A guest post by: Debbie Yohn (A Breast Cancer fighter)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. (Galatians 6:18)
This is from my time alone in God’s word today and boy did I need to hear it this morning. I went to the doctor’s yesterday to see the surgeon. He has a deep love and caring for his patients. I am a Shock Trauma Nurse, and this doctor gets how hard it is to be a nurse/ doctor on the other side, being a patient. Suddenly becoming the one needing care and now dependent on the skills of staff to care for you, the one used to being a care-giver. My doctor is encouraging me to stay the course of treatment He said, “This year is going to be very hard and it will suck. There is no way around that.” But he wants me to embrace that suck and stick it out even through at times I will feel like I am dying.
My Chemo treatments start again in three days. I am doing both traditional and alternative care such as Vitamin C and Mistletoe. My surgeon encouraged me to do all that. But the verse above made me realize that it is God who has equipped me for this battle! This last year of searching for ways to help my arthritis gave me great tools to help my body to fight cancer and help my body do what God designed it to do, to heal.
“The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ,” these words jumped out to me as I read the above Scripture. Grace is a true gift and what I need to stand firm in my faith during the year ahead. I love that is says “be with your spirit,” because at times my spirit is overwhelmed with all the exams, testing, and chemo. Hardest of all is the feeling that I have no control over my body as the cancer team directs my care. These words are encouraging to me.
In biblical counseling I use the body, mind & spirit to direct care. Now I myself get to be encouraged by the words of Paul, and look to Our LORD JESUS CHRIST to be with my spirit. It is not my job to direct care and fill up my own spirit, but the Holy Spirit inside of me will do that, as I need it.
Sometimes the nurse in me is so bossy and wants all the control. It is a great reminder to me today that Jesus lives in me. Think about that, if you have accepted Jesus into your heart, you Jesus who lives inside of you. That is NO small measure of comfort. I love how He cares for me in the midst of this storm that is now rocking my world.
Today as I get ready for round 2 of Chemo, my eyes are fixed on the fact that my spirit is filled, and He has me. I hope these words will encourage you as you face the storms in your own life. We all have them, and they can be so difficult. My kids said to “EMBRACE THE SUCK.” Which means they want me to fight on.
Now I am not just navigating the “embracing of the suck,” but looking to Jesus who can fill me when I am at the end of myself. Today I am grateful and encouraged and I hope the words form Galatians 6:18 will find their way into your heart, mind, and spirit. Be Blessed
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