures. Without a connection to something greater than ourselves we can be seriously overwhelmed. Without a perspective beyond ourselves we can be deeply restricted and cut off. Without a realization of our worth in eternal eyes we can be profoundly unaware of how significant we are and how important our wholeness and healing is to God. Through our spirits we are given tremendous gifts of strength, understanding, patience, courage, stamina, forgiveness, grace, appreciation and love. When we develop and rely upon these spiritual gifts to sustain and guide us we have access to a reservoir of resources that knows no bounds. The human spirit is a limitless source of help, given to us by a generous and compassionate God.
Dear God, on this journey I need all the help I can get. I know I need to draw on the deep, deep gifts you have given me. Thank you so much for them. When I really take the time to think about them their abundance is overwhelming. Amen.
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