“They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Revelation 12:11 NIV)
“And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in his eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, he will set you firmly in place and build you up.” (1 Peter 5:10 TPT)
This Too Shall Pass
When we go through really hard seasons, the ones that require us to fully focus on our Father God, our Abba Father. The ones that have us clinging to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The ones that have us searching through His Word for promises to stand upon, so we don’t waiver in our faith. Those really hard seasons. It is amazing how Peter calls them brief, when to us it feels like it will never end. I believe he wants to remind us, no matter the trials, the suffering we go through, this too shall pass.
Hard Season
The biggest lesson I learned after going through another very hard season, the year and a half of not knowing if my husband would live or die, because of the diagnosis of lung cancer given to him. I learned that in order to go through the valley of shadow of death, was to stay focused on Him. When fear would try to consume me, I would run back into the arms of my Father, my Daddy God and He would whisper to me, “I am here, do not be afraid. I am always with you, every step of the way.” There in His arms I would feel His love wash over me, and the peace that surpasses all understanding would come upon me, as He strengthened me to continue to battle for my husband’s life.
His Word
I put up notecards with scriptures all through our house. I needed to see His Word before me. Did I go through this season faithfully standing on His Word? I can say I tried. But there were many moments that I was freaking out, this is my husband of 41 years. We were married when I was 19 years old and he was eighteen. We have gone through tough times, the worst was our son going to heaven in 2011, but this one, this one was trying to mimic that.
Routines
Stepping into the role of spouse/caregiver, I gave everything that was within me to take care of my husband. I gave up my routine, to this new one, focusing on him and what he needed to fight this battle and with the healing power of Jesus Christ, to beat cancer. Our routines had changed to going to the cancer center. At first it was daily, then with immunotherapy, every two weeks for a year. Our lives revolved around the cancer center and numerous appointments. Just as his body settled down from the treatment, it was time to go get another one.
Friends
There was a time at church when I just fell flat on my face before the Lord, exhausted, not knowing if he was going to live or die. A very special friend came and held me, praying over me. Then she said something so meaningful to me. She said, “You ARE going to make it!” Over and over. See, I kept hearing people say and I kept saying “Dave is going to make it!” God knew in that moment, what I needed to hear someone say to me, that I, no matter the outcome, I was going to make it. I will always remember her telling me that. God has blessed us with amazing family and friends praying for us. We have a huge church family at New Life Church, and they kept us covered in prayers. When I went to church, they would hold me and encourage me. This is where I found strength. Dave has amazing work friends and bosses who were praying for him and encouraging him also.
Cancer Free
In God’s Word, it told me that Dave was already healed by the stripes of Jesus. And our amazing church family spoke God’s Word over us. With this tough season and how I poured all of myself into taking care of Dave, after a year I found myself exhausted. Absolutely exhausted and somewhere in this process I lost myself. I had no “normal routine” anymore, and I refused for this to become it. I had faith and believed the day would come that we would hear the words, “The cancer is gone.”Praise God, thank You Jesus, we finally heard from his doctor, “The cancer is in remission,” on January 30, 2023. But we declared Dave is cancer free, cancer cured! He is getting stronger every day and thinking about the future again.
Blessings
Me, the spouse/caregiver role, it is hard to just let go. I thank God every day that my husband is healed from cancer. Did it leave scars on the both of us? Yes, his are different than mine. I lost myself during this last year and a half. But Jesus never let go of me. I discovered routines are a necessity of life, we all go through different seasons that change our routines. Routines are a part of stability, and I felt very unstable in this season. BUT, the many, many blessings that God blessed us with along the way, priceless. He went out of His way to show me how much we are loved by family, friends, co-workers, bosses and our huge church family. Did I encounter God in ways I never have before? Yes!! There are always lessons to be learned along the way. Jesus is our Healer, our Prince of Peace, our Savior, He is everything to us. Now for God to bring a new routine for me.
Healing
As my husband is still receiving healing, so am I. We are new creations in Christ, the old is gone and we are made new. I believe this is an ongoing process, as we become more like Him. Make sure you are rooted and grounded in His Word, in Him, before a really hard season comes. Then as the battle rages before you, you will make it THROUGH the valley of shadow of death.