Beauty for Ashes: God's Grace for Cancer SurvivorsSample

Don't Walk Alone

After I accepted that this was indeed, not a bad dream that I just needed to wake up from, I knew that I had to share the news and allow myself to rest in the support of my community. One person who was pivotal in helping me lift my head again was one of my sorority sisters and a fellow sister in Christ. She also was a survivor of breast cancer and I had just met her briefly through a mutual friend the year prior.

We hopped on a phone call and I don’t recall exactly what she said or asked that broke down any introverted barriers I had, but I shared it all with her. As a woman of faith, I think I was carrying shame about how weak my faith felt in this situation and I was carrying that burden alone. I didn’t know what my prayers meant to God anymore. I was questioning everything. But after baring my heart to her, she gently helped me to pick up the shattered pieces of my heart and to surrender them back to God…just as they were. I didn’t need to be perfect or be anyone else’s cheerleader at that moment; my conversation with her was the reminder I needed that God’s love was still present in my life and that even the things that aren’t sent by God can be used by Him. Her charge to me as we ended our call was to dig down deep and make sure that I understood those principles in order to fully receive my healing.

That moment of gentle and loving admonition is such a testament to the power of community in our lives. God created us as relational beings! To the person going through this journey of healing (or preparing to start), do not underestimate the power of the village. It is critical that you have at least one person in your corner that can be a pillar of faith in your moments of weakness. It’s ok if you feel yourself faltering and in need of strength, but it’s not ok for you to try to weather this storm alone. Your village can be made up of family, friends, and/or an online community. You deserve to rest in the power, love, prayers, and grace of others. Gift yourself the blessing of a tribe that will help to carry you through this journey.