Reality of Cancer ....

... it stinks!  There are a lot of things in life that just aren't fair and, to me, cancer just doesn't make any sense.

Every morning at work our team gets together in a prayer circle.  Yesterday I was sharing about a sixteen year old girl, Kacie, who has cancer.   She is nearing the end of her 2 year battle.  I first learned about Kacie's journey when my sister shared with me that she was her friend, Stan's daughter.  Well, I quickly looked up her story and began to follow it.  We hear so many stories but this one became a little more personal because my sister knows the family.

I was struggling to try to wrap my head around what her parents are feeling right now.  Cancer is consuming and when the caregiver gives everything to try and help their loved one, if the cancer takes their life not only have they lost their son/daughter/parent/spouse/etc ... there's also a void of "what now?  I've poured my life into helping them through their treatment for so long what do I do now?"  I've seen this mom, through her blog, share about the struggles of being with the child who is sick, yet trying to find normalcy for her other children.  

I liked one thing Kacie's mom said at the end of her message, when telling us that the doctors believe she has less than a week, " We continue to praise God for what He has taught and continues to teach us through this series of trials...as a dear friend recently told me, anything less than glory to Him would be a disservice to all that Kacie went through in His name."     

As I shared with my team yesterday, it seems everyone knew someone that had endured the cancer journey.  I just don't understand why a 4 year old would get cancer  ... babies ... I know that there are consequences to our actions.  You smoke all your life you may expect to get lung cancer ... what about the godly man who I so respected all my life in church ... never smoked a day in his life, he was a runner, perfect health ... all of a sudden he developed lung cancer and died rather quickly.

One of our students was battling cancer ... missed school on his chemo days ... his mother looking as if she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.  I sometimes wonder about the little babies who have barely had a chance to leave their little footprints on this crazy world ... and they pass away.

I just sometimes wonder ... then I think about my own mother's journey with cancer.  From her diagnosis she lived just over a year.  I shared earlier about how she shared Jesus along her pathway, reaching those she never would have had she not had cancer.  I think about Kacie's mom and the platform she has for other families ...not just families that are experiencing cancer but also families who just happen to read their story.  I think about all the good that Tim Tebow has accomplished for families.

Cancer stinks ... and it is unfair ... pure and simple.  One may think "cancer wins" when the patient doesn't recover but guess what, God is still on the throne.  It is difficult in your grief, sometimes, to believe that.  However, we have the power to take the "Yucky" of cancer and yet give glory to God.  Take something evil and make something good come out of it.

I've seen parents, using their child's death as a platform to help other families and give comfort to hurting families.  They find in their giving ... they are healing.  My son who walked seventeen miles in the Relay for Life in honor of his grandmother found healing because he was "doing" something.  Giving back can bring hope and healing and in that way, cancer doesn't win!

Until next time ... it's okay to grieve ... then try to find a way to reach out and be a beacon of hope for someone else.