Someone who has battled cancer--or has watched a loved one navigate health journey--knows how it is.
They know the waiting for the other shoe to drop. Going to bed but not to sleep. Listening to what people say but trying to read between the lines. How the days are long but how quickly they go by. The bad moments. The bad weeks. The uncertainty, the regret, the empty feeling, the fear of losing everything but wanting to be alone.
Imagine what it would be like for someone living with cancer to have an opportunity to sit down with a new friend who had been down that same road. Perhaps they had cancer a while back and now, thankfully, there is no evidence of the disease in their body.
Do you think that might be encouraging to someone with cancer? Do you think it might stir up a little hope? Maybe it will help them get through another week?
Or imagine a cancer patient hearing from someone else with cancer who is facing the same things they are--not, "I know what you must be feeling," but "I know what you are feeling.:
Do you think having a new friend like that might be comforting for someone with cancer? Imagine the joy of getting an uplifting text or quick telephone call from time to time or having someone to ask about practical matters--what to expect, where to get information, how to handle things?
Imagine the satisfaction a cancer patient might experience by getting involved in someone else's life as well and having the opportunity to encourage their new friend in return. Waiting to hear together. Celebrating milestones together. Facing the future together.
And at the same time, the cancer patients you know may be surprised to learn that in spite of their cancer. God still has a purpose for them--a way to help others, a way to give back, a way to sow for their own future harvest.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (ESV)
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