Good morning…
“For me, the word cancer is interchangeable with the word life,” a wise, wise woman taught her daughter before leaving earth for heaven. This daughter happens to be one my good friends. Since today, February 4th, is World Cancer Day, I reached out to my friend to further unwrap the gift of her mom’s unusual statement.
“For her, cancer was another word for life, because her diagnosis made her deeply aware and grateful for each moment lived,” my friend explained. “Her favorite scripture was Psalm 30:5b: “Weeping may linger for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Now I spend quality time with God, processing this soul-stretching wisdom for myself.
Cancer brings dark nights of weeping and cancer brings mornings of immeasurable joy. Cancer invites us to be deeply aware, grateful for each and every moment. Cancer whispers: “Notice beauty. Welcome kindness. Freely give and receive love right now.” I go on to muse a bit more. Cancer draws us close to our special people and introduces us to the loving care of generous strangers we may never have met any other way. Cancer bonds us deeply with those who join our uphill journey, giving others the privilege of sharing our load. Cancer whispers: “Savor favorite memories, allowing the ugly to fade with time. Sit and think, talk and listen, cry and laugh, hours evaporate as our souls heal whole. Make the very most of one single lifetime on earth before stepping into the spaciousness of intimacy with God forever.”
If cancer is synonymous with life, then here is how the previous paragraph speaks Christ’s enduring truth.
“Life brings dark nights of weeping and life brings mornings of immeasurable joy. Life invites us to be deeply aware, grateful for each and every moment. Life whispers: “Notice beauty. Welcome kindness. Freely give and receive love right now.” I go on to muse a bit more. Life draws us close to our special people and introduces us to the loving care of generous strangers we may never have met any other way. Life bonds us deeply with those who join our uphill journey, giving others the privilege of sharing our load. Life whispers: “Savor favorite memories, allowing the ugly to fade with time. Sit and think, talk and listen, cry and laugh, hours evaporate as our souls heal whole. Make the very most one single lifetime on earth before stepping into the spaciousness of intimacy with God forever.”
To benefit Blue Skies Ministries, which offers fun-filled beach retreats to families living with childhood cancer, I bought this painting as a birthday gift to my husband, Steve, a colorful symbolize of our unknown journey into the empty nest phase of life. (With this smaller painting, I thought I was replacing the painting at the center of our surprising saga described in two previous posts, Steve’s Birthday Surprise and Some Gifts Keep Giving.) Blue Skies Ministries just published their 2021 summer lineup of camps, so check out this link and consider volunteering a week of your summer, donating to this life-giving organization, or sponsoring a family who cannot afford to enjoy the respite of a week of restoration: https://www.blueskiesministries.org/.
Today marks the 20th anniversary of World Cancer Day, a day of honoring the shared experience which knows no borders across our globe. My prayer for World Cancer Day 2021 is this: I hope that every single person reading this post will reach out to at least one family member, friend or loved one, expressing gratitude for the precious gift of shared life and helping to raise awareness and funds for research and treatment of all forms of cancer worldwide. For more information on what you can do as an individual or community leader, visit www.worldcancerday.org.
With this morning’s sunrise, I sense God’s “AMEN!”
This Life-Giver was made visible and we have seen him. We testify to this truth: the eternal Life-Giver lived face-to-face with the Father and has now dawned upon us (1 John 1:2, TPT).
