Beyond Anxiety

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. - Philippians 4:6 It was brought to my attention yesterday that a dear friend of mine, although thousands of miles apart, is in a fight for her life. How many of us can say our worry for tomorrow is truly life-threatening? No one has ever changed the future by dreading it. Leaving it up to God, we are so much better off. Living life to the fullest. Staying away from becoming a victim. I recently read a book called The Law of the Garbage Truck by David J. Pollay. In chapter 27 he tells a story about a lady named Kim, married with 2 young children. She was diagnosed with cancer, it went away and came back in other places a few years later. He talks about how she flourished despite her set back, despite her worry, despite her bad news, despite her fear of the unknown, of who would care for her children if she were to leave this world. That is what kept her going and focused on staying positive, keeping her sense of humor and ability to switch from sadness to gratitude on a dime! In situations like cancer there is something in our life beyond our control, we must be reminded to look for the greater things, to not let this disease dump on the person dealing with it or us as a family member, don't focus on the bad, focus on the good and greater things in our lives, you cannot afford to waste your energy on negative distractions. In the words of Kim- We all have issues, it is not isolated just to someone with cancer. It's easy to see the world through your own filter of "Oh my goodness, I'm dealing with cancer." The reality is that everybody's dealing with something that they feel is very important in their lives. And who is ultimately the judge. Which is worse? There is no competition. I wonder what tomorrow will hold. I know that I have amazing people in my life and that I am in great hands medically. By letting go of (most) of the fear and living my life with appreciation for everything I have- my husband, my children, my family and friends- I am a happy, grateful, pro-active survivor. Growing up I had a friend who passed away from brain cancer when I was just 11 years old. She was 10. We grew up together, like sisters, right across the street. Always at each others side. She was an inspiration to me. A positive bubble of energy, or happiness and gratitude no matter what she was going through. She was a light to other people. I learned from her early on that no matter what life throws my way, no matter what obstacles or set backs, I can be sad a little, I can be mad a little, I can grieve and be a victim but only for a short period of time, before I need to pick myself up, dust myself off and push forward. My friend now struggling with this almost 4 year remission of cancer to find out that she now has it in more than one location of her body is saddening. Reading her post was heartbreaking. I just saw her in October and she was so full of life and love and happiness! Her and her husband just recently took her experience and turned it into a positive, opening up a cancer resource center in their local town, trying to give back to those who fall victim to this devastating disease, to use her energy and her experience to show those around her that you can survive and how to survive through this ordeal. I am so proud of her and her accomplishments. It is easy to get mad at God sometimes in these situations and ask "WHY?" "WHY her God?" She is trying to help others. unfortunately, I don't think it is for us to understand the "why" sometimes. I truly believe God doesn't cause things to happen in our lives but sometimes he doesn't intercede. Maybe she needs to go through all of this again for those people that she has opened her heart and her center to truly relate and see how actively positive she can remain, we may just never know. I do want anyone reading this to please keep her and her family in your prayers. There will be lots of doubt, fear and stress, it is humanly natural, however I pray that their hope for the future, their positive attitudes and their appreciation of what is around them and their blessings will sustain. Take this today as a reminder to always be focused on how you can be appreciative in your life. How you can take your sour attitude toward something that just isn't quite going your way and flip it on a dime to a happier moment! Life may bring you lemons, but you can make lemonade! Sometimes the very essence of faith is trusting God in the midst of things. He knows good and well we cannot comprehend. - Beth Moore