In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18,
Paul writes this “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all
circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” NLT
Always be joyful.
What
is joyful??? Always walking around with a silly grin on your face??? For me, I
try to focus on the positive side. Like the song says, “look on the bright side
of life.” It’s not always easy these days with violence in the streets, wars within countries, and the divide between God’s way & the world’s way is getting wider and wider every day.
However,
if we truly follow God’s way, based on His Word, we can experience joy in even
the hardest circumstances … liking dealing with a diagnosis of cancer.
The
unofficial end of a hot & humid summer has come. Most children are back in
school or start tomorrow and Moms are thankful. My summer was a busy one
indeed. From seeing friends … from near & far, weekends in the Poconos, the
Annual Choir Picnic, Vacation Bible School, running our business, a weekend in
Cape May, and plenty of quilting, my life this summer was anything but boring.
It was quite fun & quite joyful!!!
Never stop praying.
Never
is a really long time. How do you never stop praying??? What about sleep??? In
my mind, we always need to be in an attitude of prayer. Be aware of when God
brings people or situations to mind. Be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
In
just my Choir Family alone this summer, several have needed prayer for
diagnosis of cancer, emergency surgery while on vacation, and surgery while
home.
Others
close to me have needed prayers while traveling home from a year away. Another
needed prayer for employment. Others return to the US needing prayer to raise support
to return to the assignment God has given them. Prayers were also lifted up for
those workers on short-term trips and those who have given their life in
service to the Lord. We should also be in prayer for our country and our
leaders. And also for those who lead us in our churches.
There
is NEVER a moment when we don’t have ANYTHING to pray about or ANYONE to pray
for!!!
Be thankful in all circumstances, for
this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
I
know this is going to sound crazy, but I thank God for cancer. I thank God that
through this ordeal, my walk has been strengthened. I thank God that I have
this blog to praise Him. I thank God that you are reading this & praying
for me. I thank God that somehow, someday my story will bring Him glory and
encourage others. I thank God that He brought the right doctors into that
operating room. And I thank God that He has given men and women around the
world the wisdom to invent tests and medicine that will treat this deadly
disease.
But
when the storms of life come crashing in and the things that you thought were
certain, become a little (or a lot) uncertain, how do you respond???
Joyfully??? Prayerfully??? Thankfully???
Over
the past 2 weeks, my certain job and my clean bill of health both became uncertain.
On
Friday, August 21 about ½ hour before the end of my shift I was “invited” to a
mandatory conference call with several other fellow employees. On the call were
the Vice President of Operations, the VP of Government Services, and my
manager. Once we all were on the call, we were advised that as of October 1, we
no longer would be servicing the Department of Commerce account. We lost the
contract. On the line … silence. What could we say??? What could we do??? I had
an overwhelming feeling of deja vu, but also that God has this under control.
Since
then, I have had phone interviews for 3 internal positions which I thought went
well. I am praying to get an offer for one specific position. Hopefully, I’ll
know by mid-week.
Then
on Tuesday, September 1, I had my regular 3 month follow-up oncology
appointment. The crazy thing is I usually don’t get my blood test results until
after my doctor visit. This time, I received the results one day prior. One of
the results I specifically look every time is my CA-125 number. This is a
marker in your blood that they look at for ovarian cancer. They say your
reading should be under 35. Mine was 38. This was quite distressing and to see
it charted out, it’s been on the rise since before May. I asked my doctor if stress
could affect the results and he said it could. He wants me to get another blood
test just for the CA-125 at the end of September and then we’ll take it as it
comes.
But,
am I still joyful … YES!!!
Am
I still prayerful… YES!!!
Do
I still give thanks in every situation… YES!!!
Please pray with me for the following:
1.
That I will be offered the position that is best for me.
2.
That the elevated CA-125 number was just a bump in the road and that when
tested again; the number will be back to an acceptable level.
3.
That I would experience God’s peace in both situations. (Colossians 3:15)
Only
by His strength,
Sandy
PS - Remember, September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. I you or a woman that you love has any of these symptoms come on suddenly, please have her see her OB/GYN immediately. Ovarian cancer is a silent killer.
THINK TEAL!!!
