Renewed Every Day

I went in yesterday for my tour of CTCA (Cancer Treatment Centers of America).  The staff there is great and generally seem filled with joy and love for the patients.  Walking through the infusion room where patients are getting chemo was intense.  (That is where I will be volunteering, talking to anyone who wants to talk, getting them warm blankets if they're cold, snacks if they're hungry, etc.)  I love that, and I'm so excited about getting to do this!  ...and I already know it will make me sad.  To see them in  pain, to talk to their families and see them hurting emotionally, and to feel powerless to do much to help them.  But being there helps - I know that.  And praying for them - and with them when they're open to it - may help more than I will ever know.

Our lifegroup has been praying for a woman our age who is fighting breast cancer.  She has lost all her hair and is in the middle of her chemo treatments.  We are also praying for an older woman who is about to start radiation after finishing chemo.  My grandmother and my mom are both cancer survivors, and one of the volunteers I met yesterday was treated at CTCA four years ago and has been volunteering ever since.  My cousin is about to begin radiation to shrink a major tumor that is too close to his carotid artery for them to operate.  All of this is so close to my heart, and I get attached quickly to those who are suffering.  Chet prayed yesterday for the younger woman with cancer that God would "guard her mind," and that was perfect.  Especially in these situations, Satan attacks us with doubts about God's goodness and fear about the future, and with a general sense of despair.  There are so many people who are hurting and need love and hope... and the GREATEST hope we can point them to is in Christ!  I pray that we who are healthy will be a light and bring joy and comfort to those who are hurting in our circle, that our lives will bless them and renew their hope.

And to help myself stay strong, I've decided to memorize these verses this month:

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweights them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”~2 Corinthians 4:16-18
AMEN!