I recently had a conversation with a friend who just kind of blew me away. She's in her 30's and has already battled cancer- twice. Sitting in my living room, having Spiedie sandwiches (a staple here in Binghamton :)) and onion rings, she shared with me her story. Her story of how after she battled cancer the first time, she invited all of her friends on a weekend getaway and showered them with gifts to thank them for all their support, only to discover weeks before her trip that the cancer was back.
She shared with me some of the conversations she was able to have with her doctors about God. She talked about the difficulties and her future of unknowns, but what surprised me the most out of everything she said was the ultimate trust she had in God. She said her first reaction when the doctor said that it was cancer, was OK God, I trust you. Let's do this. I have trouble trusting God with what I'm going to do in the afternoon with Jake when it's raining outside let alone handing God your life when you get the news that you have cancer and saying, "I trust you, God. This situation isn't out of your control."
Recently I've been listening to this song during my quiet times, and the lyrics have been such an encouragement to me:
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well
Far be it from me to not believe
Even when my eyes can't see
And this mountain that's in front of me
Will be thrown into the midst of the sea
So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name
It is well with my soul.
These past few weeks I've been asking God what He's doing in our lives and where He's taking us and it's easy for me to get caught up in our circumstances instead of simply trusting and being caught up in Him. The unknown can be hard for a type A planner like me who can't sit still and simply "be." So, hearing this particular friend open up about her unknowns and the trust she has every time she gets her scans done was just what my little heart needed to hear.
As my friend was leaving all I could say was thank you to her. I just wanted to thank her for sharing her story with me, and for letting God use her trials for good. It was such a privilege to hear how God is using her cancer to touch people in ways they probably have never experienced. She reminded me that we all have a story that God wants to use to reach people. As God taught me 4 years ago and apparently is still teaching me, "We are not profound or great, but what God is doing in our lives for His Kingdom is profound and great."
