Lately I’ve been having a difficult time bringing up cancer to people who don’t know what’s happened in the last year. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, because I might go wig-free sometime this month, and there are going to be some unsuspecting people in my life who are in for a shock! What will I say when they say something about my new “haircut,” and I know they’re really wondering why it is an oddly different color and super-short and curly?? (We’re all wondering about the curly part! Thank you, Adriamycin and Ifosamide, for finally granting my lifelong wish for curly hair!)
I realized something today. It was one of those painful “what a wretched sinner I am” moments. I have an amazing testimony of God’s provision, goodness and faithfulness. I have resolved to never talk about my cancer without speaking about the Lord. So if someone comments on my haircut or my pink breast cancer sweatshirt, it is a wide-open door to tell them how good God has been to me. Why in the world wouldn’t I tell everyone what has happened? If I lived this out, people should see me coming and think, “Oh great, here comes cancer girl . . . God is so good . . . we’ve heard it a million times already!”
Are you nodding your head, thinking, “Go get ‘em, Marissa”?? Well, if you are a Christian, I’ve got news for you. You have an amazing testimony, too. You were dead in your sin, with a 0% chance of spiritual life aside from the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart. (You have survived a worse prognosis than angiosarcoma!) By no merit of your own, God has saved you from sin and death by sending His own Son to live and die in your place. You have been promised eternal life and given every spiritual blessing in Christ. God loves you so deeply that He makes all things work together for your good, and He is in control of every little detail.
Let’s get out there and tell this world what our God has done! You have my permission to find yourself a pink sweatshirt and tell my story if it gives you an opportunity to talk with someone about Christ. But I encourage you to think about your own story, and let’s not keep quiet!
Acts 3:8-10: And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
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