You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. Psalm 30:11 I learned that I had cancer on a Thursday afternoon. The next morning I was planning to meet with a friend for breakfast. We have been meeting regularly for more than twenty three years. This particular Friday morning was to be our Christmas celebration. I had called her the night before to let her … [Read more...] about Stay Open to Joy

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 107:1 Every year just before or after New Year’s Day my husband and I plan a special date. We go out to lunch or dinner and sit together for some time compiling a gratitude list for the year that is about to end. We have been doing this for more than a decade. Typically we end up with a list of seventy to eighty items for … [Read more...] about Express Gratitude

Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Matthew 5.4 I was first introduced to the term “grief work” as a nursing student in my early twenties. I knew nothing about grief. The religious culture in which I had been raised didn’t grieve much. At least not that I ever saw. Our preachers sometimes said things at funerals that would stun the average person. Things like, “This is not a … [Read more...] about Grieve

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 Life is full of loss. There are little losses and big losses. Ultimately, no matter how hard we try to stave it off, death itself will come to us and to those we love. Whenever we are faced with any difficulty, it is likely to have woven into it the fear of some kind of loss, some kind of death. I soon realized … [Read more...] about Acknowledge Death

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. John 14:25 Recieving a diagnosis of cancer left me in a state of anxiety that lasted for months. Struggling with the impact of childhood trauma had increased my anxiety for years. Just hearing or reading the daily news can sometimes leave me anxious. Life is full of anxiety. Anxiety can lead to many kinds of problems. Sometimes we stay busy in an … [Read more...] about Pursue Peace

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 Many of us have times when we our minds race. Our minds might randomly switch from one thought to another. Or repeatedly rehearse a future event. Or play a past event over and over. Sometimes our minds get fixed on one idea and miss everything else. Or our minds try to … [Read more...] about Meditate

Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21 The day after Christmas my husband and I met for the first time with the surgeon. She was the one who would tell me what I needed to have done and what losses I would encounter in the process of treatment. She told us a great many things that morning—more than I … [Read more...] about Seek Guidance

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5 When we think about praying … [Read more...] about Ask for Healing

I am with you always. Matthew 28:20 There was a very real sense in which breast cancer was not something that was just happening to me. It was happening to everyone in my life. But there was also a very real sense in which it was only happening to me. No one else was going through exactly what I was going through. Our suffering is always uniquely ours. I was the one who was facing surgery. I was … [Read more...] about Know You Are Not Alone

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those that hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 When I was told that I had cancer, my body responded. It got ready. It geared up. And not just on the day I received the diagnosis, but every day for months my … [Read more...] about Be Still and Keep Moving