Personal Journey Entry # 30

I have written at length about my support group. These people have prayed with and for me for this incredible journey’s happy and healthy end. They have allowed me to accept the challenge of my cancer without fear or trepidation and concentrate on the process of recovery rather than the path of self-loathing that might have been so easy. I have never had a why-me moment, and I have accepted cancer as a why-not-me chapter in my life. Cancer will not define me, but how I deal with cancer will, and these few months have been a crash course in understanding who I am, accepting the plethora of support from so many, and trying to understand God’s will and why He has chosen me for this journey. Since the beginning, I have been working on plans for my role after we finally ring the bell and celebrate the end of our journey.

I have already contacted the Imerman Angels to take the mentor role for someone starting their journey. Our Angels, Dave and Kathy have been integral in preparing us for each step in this process, but, more importantly, they have become best friends with comforting faces and voices whenever needed. They were typecast for their part of our team. I look forward to returning the favor to someone needing my help and guidance. Ditto for The Dempsey Center, and I hope to work with them to spread the message of testing and early detection, which makes the difference between life and death with Esophageal Cancer.

Finally, Shay and I continued our effort to give our lives to God, and we returned to His house a couple of months ago and found the doors held wide open for us. I was raised a Catholic, and Shay a Nazarene, but we chose East Auburn Baptist Church for our new spiritual home. Many of our friends were already members, but we knew we had made a good choice the first time we were met by the greeters in the parking lot. This church is not about preaching but growing a community of people willing to spread joy through service. Shay was already impacted by the looks on the faces of the three young boys and their adoptive Mother when she delivered a home-cooked meal to them last week. There is far more joy in doing than receiving. We also received a beautiful heart-filled note from her great-niece, who was recently diagnosed with a rare cancer. We sent her one of the prayer crosses we gave to all of our Angels and introduced her to Imerman Angels. She has already been matched with a mentor who we trust will be as helpful as Dave and Kathy have been for us. We attended a dinner at the church last night for new members, which further reinforced our choice. We heard about the church’s services and the opportunities to serve. There was one missing. They have no cancer support group, so I seized the opportunity. I spoke with Randy, the church visionary for new ideas, and pitched my case for heading up a group, and again, I saw God’s hand at work. Not only did Randy embrace the idea, but he is also on his journey and is starting radiation therapy in July. He is unsure why there was no group, but he promised there would be one now.

We opened our eyes, ears, and hearts, and God showed us why He chose us for this journey and what He expects us to do next. His plan explains the why-not-me question and why we were right to surrender ourselves to him in January. We have our Medical Dream Team and the best support team we could be surrounded by, but none would have been possible without His grace, love, and guidance. It may sound strange to others, but this challenge has blessed us, changing us forever and placing us on the path God has cleared for us. We have more work to do, but we are ready for the next chapter.

Thank you for stopping by and sharing our journey. May God bless and wrap his arms around you as He has for us. Love you, Ray