Hope for Hurting Hearts
I cannot tell you how happy I am writing to you today. One year ago told a very different story in the rollercoaster of my life. It was this time last year that a PET scan revealed an area of supposed concern where I had my liver resection that past August. My oncologist thought that the cancer we thought we had defeated had returned and spread. This was deflating news as we were ready to celebrate health and healing in 2023! A liver biopsy later, we learned that it was inflammation in the cavity where my liver was no longer residing and nothing of concern. This is exactly what the surgeon thought it was, but to gain certainty regarding my healing, the liver biopsy was our best option.
I love a good adventure, but I am ready to finish this one. Personally, I prefer adventures in traveling instead. I would venture to guess that is the kind of adventure most people prefer. Feeling down, anxious, tired, overwhelmed, sick, etc. is not where we are meant to park. If this is where you currently find yourself please know that there is hope. We all experience hills and valleys. Your valley may linger longer than anticipated, or the mountaintop you are experiencing is passing too quickly. The mountaintop experiences may not necessarily help us forget the valleys but they certainly ease the pain. The key here is recalling the good when we find ourselves in the valley. I wish I could explain away the reasons we get caught up in our valley moments, but I cannot. Why are we so quick to forget all of the good experiences before our moments of difficulty?
I have a ten-year-old daughter who is wise beyond her years. Last week when I was tucking her in for the night, she could sense the immense stress I was feeling. It had been a challenging week between work schedules and other factors, and I was not my best self. In the sweetest, most sincere way I was gently reminded that God knows the end of the story and I didn’t need to carry the weight of our circumstances. This is exactly how childlike faith works. In that moment I paused and thanked God for my beautiful daughter, and for speaking through her to bring me a fresh perspective. She had no agenda or motive behind her wise words, just a sincere desire for my healthy state of mind.
This is my desire for you as well.
God knows your situation and He already knows the outcome.
He will see you through, as you place your trust in Him! We chose to believe that everything would work for good, despite the concern my oncologist expressed. Ultimately it turned out to be a best-case scenario situation, and I truly believe God worked through my circumstances and healed me from Stage IV Metastatic Colon Cancer. I realize this is not the same story for everyone, and the circumstances and outcomes may be different. But, what do we have, if not HOPE?
HOPE = Faith in the unseen
