Comfort in Suffering

Cancer is a devastating disease that is raging across America. Now that I have been through cancer, it is difficult to watch the destruction this disease is leaving on the health and emotions of people I know. Before I had cancer I always felt sad when I heard someone was diagnosed with this disease. Now I feel almost sick to my stomach. I know somewhat of the emotional journey they will go through but little of the medical one. I want to help and yet feel so constrained by time.

II Corinthians 1:1-4 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

During my cancer journey, God poured comfort each and every day into my heart. Now that I am healed, I have such a strong desire to pour that comfort out on others. The busyness of teaching keeps me from having the time I need to make the calls, write the notes of encouragement, help with nutrition, and pray for those who are suffering. I do as much as I can but I want to do so much more. I wonder if Jesus ever felt this way when he saw the needs pressing in around him? There was just never enough of Him to go around. How did he reconcile this in his heart? This is something I will have to discover.

I often think how wonderful it would be not to wake up every day and have to rush out the door to teach. Most afternoons are spent grading papers and preparing for the rest of the week. The energy expenditure is amazing as I deal with 140 different personalities each and every day. Teachers pour out from the time they start their day until the minute it ends. It is a tiring profession! I am trying to figure out how to do my job well without jeopardizing my own health! I know stress plays a huge role in the health of my immune system.

Many, many times this year I have wanted to be ministering to people with cancer or speaking to women's groups instead of teaching. Both of these are my other passions. Until that day comes, I will continue to teach my students how to love other people in their hour of suffering. We will continue to reach out to those we know who need our prayers and comfort. Every day when I enter my classroom and see our beautiful prayer wall, I will remind myself that this job is more than teaching, it is training the next generation how to be burden bearers.

Please pray God will give me the time and energy to help those He brings across my path. I desperately want to get a web site up and running which will contain all the information I have learned about fighting cancer with a lifestyle change, including nutrition. It's just a matter of time.

These are the people I'm trying to help and encourage if you have some time to pray for them. The majority of them are facing cancer:
Norm, Bill, Beth, Cathleen, Terri, Brittany (a 13 year old student of mine with a tumor on her skull), Donna and Rhonda.

I would love to sit and chat some more but I must get dressed and get to school. Thank you for listening to me pour out my heart. Have a wonderful day being loved by the KING!

P.S. Happy Birthday Joni! I love you my dear sweet friend. Thank you for being a part of my life these past 20+ years. You have always been a pillar of strength in my life. I miss you at Christian High!