Last week I wrote about how we heal after being broken. I have been broken in my life. When my brother died, I was broken. I could not concentrate, I mourned, I prayed for death so I could be with him again. Then I got Polio, but Polio brought me peace that I needed, the knowledge that I was meant to live, I recovered. Life went on and I became a Registered Nurse, married and had children. The year I turned 50 I found a lump and it was no different than any other lump I had found but something told me this one should be removed. The Mammography was negative, but the biopsies showed it was cancer. I had a Mastectomy and found it had already spread to the lymph nodes. I had a good faith but not a faith that would move mountains. I wanted only one thing and that was to see my children settled in their lives with people who would love them. I did 9 months of chemo and during that time my daughter was married to a wonderful man who I am proud to call son. Two years later my son found a wonderful girl and he was married, and I gained a daughter. My request had been granted and then my daughter was pregnant, and my requests became just 10 years Lord, so my grandchildren remember me. God has given me so much more than I ever prayed for including seeing those Grandchildren grow up and marry, (the last one will be married next week} giving me more Grandchildren and now Great Grandchildren. I know others with a faith as deep or deeper than mine who have died from Cancer and I grieve for them. I don’t know why God has let a girl who weighed three pounds, was born into poverty with Ricketts and Malnutrition, hospitalized with pneumonia at age 3, survive for this long and seen her through so many trials but here I am, living for today. Every illness and grief I have known has only served to bring me closer to God. God has used them to increase my faith. I have seen people with horrific accidents or horrible illnesses become changed in their outlook and drawn closer to a faith stronger than they had known. A woman paralyzed in a car accident that changed from God would not leave me like this to accepting her changed life. A woman with cancer who was frightened but worried only for those she was leaving and then accepting that God would ease her fears and God would be with her children. A young man permanently injured in a motorcycle accident who praises God and lives his faith every day and instills it in his Son. We are all people who have been broken and healed by a faithful and loving God. Thanks be to God.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
Lord, we thank you for all you have done in our lives, we thank you for the times that we have been drawn closer to you. We thank you Lord for those who live out their lives as examples for all of us, with courage and faithfulness. Be with those who seek you, may they find you in the love of others. May we only seek to serve you as you have called us to heal the sick, feed the hungry and to take in the homeless. Be with our Pastor, our Staff, and our leaders, give them wisdom and courage and let them know and feel your love in their lives. In Jesus name, Amen.
Grace Epperson