CANCER: Journey of Pain - Showers of Blessings.....

Although I concur with the statement in the poster below, for me...it goes much further. It is true, now having bilateral breast cancer, I can honestly say that I had no "real" concept of how horrific this disease is and how it re-routes your entire life. It is all encompassing as in meanders in and out of every aspect of your life...while at the same time...you are attempting to defeat it with all of your strength. 

Breast cancer is not a "darker hole" than other diseases. There are varying degrees of illnesses and prognosis in all diseases, but they are all dreadful. I cannot fathom a child battling Neuroblastoma. It rips my heart out! I cannot fathom the day-to-day life of a precious one suffering Alzheimer's Disease. I cannot fathom the life of a child whose world is so confusing because they suffer from Autism. I cannot fathom living with heart disease to where your next pain could easily be your last breath or the battle with Diabetes where you have to fight losing your feeling, losing your feet/legs, or going into a coma that you might never awake. I could go on and on, but you get my point.  

There is no "one disease trumps another disease!" All diseases are horrendous and many are debilitating as they slowly...or sometimes quickly...tear-away the beauty of life and freedom of mobility. Illness, disease is brutal to the one personally suffering, but also to those who walk the journey - literally - right by their side and personally care for them. At a distance, we can only imagine. However, with a close-up view, we see all the ugly...we see and feel all the heartache and heartbreak of the battle.

I do not believe that illness and disease is from God. He loves His children more than we can imagine. However, we live in a fallen world where sin is at the forefront and satan is wielding his weapon of destruction as he travels the Earth. Be assured, satan has no power that is not allowed by God; however, God will allow bad to happen.....to the rich and the poor, saved and the lost, and to the young and the old. We are not "puppets on a string" and we have free will to act and re-act to what comes into our lives as we so choose.

When the "bad" comes how will we choose to confront it? Will we blame God or will we bring glory to Him through the bad? Sometimes, we must walk through the fire...we must suffer being refined and renewed in order to shine more brightly for Him....or perhaps, we are the vessel being used to bring other's closer to Him. Either way, we will never be the same. We will do one of two things....either we will turn to God or we will turn away from God.

Walking a disease laden path is extremely difficult; however, it provides us with a great opportunity to become all that His plan has laid-out for us. We can wallow around in our personal pity, cry, and whine....make the world all about us and what we are going through OR we can be made strong through the process. We can be a beacon of hope for others....especially for those who aren't as strong and for those who don't have a relationship with our Father and His Son.

I choose to be His light, His beacon of hope, His example of mustard-seed faith...as that is enough to move mountains...and His example of love as I cover myself daily with His armor to fight my battle with breast cancer. WOW....it is not an easy battle! That is why it is often called a "war" because it is far more than a simple fight or battle. It is all out WAR! And, every part of our being must participate in the war in order to win. We must shed ourselves of doubt and fear and allow God to come-in completely and take over our lives. He IS the One in control and we must not be a hindrance to Him and His desire for our well-being. Sometimes, we can be our own worst enemy...like when we try to take control of what is - in reality - absolutely out of our control.

Believe it or not, there are so many blessings in the middle of the storm! Since I was diagnosed with Stage 3 (lymph node involvement) Bilateral Breast Cancer on September 10, 2018....my life has been showered with blessings. These blessings are gifts that I would have never received outside of the journey that I am walking. I have met some of the most amazing medical professionals, caregivers, and patients in every step along the way. I have been able to share my faith with so many. Never a day passes that I am not able to cast His light over the life of someone who is hurting in some manner.

None of us truly know what is before us, but I have known in my soul from day one of my diagnosis that God is in control...God is leading...He has a plan and a purpose for my life...and He has great things in store for me after I am healed. I have never doubted that I WILL be healed in His Name with a 100% earthly healing. I know this because I know how He has directly and indirectly led me along this path that I have been traveling. I will have a new testimony...one that I could not have had without going through and surviving cancer. I have always been a passionate and compassionate person; however, that has now been elevated to a whole new degree of intensity. I will serve others more, share Jesus more, be thankful more, love more, release my burdens more, and hopefully be a blessing to others more.

I have never felt alone because I have God, Jesus, and His Holy Spirit with me constantly and I am blessed with a beautiful, loving family. However, I could have never imagined so many of you, precious ones, coming to my rescue in so many ways during this time in my life. You all have blanketed me with your love, with talks when I needed an ear, cards, calls, text messages, private Facebook messages, financial support....you have shed tears for me and with me, and you have been my most awesome prayer warriors. If you don't know how powerful, meaningful, and cherished prayers are....well, take it from me, they are everything...the most important gift. I have felt every prayer, every time my name is called out before our gracious and merciful Father. My body becomes stronger, my healing becomes faster as I feel myself being covered with protection.

The Lord who has compassion on you says, "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed."

Isaiah 54:10

My daughter, Ashleigh Kiker, has set-up a GoFundMe account to help offset some of my expenses. It is linked directly to my PayPal account. Thank you so much for your concern, prayers, and donations.

GoFundMe Account:

https://www.gofundme.com/patricia039s-cancer-fund?

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