Two doses of chemo over and I'm feeling like it's letting go of me again. Such a blessing to be able to eat normally and not have indigestion that makes it feel like a small block of wood is forcing its way through your intestines. Slept through the night last night too, another blessing I don't think I'll ever take for granted again. I even went shopping with my daughter today, though I sat through it while she searched the racks. :)Sitting in the mall it was interesting to watch all the "normal, healthy" people. Some avoided my turbaned head, some smiled a wee bit, some just stared then looked away. Then I noticed a woman walk by whose neck was a bit crooked. Another had a slight limp, another dragged an oxygen tank behind him. Not so "normal and healthy." And I thought, how many times did I breeze by them all in a mall like this, uncaring, oblivious to all the hardships and pain around me. In the glitz and glimmer of a shopping mall it's easy to think the world is all as it should be as we spin along on our quest for consumer items, avoiding the pain, the sadness, refusing to look it in the face, refusing to do anything to alleviate it.
But the reality is, the world underneath all that shine and polish is rather sad and broken. A friend posted a quote from CS. Lewis on Facebook recently - "Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him Happy." So very true.
Yet there is hope, there is purpose.
The author of the second book of Corinthians said it this way - "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows" (2Corinthians 1:3-5).
As we see the pain and suffering around us and attempt to minister to it, we enter into the ministry of Christ through His suffering. We enter into the humanity of our race, joining ourselves together with bonds that hold us all up as we stand at the cross. And in so doing we are made more human, molded more and more into the image of God, which is our true identity.
And some of the brokenness is healed, the sadness turned to joy, the reality of God's love made known. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
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Please note - in honour of 9/11 I am offering my devotional ebook, A Traveler's Advisory for FREE at www.smashwords.com/books/view/54831 Just use the code GK32H for the freebie. I ask that if you are blessed by it you would consider leaving a review at Smashwords. Thanks and blessings to you all. Marcia
Bless you Marcia, in this tough time! You are brave.
ReplyDeleteAbout the e-book. I discovered I was trying to use that code for the wrong book. My bad! I still haven't downloaded the right one, but now I know the error of my ways. Sorry to disturb the waters...
Thanks for sharing, Marcia. I know I'm blind to people with needs at times. Lord, open our eyes!
ReplyDeleteHi Marcia,
ReplyDeleteI am praying for you as you journey through chemotherapy treatments. Your article is so true about how we breeze through the mall, hardly noticing, (or rather not wanting to notice) those who are in any kind of discomfort or pain.
Pam M.
Isn't it amazing what our hearts see when we are forced to be still? We continue to pray for you each night, Marcia. Be blessed and encouraged and delighted that God is using you mightily! x
ReplyDeleteOh Marcia! You are such an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteMarcia:
ReplyDeleteDidn't realize you had cancer. Thanks for the inspiration and sense of rest you have in God for living.
You are right. We notice other people's afflictions more when we have to cope with our own.
Had my bout two years ago and to date cancer free and thankful.
May God continue to bless you and your family.