Unseen Victories

Victory over cancer is measured by tumor markers, CBC panels, PET scans, mammograms, sonograms and a host of other medical tests. Their are unseen victories that can't be measured. I had one of those yesterday when I reported back to school. The arrival of new carpet had been delayed and the teachers might not be able to get into their classrooms to set up until Friday or this weekend. School starts this Monday. All of my o file cabinets, book cases and school supplies are in another classroom. I picked up my new curriculum for a class my principal asked me to teach on FRIDAY! This class is in addition to another new class I was asked to teach in June. Our school is also in the process of getting another accreditation so there are many, many documents that must be created by the teachers. I am behind due to all the events of last year. Before cancer I would have been very stressed about trying to get everything done before Monday. Yesterday I found an odd perspective filling my heart and mind. The most important thing about getting ready for school isn't about the curriculum or the room, it's about getting my heart ready to love these kids! So, I set aside all the stress and worry of my to-do list and I picked up the phone and started calling my students to tell them how much God loves them and how excited I am to be their teacher. In the process of praying with my student's, God lifted the stress and worry off my shoulders and began to give me eternal perspective.

I have 3 friends that lost their lives to cancer and yet I watched them win their battle in so many other areas. They continued to trust and love God even until they drew their final breath. Lynn Eib addresses this topic in her book When God And Cancer Meet. She says, "My prayer time consisted of nothing other than self-centered pleas for my personal healing. But God gradually began to enlarge my picture of beating cancer as He spoke to my heart: "Whether you live or die from this is up to me, but how you live is up to you." The pressure was off. I would do my part to physically combat this cancer, but I would not judge whether I beat it by whether or not I was cured. I would beat it no matter what because I would refuse to let it conquer me and control my life. Certainly we can beat cancer when we are declared in remission or cured. However, we also beat it moment by moment as we allow God, not cancer, to control our thoughts. We beat it hour by hour as we remember that God's power within us is greater than the cancer. And we beat it day by day as we trust in God's strength and not in cancer's weakness."

I don't know what giant you may be facing now or will face this year. I never believed I would have so many march into as they did this past year. I pray that you will gain unseen victories every day by how you choose to live while you are in the midst of your battle. God is the one who will fight every battle for you. You are the one who must choose your attitude and response to the challenge. Like Paul, I pray you will be able to say, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. " (Philippians 4:12) God's power is greater than anything you will ever face. Declare to the world, "I can do all things through HIM who gives me strength." Win your battle as you trust in God's strength and not in the weakness of your giant.