Cancer Support Groups
Cancer Support GroupsA Stanford study of women with metastasized breast cancer showed that participating in cancer support groups improved their quality of life and doubled their length of life. I began attending a Spiritual Wellness Group at church for cancer patients going through treatment. There are many types of cancer support groups and I tried several before I found this one where I felt at home. This group has helped me see that a complete healing includes spiritual and emotional healing, as well as physical healing. As we share our journey with cancer, we get strength and hope from each other, from the Bible, and from praying for each other. Strange as it may seem, it is one of the most joyful groups I have ever been involved in.
Today was the last meeting for my Community Bible Study group. We started with a festive potluck brunch and then had sharing. I prepared a short talk, but the Holy Spirit told me to listen instead. Several women from my core group spoke. Dana got up and told how God had put her in the perfect group. She faced cervical cancer in the fall, and we had helped her through a scary time. She then told the entire CBS class what an inspiration I’d been to her and that I’d been voted the most inspirational member. Then she had me stand and everyone applauded. Tears were rolling down my face – and I’m the one who rarely cries. What a sweet gift of love and confirmation from the Lord and my friends at CBS.
What is my life? It is a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away (James 4:14).
Don’t become enamored with plans for tomorrow. Remember, time is in God’s hands and each day is a gift from Him. One day, God will call us to be with Him, so make the most of today, keeping eternity in mind.
I thank God for allowing me the time to be a spiritual matriarch for our family. Even though I hardly see myself as an example of the Christian life, I’m glad others see Christ in me through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I live to finish my spiritual race with joy, and to complete God’s task for me of bringing my loved ones to the Lord.
Beyond cancer support groups, cancer taught me to use other healing tools, such as relaxation and visualization. My favorite method of relaxing was a daily hot bath with aroma therapy candles. My favorite time to use visualization was during radiation. Unlike chemotherapy, where you can read, watch TV, listen to tapes, sleep, or talk to others, radiation is a solitary and somewhat scary experience, where you are unable to move or sleep. During my daily radiation treatments, I visualized the Seven Dwarves marching up and down my spine with their picks, picking out the cancer and filling in the holes with their shovels as they sang, “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go!” MRI scans were a similar experience, without the pounding X-rays. My doctors used the MRI to determine the location and size of my lesions. I endured the long sessions in that claustrophobic tube by visualizing Jesus lying next to me holding my hand.
I will keep you in perfect peace.
Your mind is stayed on Me,
because you trust in Me.
Trust in Me forever;
for in Me is everlasting strength.
He is Near…
The word of God is very near – in my mouth and in my heart when I meditate on the Bible. Anyone who seeks God with his deepest heart and all his soul will truly find Him.
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen thine heart.
(Psalm 27:14)
He is There…
Jesus can feel our infirmities because He was man, so we can boldly come to the throne and find mercy and grace to help in time of need. Jesus, thank you for being there – for caring.
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We have all sinned and deserve God’s judgment. God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, "Jesus is Lord," you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.
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