Cancers Unexpected Blessings
September 4, 2007
When Kelli emailed this to me, I just had to share it. He puts into words what I try to do here, everyday through this blog. (Bold and Italics are mine)
Commentator and broadcaster Tony Snow announced that he had colon cancer in 2005. Following surgery and chemo-therapy, Snow joined the Bush administration in April 2006 as press secretary. Unfortunately, on March 23 Snow, 51, a husband and father of three, announced that the cancer had recurred, with tumors found in his abdomen—leading to surgery in April, followed by more chemotherapy. Snow went back to work in the White House Briefing Room on May 30, but resigned August 31. CT asked Snow what spiritual lessons he has been learning through the ordeal.
Blessings arrive in unexpected packages—in my case, cancer.
Those of us with potentially fatal diseases—and there are millions in America today—find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our mortality while trying to fathom God’s will. Although it would be the height of presumption to declare with confidence What It All Means, Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.
The first is that we shouldn’t spend too much time trying to answer the why questions: Why me? Why must people suffer? Why can’t someone else get sick? We can’t answer such things, and the questions themselves often are designed more to express our anguish than to solicit an answer.
I don’t know why I have cancer, and I don’t much care. It is what it is—a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths begin to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.
But despite this—because of it—God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don’t know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.
Second, we need to get past the anxiety. The mere thought of dying can send adrenaline flooding through your system. A dizzy, unfocused panic seizes you. Your heart thumps; your head swims. You think of nothingness and swoon. You fear partings; you worry about the impact on family and friends. You fidget and get nowhere.
To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death, but into life—and that the journey continues after we have finished our days on this earth. We accept this on faith, but that faith is nourished by a conviction that stirs even within many nonbelieving hearts—an intuition that the gift of life, once given, cannot be taken away. Those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main, and faith to live—fully, richly, exuberantly—no matter how their days may be numbered.
Third, we can open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease—smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see—but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension—and yet don’t. By his love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise.
‘You Have Been Called’
Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet; a loved one holds your hand at the side. “It’s cancer,” the healer announces.
The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. “Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler.” But another voice whispers: “You have been called.” Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter—and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our “normal time.”
There’s another kind of response, although usually short-lived—an inexplicable shudder of excitement, as if a clarifying moment of calamity has swept away everything trivial and tinny, and placed before us the challenge of important questions.
The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world shorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul, traipsing though the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes (Spain), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but only about the moment.
There’s nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue—for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever could give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.
Finally, we can let love change everything. When Jesus was faced with the prospect of crucifixion, he grieved not for himself, but for us. He cried for Jerusalem before entering the holy city. From the Cross, he took on the cumulative burden of human sin and weakness, and begged for forgiveness on our behalf.
We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us—that we acquire purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God’s love for others. Sickness gets us partway there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy. A minister friend of mine observes that people suffering grave afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two people’s worries and fears.
Learning How to Live
Most of us have watched friends as they drifted toward God’s arms not with resignation, but with peace and hope. In so doing, they have taught us not how to die, but how to live. They have emulated Christ by transmitting the power and authority of love.
I sat by my best friend’s bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was a humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He retained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. “I’m going to try to beat [this cancer],” he told me several months before he died. “But if I don’t, I’ll see you on the other side.”
His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn’t promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity—filled with life and love we cannot comprehend—and that one can in the throes of sickness point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms.
Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don’t matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?
When our faith flags, he throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it.
It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift us up—to speak of us!
This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back and appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the ineluctable touch of God.
What is man that Thou art mindful of him? We don’t know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place—in the hollow of God’s hand.
As I read this, I sat here and cried. This is my heart. This is what I have tried to convey in every post on this blog. This is what it is all about. If I could hug Mr. Snow, I would.
Christianity Today
This article first appeared in (7/20/2007) issue of Christianity Today. Used by permission of Christianity Today International, Carol Stream, IL 60188
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In other words: Play Nice
34 Responses to “Cancers Unexpected Blessings”
I would love to hear from you!
What a gift he has given in these words. Wow.
And Heather, you have done an excellent job conveying these truths in your journey.
We who listen with our hearts have been changed and the transformation continues.
Amazing that I’ve been posting about being safe in His hands…Yes, Lord, I hear you…
“Can we surrender our concern in things that don’t matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?”
Wow. Isn’t it pathetic that I don’t think I can answer that honestly? Heather, thank you for helping me face those tough questions head on.
I am still afraid.
I am not sure that I fully trust.
I KNOW that God holds true to His promises and that one day it will all be clear to me.
You have both said it so well. It is hard for people without cancer to understand the blessings that it does give. It changes our lives forever and that in itself is a blessing,.
May you continue to enjoy your unexpected blessings.
Hugs,
Norma
Wow Heather thanks so much for posting that. I have followed Tony Snow for sometime and that is a true testimony of the power of faith and the hope we have in Jesus. I am going to copy that into a word document and save it. See God is also using YOU in your storm of life.
Thank you for allowing God to use you!!!!
Sandy
What a tremendous essay and testimony of his own faith. I’ve always liked Mr. Snow, but I had no idea he was a brother in Christ. Thank you for posting this!
Heather, I thought of you today when I read the blog of the granddaughter of my former pastor (Adrian Rogers). She and her husband recently learned that their unborn daughter has Trisomy 18. She’s going to die, the question is only if it’s before or after birth. The way they have faced this trial has reminded me very much of you, and her entry today about peace in the midst of a storm made me think you might appreciate it:
Poppy Joy
Thank you Heather, I needed that,
Praying for you,
Marie
Thank you so much for posting this and sharing your heart (as well as your life). It is a great source of comfort to read about the blessings that come with brokenness. Be blessed today!
I have a feeling Mr. Snow would want to hug you, too. You have done a beautiful job of expressing many of the same thoughts he did. Thanks for posting it not only so we get a glimpse of his heart, but also because it shows us yours a little more.
Heather
I agree with Cindy and was just about to say the same think….I think Mr. Snow would want to hug you too. And, just as he has touched your heart, I know you would touch his too.
As a cancer survivor myself, I’ve said many times…there are gifts to having cancer. I know this and I know you do too.
You’re in my thoughts and prayers.
Hugs!
Kat
I think you’ve been saying the same thing Heather…just in bits and pieces!
Thank you for sharing this article.
What amazing and heartfelt words! I was really touched by this article!
I could not have said it better! Those are all of the thoughts and things I wanted to say during my cancer! Thanks for sharing that!
One of my best friends was diagnosed with breast cancer a few days ago. I feel so blessed that the Lord allowed me to be “afflicted” just a short time ago, so that I could comfort her with the comfort with which I was comforted! You never know how God is going to use a bad situation for good!
Still praying for you daily!
Gina
These words ring true in so many ways. I cannot even begin to express how this ministered to my heart today.
Heather, know you are in my prayers and thank you so much for sharing this. WOW!! I always thought highly of Tony Snow –now even more so. What a precious spirit that just rang out through his words.
I plan on copying this and giving it to a dear friend who has 4th stage stomach cancer. Thank you. I know this will bless her as it has blessed me!
Thanks for posting this, Heather. I think Tony snow has been so courageous through all of this and wha an eloquent man he is in the midst of it all. I hear no bitterness in his words, only joy.
We are all blessed by people like him and like you- that is another gift of cancer as well, I think…
xoxo
Amazing interview. I, personally, am not a huge Bush supporter, but there was something about Tony Snow I always liked a lot. Now I know way. Leave it to you, Heather, to find the right words. Your blog exactly conveys what you want it to, believe me.
God bless you all fighting the good fight.
Wow, what a great post. I truely admire you and will continue to pray for you and your family.
Excellent article. yes, it brings unexpected blessings.
Heather, I don’t know how to copy the new button… can you provide me with the HTML so the button will link here? I just copied the photo for now…
Thanks.
Thought you might enjoy the following written by John Piper:
January 1, 2006
Don’t Waste Your Cancer
John Piper
I write this on the eve of prostate surgery. I believe in God’s power to heal—by miracle and by medicine. I believe it is right and good to pray for both kinds of healing. Cancer is not wasted when healed by God. He gets the glory and that is why cancer exists. So not to pray for healing may waste your cancer. But healing is not God’s plan for everyone. And there are many other ways to waste your cancer. I am praying for myself and for you that we will not waste this pain.
1. You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.
It will not do to say that God only uses our cancer but does not design it. What God permits, he permits for a reason. And that reason is his design. If God foresees molecular developments becoming cancer, he can stop it or not. If he does not, he has a purpose. Since he is infinitely wise, it is right to call this purpose a design. Satan is real and causes many pleasures and pains. But he is not ultimate. So when he strikes Job with boils (Job 2:7), Job attributes it ultimately to God (2:10) and the inspired writer agrees: “They . . . comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him†(Job 42:11). If you don’t believe your cancer is designed for you by God, you will waste it.
2. You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus†(Romans 8:1). “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us†(Galatians 3:13). “There is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel†(Numbers 23:23). “The LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly†(Psalm 84:11).
3. You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.
The design of God in your cancer is not to train you in the rationalistic, human calculation of odds. The world gets comfort from their odds. Not Christians. Some count their chariots (percentages of survival) and some count their horses (side effects of treatment), but we trust in the name of the LORD our God (Psalm 20:7). God’s design is clear from 2 Corinthians 1:9, “We felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.†The aim of God in your cancer (among a thousand other good things) is to knock props out from under our hearts so that we rely utterly on him.
4. You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.
We will all die, if Jesus postpones his return. Not to think about what it will be like to leave this life and meet God is folly. Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning [a funeral] than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.†How can you lay it to heart if you won’t think about it? Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.†Numbering your days means thinking about how few there are and that they will end. How will you get a heart of wisdom if you refuse to think about this? What a waste, if we do not think about death.
5. You will waste your cancer if you think that “beating†cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.
Satan’s and God’s designs in your cancer are not the same. Satan designs to destroy your love for Christ. God designs to deepen your love for Christ. Cancer does not win if you die. It wins if you fail to cherish Christ. God’s design is to wean you off the breast of the world and feast you on the sufficiency of Christ. It is meant to help you say and feel, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.†And to know that therefore, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain†(Philippians 3:8; 1:21).
6. You will waste your cancer if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
It is not wrong to know about cancer. Ignorance is not a virtue. But the lure to know more and more and the lack of zeal to know God more and more is symptomatic of unbelief. Cancer is meant to waken us to the reality of God. It is meant to put feeling and force behind the command, “Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD†(Hosea 6:3). It is meant to waken us to the truth of Daniel 11:32, “The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.†It is meant to make unshakable, indestructible oak trees out of us: “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers†(Psalm 1:2). What a waste of cancer if we read day and night about cancer and not about God.
7. You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.
When Epaphroditus brought the gifts to Paul sent by the Philippian church he became ill and almost died. Paul tells the Philippians, “He has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill†(Philippians 2:26-27). What an amazing response! It does not say they were distressed that he was ill, but that he was distressed because they heard he was ill. That is the kind of heart God is aiming to create with cancer: a deeply affectionate, caring heart for people. Don’t waste your cancer by retreating into yourself.
8. You will waste your cancer if you grieve as those who have no hope.
Paul used this phrase in relation to those whose loved ones had died: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope†(1 Thessalonians 4:13). There is a grief at death. Even for the believer who dies, there is temporary loss—loss of body, and loss of loved ones here, and loss of earthly ministry. But the grief is different—it is permeated with hope. “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord†(2 Corinthians 5:8). Don’t waste your cancer grieving as those who don’t have this hope.
9. You will waste your cancer if you treat sin as casually as before.
Are your besetting sins as attractive as they were before you had cancer? If so you are wasting your cancer. Cancer is designed to destroy the appetite for sin. Pride, greed, lust, hatred, unforgiveness, impatience, laziness, procrastination—all these are the adversaries that cancer is meant to attack. Don’t just think of battling against cancer. Also think of battling with cancer. All these things are worse enemies than cancer. Don’t waste the power of cancer to crush these foes. Let the presence of eternity make the sins of time look as futile as they really are. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?†(Luke 9:25).
10. You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.
Christians are never anywhere by divine accident. There are reasons for why we wind up where we do. Consider what Jesus said about painful, unplanned circumstances: “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness†(Luke 21:12 -13). So it is with cancer. This will be an opportunity to bear witness. Christ is infinitely worthy. Here is a golden opportunity to show that he is worth more than life. Don’t waste it.
Remember you are not left alone. You will have the help you need. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus†(Philippians 4:19).
John Piper has been the Pastor for Preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 1980. He has authored numerous best-selling books, including The Passion of Jesus Christ, Don’t Waste Your Life and Desiring God. You will find 25 years of online sermons, articles and other God-centered resources from the ministry of John Piper at http://www.desiringgod.org. He also has a daily radio program, called “Desiring God,” which can be accessed online at http://www.desiringGod.org/radio.
Wow - what blessed words. They are applicable to so many hurdles in life - especially to cancer - but also to every trial the Lord would have us endure for His glory. Thank you for sharing.
How in the world did he put that together so eloquently? I am glad your shared this, Friend! I understand a bit more of how you feel.
With love and prayers,
holly
We haven’t met but God Bless you and good luck beating the cancer.
Heather, I’m a (lurking) fan of yours and a huge fan of Tony Snow as well. When Lyric told me what you’d posted I ran right over here to read and I was in tears…not only because of the poignancy of his words but because it’s so clear why you were drawn to his words. What we read from him is so much like what we’ve read from you through your journey, a lab course for all of us in what suffering teaches us and how it changes us. Thank you for your faithful writing and for sharing Snow’s as well…
Facing death often makes people re-evaluate their life and purpose for living. You just pray that they right information, the truth of the Gospel, of salvation, grace, mercy and the unfathamable Love of Jesus are shared. People want truth.
My Dad’s blood count (pancreatic cancer) went back up so please pray for him.
You are constantly in our prayers and I thank you for your ministry and love of Christ, which you so boldly share.
God Bless!
Heather, this post made me want to cry too! Absolutely beautiful!
I used to be a Hospice Volunteer (I really need to get back into that) and what amazed me time and time again in interacting with those who were actively dying was the amount of courage, grace, and peace that these beautiful people exuded. It was a privilege and an honor to witness this.
Knowing you is also proving to be a privilege and an honor. Thank you for providing me with spiritual nourishments through the words you share.
You remain in my thoughts and prayers!
Heather — praying for you daily…
WHAT CANCER CANNOT DO
Cancer is so limited
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendship
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit
Anonymous
Heather thank you so much for this post. I wanted to let you know of a little 4 year old boy and his family in our hometown who is battling cancer and he has other problems too. I know how your readers have rallied prayers on your behalf and I hope you will make them aware of him. His family is so strong and they are holding it together with many prayers and love and support of other christians. We can never have too many people praying for us. You can visit his website at caringbridge.org/visit/jacksondunlap. I hope I copied right. Thank you again Heather for your love and support of others battling this disease, and I hope you have a good weekend, you are in my prayers daily….
Love in Christ
Sheila
boydusa@blomand.net
[...] wrote about Cancer’s Unexpected Blessings. I would never have thought cancer could bring about blessings, but Heather makes it clear that [...]
Heather,
Great article.
I just watched a short video by Dave Draveky from John Piper’s website that I think you’d be able to relate to. The link is
http://www.desiringgod.org/DWYL/
He talks about how cancer radically altered his view of his life. Hope you enjoy it.
Heather,
You make me terribly ashamed of myself - and that is a good thing. When I think about how self-centered I am - Of course, I love my children, my family……I try to love my neighbor - I love, I love. And unfortunately, I is the operative word in a lot of things I think and do. Today, I planned to go to church because life is hard and I need help. I didn’t go because I slept too late and I felt really guilty about not going. Maybe I would have discovered you later, maybe I wouldn’t have, but I do know this. God forgave me for not showing up today at church. He even rewarded me - he led me to you and I’ll never be the same - and believe me - that is a great thing.
In Him,
Leigh
Hi Heather,
Found your link through Lynnae at Uncluttered. I am a cancer survivor as well. Almost ten years ago I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and at the time I dropped into a deep depression.
I cannot agree more with Tony Snow’s comments. I truly believe having cancer was the biggest blessing I have ever received from God. I have written about this at my pad if you’re interested. Just go to my search bar and type in cancer.
Even though I feel I have been fundamentally changed for the better, I do find I still guard being a cancer survivor as my deep dark secret. I still feel people discriminate, if you will, like now that they know they’re afraid they might “catch” it. I still have issues, as you can tell, but I wanted to leave a you a quick comment.
You are very brave; keep on living life to its fullest.
I am writing this without reading other people’s comments because I want to tell you my thoughts without influence:
Your faith in Christ has helped my faith. I will not say you are the only reason I am reading my Bible FINALLY but you are a direct link to it!! Your strength with Emma is phenomenal! I have a passion for special needs children and you truly empitamize what I feel is the “correct” way to be the mother of a special needs child. You thrive on accomplishments, you don’t dwell on things she can’t do. You thrive on being Emma’s mom…you don’t wallow in her hurts (not to say you don’t feel them…you are just a glass half full kind of person). Your cancer…I truly have NO IDEA what you are going through…I can’t even pretend I do…What I can say is this: If I am to ever have cancer or any other illness, I would like to be like you going through it. I want to know I am going to beat it through Christ. I would like to know I can only beat it through Christ. This is how you have influenced me. In fact, when you came up on my bloglines a minute ago, I was like FINALLY a post from Heather! :) I love you even though we have never met…You are one of a kind….
Ok…so my question to you would be…How do you build your Faith? I know that may be a broad subject but I would like to learn how others build their faith while I begin to grow in mine.
Love From tamara in Tennesse
How do you keep you faith strong? How do you keep things normal for your kids? How do you keep things good with your husband? How do you not wonder why me? Why does God think I am strong enough to handle this? Why does God think my family is strong enough to handle this? I would have so many questions, some probably deeper than I would feel comfortable asking. I have two broken arms and I think that is the end of the world, what gives me that priviledge when I read about what you are going through. Your strength is beyound comprehension. I can only like to believe I would have your strength and courage in your shoes. How do you make plans for the future? Not that ant of us know what the future holds but with a diagnosis of brain cancer it certainly puts a different perspective on what the word future means. Thank-you for giving us a glimsp into your llife and I certainly hope I have not upset you with these questions.
Your blog is a blog I check on every day without fail. You have encouraged me to concentrate on growing closer to Jesus before something like cancer strikes. You have shown me that the greatest thing (the only truth) is to rely on Jesus - with or without cancer. Thank you for blogging through this time of your life - you have greatly encouraged me.