Several years ago, Jerry and I experienced a sudden and unexpected loss in our lives that turned our world upside down. Navigating the pain was long and hard. When we took our eyes off ourselves, we realized there were others going through a similar situation or were about to join our ranks. As we worked through the healing process, we made it our mission to be there for others and show them there is life beyond this loss.
Recently, one couple we invested in came by for a visit. At the end of our time together, my friend said, “You know when you told me there was life beyond what we were going through, that was the best thing you could have said.”
It’s hard to see it amid the pain. But when we are further down the road, we can see the beauty and blessing God brought through the agony. In fact, my friend even commented on how the changes allowed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be shared in new and creative ways.
The timing of this visit and reminder was perfect for me. It came the week I completed my radiation treatments (pause here to shout, Praise the Lord!). For the last four months, cancer, the radiation treatment, and recuperation have been my life. Everything else revolved around how I felt, whether I had energy that day, and how my body was responding.
Then suddenly the surgery site healed, the thirty-one treatments were over, side-effects were resolving, and I could resume typical life. But what is that? I told Jerry that I wasn’t even sure anymore what my normal energy level was. Am I there now? He assured me I wasn’t—yet.
While no one ever expected this diagnosis of cancer to be life-threatening, it had become all-encompassing. For a time, my world revolved around cancer. How do I shut that off and go back to my pre-cancer days? The truth is, I don’t.
This experience with cancer, like every other in my life, has shaped me. My prayer life is deeper. I respond to others who have a cancer diagnosis with more compassion than ever before. I am reminded my life has value beyond what I accomplish from my to-do list. I learned to let other people come alongside me and help, even when I didn’t always want or think I needed their help.
And now I move into the phase of life beyond cancer. It seems God’s plan is for me to continue on this earth. But someday I’ll enter the best phase of life beyond when He calls me home to eternity with Him in heaven.
Friend, you too have a life beyond what you are experiencing today; be it cancer, job loss, family challenges, financial pressures, or any other trial. Both now and in the age to come. If you’d like me to pray for you or want to chat about this, please drop a comment below.