Apr 26, 2018
by Margaret Taylor
When I was first asked to consider writing an article about our battle with cancer, I was not sure I could do it and wanted to decline. At the same time, there were two thoughts that came to mind. The first was Unwavering Faith, and the other was Love in Action. Those thoughts have played over and over in my mind since and stay with me. I guess the hard part is trying to explain just what all that encompasses for me.
My sure faith in God has not come quickly or easily. It has been a lifelong growth process and covered many hard trials that have tested and challenged my faith. I have had many confrontations with the Lord over the past years and come away reassured that God is still God and His word is still Truth.
Faith sustains me.
I will not attempt to detail those times but simply say I have gained a much different perspective on life over those years. I learned from my mother who cared for a number of relatives, including both my father and my stepfather, and other relatives and patients in her own home for many years of her life.
I learned from my own personal experience, having out-lived two dads, two brothers, an infant son, and other close family members and friends. Probably the greatest test of faith came when my stepfather was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had surgery over 40 years ago. At that time I was willing to accept only one answer from God and angry when I didn’t get it.
The healing has always come when I have sought the Lord, even accusing and venting anger or grief, and then found, like Job, that He understands and cares.
His Word heals, comforts and strengthens me.
When it comes to love in action, it would take many pages to detail all the ways we have experienced God’s love over the past months. Since Dave’s illness, we have been surrounded and upheld in prayer by people the world over. Prayer, like electricity, is such an incredible power source. It can comfort like a blanket or it can move mountains. God’s Spirit is that unseen power in prayer and God uses His power in countless ways for our good and His glory.
Prayer sustains me.
God’s love in action is like His life blood flowing through our veins. It is filled with life that regenerates and nourishes our spirits, souls and bodies. Those nutrients come in many forms and amounts but they come in abundant supply. The phone calls, emails, cards, and letters have all fed our spirits with hope and encouragement — reassurance that we are not alone in this battle.
Hope sustains me.
We have been showered with various gifts in many forms: gift cards, food, transportation, visits, financial support in many ways and amounts. We’ve received advice and counsel from others who have been down this road ahead of us. We have received equipment to make daily life easier and safer, including an electric lift chair. We even had snow cleaned off our car as a gesture of loving service.
God’s provision sustains me.
Probably the greatest source of strength that sustains us is our family. Our children have made themselves available to us in every way possible, even sacrificially. They have come to help with the mundane things of daily living and to support us (mentally and physically) in long days of doctor appointments. As time permits, they have rotated trips to share the load, and God has made a way.
Our daughter was able to come and spend three weeks with us in January while I had cataract surgeries in both eyes. Not only could she work from here, but with her expertise in the business end of the medical field, she has been able to help us with all that. Everywhere I lack, God has provided a means.
Family sustains me.
And there is the church! There is no way I can put into words the way our
Central SDB family has picked up the many and diverse responsibilities and carried on the ministries that David has overseen in the past. Each and every job is getting done. Many are sharing the load and doing an even better job than before.
There seems a fresher, greater awareness of what our church’s ministry is
in our community and a greater interest in involvement. I sense spiritual growth and stronger commitment in our church body, and that sustains me.
Our church body sustains me.
Last but far from least, has been the privilege of participating in a weekly BSF Bible study. It is being actively connected to the larger Body of Christ and intimately involved in the life of our small group’s members. The sharing time, the insights gained from studying Romans, wisdom revealed and the bonding of hearts and souls laid bare in shared concerns — all of that is
medicinal. The unity of the group and power that comes from feeding on God’s Word.
His love sustains me through all of you!
All of this adds up to God’s love in action!