B.C. and A.C.

Driven. Perfectionist. Exhausted. These words describe me before cancer. Cancer has a way of changing a person from the inside out. It puts things in perspective in a hurry. It gives new eyes to see the world through. I feel in some respects I am beginning to see things more like God does. The things that really matter have come into sharper focus. In an attempt to make me sick, cancer actually made me healthier in so many ways. My spiritual health improved as I desperately clung to God for strength. Having meaningful daily quiet times was no longer an option, it was life to me. Cancer caused me to put margins into my life that I never gave myself permission to have. Margins are those spaces around the edges of a piece of paper that are not supposed to be written in. Most of us fill up every empty space of our lives and we don't, can't or won't say NO to the demands others put on us. We teach our children to do the same. More is not better. Cancer gave me permission to leave things undone at night and get to bed at a reasonable hour so I would get 8 hours of sleep. The majority of Americans live a sleep deprived life and our immune systems are paying the price. When our immune systems are compromised it is difficult to fight off sicknesses and diseases. Cancer helped me stop being a perfectionist and worrying about what others thought about the cleanliness of my home. It didn't mean that I let things go, it just made me realize that I didn't need to drive myself or my family crazy getting my house "perfect" before people came over. Cancer put my days into perspective. Sometimes I would get so focused on my to-do list that I would not even be aware of what God's to-do list was for me that day. I now approach my days very differently. Each day I ask God how I can partner with Him to accomplish His will for the day. There is a daily mission field waiting for each of us. I want to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as I walk through my day. Cancer has given me permission to not fret or worry about the issues of life. Because I have faced a God sized giant I know that He is more than able to take care of any problems I have in my life. Nothing is bigger than God's power. Our worrying tells Him we are choosing to reduce Him to a powerless God at the whim of any giant that would march into our land. Cancer also gave me physical health. I stopped eating toxic foods that were eventually going to cut my life short. I am convinced that as Americans we are burying ourselves with our forks and spoons. Half of us will die of a heart related disease. One out of three Americans will get cancer in their lifetime. I was not on a path to improved health. Now that cancer has caused me to make permanent lifestyle changes I believe I have added years of good health onto my life. I am convinced that if I keep doing what I am I will not battle Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, arthritis or a host of other illnesses that seem to plague the elderly. Walkers and Depends will not be a part of my daily routine when I am older. I want to be like Bernando LaPallo who endorses the book How We All Went Raw. Bernando is 105 years young and walks for 1 hour every morning. He has lived long enough to have 3 careers and says he feels great and is thankful to God for showing me how to eat to live and not live to eat.

Looking back at my life B.C. (before cancer) I would never choose it again. I am excited about all the benefits of life A.C.(after cancer). I know God's plan and purpose in all of it is for my benefit.

In her book When God And Cancer Meet Lynn Eib says," Cancer has a nasty habit of taking things away from people-things like hair and strength and jobs and time. Sometimes it takes them away for a short while and sometimes it takes them away permanently. Cancer may have already taken something from you. But this is not a story about what cancer takes. It's about what it can give back. In fact, cancer is often the vehicle He uses to deliver His blessing."

God has a blessing hidden in everything that happens in your life. Don't miss it! Look for it. He will help you find it. And when you find it I pray you will fall on your knees and thank God for His loving kindness towards you. His blessing of cancer is the very thing that is giving me life. I wonder what your hidden blessings will give you?