Bible Truths for Coping with Cancer

Last year began with the C word – cancer. My mom called sometime mid-January with her diagnosis.
I usually begin a new year with some trepidation, always wondering what journey this new year will take me on. Will my kids stay safe? How will the Lord challenge and grow me? How will the next 12 months end? These are just a few questions that I have to fight off each year. They rob me of my peace, take the joy out of my moments and without restraint, the worry could consume me.

Last January the question was: Will I lose my mom this year?

And so the battle began. The battle to take my thoughts captive and bring them under the obedience of Christ.
Cancer can lead you into a very dark place. The journey for the one with cancer is very different than for the loved ones watching from afar. From afar I was afraid. I was afraid of all the what if’s. Each morning I fought against those fears with Truth. Each Truth began with “no matter what” because I needed something to ground me and keep those fearful thoughts obedient to the truth of the Word.
The Truth of God ALWAYS fights those paralyzing fears. The Word ALWAYS shines light into those times of terror that consume us in darkness.

Bible truths for Coping with Cancer

These truths were the stepping stones that I stood upon, one step at a time, one day at a time, through my mom’s journey with cancer:
•  No matter what I shall find strength within because the Lord is the strength of my life. (Psalm 27:1)
•  No matter what, whether in death or life, in Christ there is victory. (1 Corinthians 15:54)
•  No matter what God is good and his mercy continues on. (Psalm 100:5)
•  No matter what no one, nothing could snatch you from the Lord’s hand. (John 10:28)
•  No matter what the Lord crowns the year with His goodness, and His paths will drip with abundance. (Psalm 65:11)
•  No matter what the Lord is my refuge and my fortress and I will trust Him. (Psalm 91:2)
•  No matter what God is the El HanNe’eman, the faithful God. (Deuteronomy 7:9)
•  No matter what perfect peace is possible when I trust in the Lord. (Is. 26:3)
•  No matter what when I lay my fears before the Lord, He will hear me. (Psalm 34:4)

What truths can you add to these that either helped you find your footing through a dark time or are the current rocks beneath your feet during a dark journey you are walking through?

If finding your footing has been hard and fear consumes you at every corner then begin with the truths above. Then seek the Lord for more. He is a faithful companion and will walk you through any journey shining the light of His truth until you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

By the way, my mom is doing well. The cancer journey was rough for her. But with the Lord’s mercy we were all able to get through the roughest moments standing on His truth.
Blessings, Rachael

Life Lessons I Learned from a Friend

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Written by Jill Lynn Buteyn

My friend Kara Tippetts was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of thirty-six. She recently flew away to heaven at the very young age of thirty-eight. Typing those words feels surreal. I still can’t quite fathom that she’s gone. But to state her life in two sentences simply does not work. She was instrumental in changing many lives during her battle with cancer and blogged regularly at MundaneFaithfulness.com. She became known as Kara Tippetts—the dying woman who wrote the letter to Brittany Maynard. But she was much more than that to those of us blessed to know her in life and the many that followed her words before that letter.

Kara had the gift of creating community and beautiful friendships. She wove people together and made it look easy. She believed in loving big, in pulling more people in even when she was weary and tired and fighting cancer. She was wise, often able to pinpoint a solution or speak into a problem without judgement. Throughout the time I knew her, she spoke into my life and the lives of thousands of others. Here’s a few things I learned from her that I’ll always hold close.buteyn pinterest

Kindness matters. “Love is kind” is scrawled on a chalkboard in my kitchen. It’s my reminder that when I’m at my end, when I’m weary and exhausted as a mother, wife, even just as a person, that how I act toward others in those moments are not excused. I’m not saying I never fail at this. Just that I strive to be kind even when I don’t feel kind. I’m learning to listen to my kids, to take the extra moment to explain why. Again, I’m so not perfect in this area, but Kara greatly impacted how I think about parenting and how I act toward others.

Love big. Kara often talked about big love. Recently, someone asked me, what exactly does this mean? I would say it means letting other people into our lives, our homes, even our hard. I easily come to the end of myself—my limits. But loving big is extending beyond what we feel capable of in loving others. Leaning into God and the love he has for us and our people. This doesn’t mean you have to start spouting your innermost secrets to the next person you see. But you can move toward people, grow relationships, and find some havens for your heart while in turn being that for someone else.

When fighting anxiety or fear, go to the worst case scenario. When I’m overcome by fear and anxiety, logic flees. My mind runs ahead, coming up with all kinds of scenarios. Sometimes pretty crazy ones. Kara and I were talking about this once. She told me she liked to go straight to the worst case scenario. Name it: what is the worst thing that could happen? Go all the way there. To the scariest of the scary. Sometimes just naming it takes away some of its power. Then ask yourself, would God be with me through that? Every time, I find the answer is yes. It doesn’t always make the fear vanish, but it helps me realize I’ve been running ahead, assuming God wouldn’t be present when that is nowhere near the truth. Just knowing he would be with me, no matter the trial, is such a relief.

Most days, one, if not all of these life lessons cross my mind. Kara was a great example of doing what she preached. How easily she could have hidden in a dark hole as her earthly life was slipping away. But she didn’t. She continued to point others to Jesus, to kindness and love and grace until the last days of her life. And because she obeyed, we’re blessed to have her words and her wisdom with us still.

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Jill Lynn Buteyn is the co-author of Just Show Up: the Dance of Walking Through Suffering Together, written with the late Kara Tippetts. Buteyn is also the author of Falling for Texas, an inspirational novel, and a recipient of the ACFW Genesis Award for her fiction work. Buteyn lives near the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her husband and two children.

Just Show Up - PK

Learn more about Jill Lynn Buteyne and Just Show Up at www.jill-lynn.com and on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.