Living with Cancer
I serve on the board of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) and have enjoyed the fellowship of various leaders from other denominations and agencies across our country. It has been a very enriching experience.
One of our members has been diagnosed with cancer and is currently receiving treatment. We have followed his health and spiritual journey with interest.
He recently sent an insightful testimonial about what he’s learning while living with cancer. I found it very edifying and helpful. I trust you’ll agree and distribute it widely:
I get to
“I get to.” A phrase that changes everything.
You may be getting this because you are part of my treasured group of people – family, friends, fellow Christian sojourners, or others who are accompanying me on a fight for my life. Thank you for taking the time to read this, to reflect, and perhaps to pray a bit as you may be led.
Thing is, I am in a fight for my life literally. The prognosis after cancer treatments of chemo simultaneously with radiation for seven weeks (I am in week two) is a good maybe even excellent prognosis of survivability. Without it I would endure an agonizing death. But the process of treatment and potential lasting side-effects are pretty awful.
Thing is, I get to take these treatments. A gold standard of treatment! Had I been born at a different time or in a different culture or country that might not have been the case. I get to burn through your Canadian tax dollars at an incredible rate!
After five surgeries I am finally in my seven weeks of treatment which I am embracing with joy. I have never asked “why me?” Why not me?? The first five words of the Bible are the foundation of much of my theology and they tell me I was created. I am an object of His creation. If I create something in my shop and I choose to alter the piece or even destroy it, the object doesn’t ask why. The creator can do whatever with His creation. Whether I live or whether I die I am His and He is mine.
I get to journey through this time of purpose-filled pain and suffering. We live in a world whose dominant culture denies the value of pain and suffering and avoids it at all costs - even death is promoted as a treatment option. I am not masochistic but I value it in so many ways! Sounds strange, but let me explain.
Foremost: I get to experience the incredible love of God who has my back and is journeying with me through this. Every phrase of Psalm 23 has taken on new and poignant meaning. Isaiah 40:28-32 similarly. While very familiar passages, they have provided a new depth of strength and hope I probably would never have accessed otherwise. I look forward to other gems He has yet to reveal to me.
I get to embrace His rebuke, correction, and refining work in me. I have lots of rough edges. Sometimes God uses an amplifier like cancer to get us to pay attention. Self-reliance, pride, envy, and laziness are only a few areas under construction.
I get to experience the face and love of genuine Christian community like I have never before. Most of my life I have been on the giving end of that. To receive such generosity, grace, and love is humbling. Really humbling. It reminds me of the New Testament church which others observed with wonder and awe, saying, “look at how they love one another!”
I get to have an incredible spouse to join me on this journey with a measure of selflessness, love, and good cheer that any person should covet. A genuine helpmate, wonderful companion, and encourager - I get to go through this with her as our marriage and relationship grows even stronger.
I get to experience my children rally around me while still living out their lives. One training for a marathon is reminding me of perseverance giving way to hope (Romans 5:3-5). Another reminding me that even if you are at the farthest reaches of the world (like Taloyoak) there God is still with us. Yet another who takes his family across Canada to lend support for the summer with aspirations in extreme sports that put me in awe and wonder of the capacities of the human body God has designed. “I get to” experience pride in each of them and their life situations and families and receive their love.
I get to have more time for the harder work of prayer. As my physical capacities will diminish for a season with an expected recovery time of six months, I will have more time to prayerfully combat the powers of darkness that seek to destroy the advancement of His Kingdom in congregations that are dear to me. These pastors need prayerful spiritual covering so that the powers of darkness are unable to diminish their impact as they contribute to making an eternally significant difference in the lives of others. “I get to” do that! What a privilege.
I get to exercise my humble need for prayer. Most of my life I have had great strength and capacity, being highly self-reliant, so seeking prayerful support is not easy. Specifically, pray for the new mission field God is opening up for me in the medical community I have constant contact with, that His light would shine clearly through me. Pray for patient perseverance for my dear wife who is carrying my burden with great grace. Pray that I might not lose too much weight as my body needs the resources to combat the cancer. Pray that my sleep issues will be resolved. Pray that I will navigate pain well and that there will be minimal long-term effects.
“I get to” changes everything. Embrace all that God has poured out into your life in times of trial, illness, or even death. There is so much meaning and purpose in it all!
With my prayers for your “I get to”.
In Christ,
Martin