Praises for Recovery and Triumph

In 2011 I had cancer. My memory of the year is sketchy, in fact, it is almost like I lost a whole year of my life.

During that year, I had to travel to Lubbock for surgery and chemotherapy every three weeks. We were fortunate that a LaQuinta was located near the hospital and my doctor's office. The rooms were nice and they offered a hospital discount, but most important, the people were incredibly kind and caring.

As the months of chemo dragged on, I became weaker with each trip to Lubbock. The lobby of the LaQuinta was spacious and had sitting areas of sofas and chairs. On most visits I would walk to one of the sofas and wait for my family to check into our room. The kind staff would hurry through this process so we could get me to my room. Each floor of the hotel had a beautiful open balcony that looked down onto the lobby. The balcony had a wooden rails that I would grip as I made my way to our room. There I would collapse onto the bed and wait for my chemo on the next day. This was my life for nine months. As I look back, I am grateful that God was always with me. I felt His presence every day and especially on these nights before my chemo treatments. It is hard to describe but it was where I found strength to persevere.

Now for the recovery. On August 27, 2012, I had to go for my yearly checkup. It had been one year since my last chemo treatment and the news that I was in remission. As we checked into the LaQuinta, we noticed many changes. The lobby was completely redecorated with new carpet,new chairs, and new paint. They had added a mini-mart, something we had wished for on all those trips.
This time I stood next to Carl as he checked in feeling strong and well. As we walked to our room, we noticed the new finish on the rails that I had gripped, but now I was running my hand along the wood admiring the beautiful finish of the wood. When we got to our room, more surprises. Completely new curtains, headboard, furniture, carpet, and---oh wow--a refrigerator and microwave. Oh how we needed those when we were in the midst of chemo. I immediately realized that just as the hotel was getting a much needed remodeled, so was my weak body. Just a year ago, my body had been ravaged by the chemo treatments. I was barely able to walk and my balance was shaky. But now, I was regaining my strength everyday.

It was triumph. For the last several months I have been on a walking program. I have worked my way up to 12,000 steps a day. On this night before my checkup, instead of collapsing in the bed, I walked around the balcony on the second floor of that hotel. When I walk I listen to praise songs, this night I was listening to Mandisa. Now Mandisa got me through many of my chemo treatments with her songs, but now she was with me on my walk. The first song was "Free". The theme of the song is that God has freed us from many things, in my case He had freed me from cancer and those devastating effects. Then there was "Say Goodbye." The phrase, "there is grace you can't imagine, there is love you can't run out of, there is peace that you can hold onto." Wow, so true in every circumstance; how many times have I held onto that peace for dear life.

Walking along listening to "Lifeline; you are my lifeline, you are my rescue, strength in my weakness, light in my darkness." Suddenly this walk had become more than about steps. I was not only reclaiming my physical strength, but this walk was becoming a celebration of God's faithfulness to me. Once again, God was walking right along side. But this time instead of holding me in my weakness, He was celebrating my newly recovered body. It was a special time that night walking and praising with my Lord. That night the Lord and I finished our victory laps around that hotel balcony with Mandisa singing her song, "Stronger." These were the words she sang, "Cause if He started this work in your life, He will be faithful to complete it, if only you believe it."

God was faithful and He did complete His work in me. There were so many blessings that came out of that disease. Even though the disease of cancer damaged my body, God made me stronger through the experience. He is the mighty God. He is the rescuer. He is my comfort. He is my strength. I am restored body and soul. My hope is and has always been in God! Thank you Father!