As we were setting up for the fall festival this morning, I was talking to Al, a member of our church who’s family recently encountered a very difficult time in life. Last March his wife, Melissa, was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. As if that wasn’t hard enough to accept, this specific type of cancer only occurs in about 10% of women diagnosed with breast cancer.
Al’s testimony of his family’s strength and faith in God really touched me. He shared the fact that if not for the peace that he and his family had through the Lord, they would have struggled with this dreadful disease devastating their lives. This is the affect that God has on our lives when you turn everything over to His plan.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
James 1:2-3
I will never presume to comprehend more than God does. Hearing Al’s story has helped me to remember the difference between having hope and having faith. I realize that if God is not God of all, he is not God at all.
So Far…
The treatment Melissa has undergone so far has had an exhausting and painful effect on her body. After chemotherapy, she proceeded to have surgery, then radiation, followed by more surgery. She is continuing with further treatment, which is estimated to take a little over a year.
Statistics spell out the evasive threat of breast cancer occurrence among women. The National Breast Cancer Foundation website states that one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with the disease every two minutes, and one woman will die every 13 minutes.
Dealing with cancer is hard, both physically and emotionally. The treatments take a toll on you physically and leave you feeling powerless over your own body. However, through the power of modern medicine, and by the grace of God, Melissa is still with us today!
We Can Trust God
No matter what happens to us, God, the creator and ruler of the universe, the one who made the great creatures of the deep and flung stars all over the heavens, is in control. He controls the tides of the oceans and the wind in the trees. He controls the tiny little birds that ride the colors of dawn.
If you have cancer, God wants to give you a deeper faith; He wants to give you a confidence in His sovereignty, a larger trust in Him. When you have cancer, God wants to give you profound peace.
God never intends that cancer should harm your soul. He only designs that your soul be stretched through your suffering. Stretched to receive more of His grace, more of His wisdom, more of His ability to endure, to persevere, and then to pass on that encouragement to others.
Pray For Our Friends
Please pray that the Lord Jesus continue His healing in our friend. Ask God to keep away the cancer that tried to consume her body. Pray for God to help Melissa and her family continue to survive this, to become stronger, and to help spread the Lord’s love through their testimony. Pray that God be with them through this trying time. Pray for them to flourish in strength and understanding. Pray that God helps Melissa’s family to support her through her healing. Your prayers will give this family all they need to survive this life experience and enrich their lives with God’s love.
We are asking those who may be reading this post or those who know this wonderful family to help Melissa on her journey as she recovers from breast cancer. Melissa’s husband, Al, has created a Go Fund Me page you can access here that will allow you to help this family and follow Melissa’s journey.