"There's No Place Like Hope"

Dh has been working the past three days in a row. Last night he just looked beat. His shoulders were more slouchy and his head was hanging low. I knew he was tired and I didn't want to bother him so I sat quietly on the couch while he glared at the tv screen not even watching the game.

Finally he spoke up. "Work has been rough lately, hon." Now my husband normally doesn't say much of anything so I knew it was really important when he described to me, for the next few minutes, the ordeal that two of his co-workers have been dealing with. It's the big C again. The bully is back and in full force.

One woman that works with dh has been battling it for awhile and just recently may have caught pneumonia. She had to get a tube in her throat to breathe. Imagine working with this woman for years and then having to work on her. Dh says she is in ICU. She is uncomfortable and his heart was busting with pain for her.

Another man just recently was having headaches and went to the doc to see if he could get some relief. He didn't expect to find a brain tumor and stage 4 of the bully. What a shock. DH could barely get the words out of his mouth as he described that the man was given a timeline of 1-2 years. The last time I saw this person he held my #3 in his arms like a baby doll and everyone called him grandpa.

We spent the next while talking about when we found out my diagnosis and how scary and lonely we felt. I was given pretty good news. It was curable. I feel pretty guilty hearing about others whose chance of survival is not so good. We haven't had the scan to read the results of the chemotherapy, but the doc says things are going along just fine.

The truth is we have cancer. It does not have us. After my surgery a friend came to visit and brought me a book called, "There's No Place Like Hope" by Vicki Girard. A guide to beating cancer in mind-sized bites.I love the title and I still read the book pretty regularly. It keeps me on the right track of thinking positively. That bully can drag you down if you don't train your brain to hope and have faith in God.

I don't know if these two people have faith in God, but I know that I do and I am going to use my faith along with the power of prayer to send up some SOS signals to let Him know I am not going to let the bully take them without a fight.

The amazing thing about prayer is that it equally helps the pray-er and the pray-ee. So if you have a prayer list please add Kathy and Gordy to it.

Having faith doesn't mean that we never wonder why we got cancer, only that we believe that God has an answer for all that we go through.It's okay to be mad at God sometimes, just don't refuse to talk to him about it.

Mother Teresa said, "I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much."

The absolute hardest part about fighting the bully is the not knowing part. If we could only see the future; skip ahead a chapter or two; watch the previews. I believe that knowing that God has a plan for my life was the reason I didn't go nuts while I was waiting to find out what kind of bully I was fighting. I read the last page of the book and I knew the ending already. I accepted that. It made the whole process a lot easier for me.

Heavenly Father,

My husband and I have heavy hearts. The knowledge of this woman and man and their present fight with the bully is weighing us down. We cannot imagine how the families are coping. But, we are wearing the armor of hope. We can't give them much but we can support them and pray for them and so we come to you, where all things are possible.

Please pour your love and light over them and their families. Bring them peace of mind and heart. Help them to choose to live each day fully and treasure the journey of their life. Remind them that they are already survivors. Each moment they are alive they are beating that bully. Give them the strength to honor your will for them. Remind them to come to you for comfort and peace and the power to overcome.

Thank you heavenly Father,
Amen.