Day 74 An Important Lesson Learned

Cancer can steal your life in more ways than one.

Yesterday, I was on the couch.......again.  I began to think back to a few weeks ago when in frustration I cried out, "I want my life back!"    God is so good in the sometimes gentle way and sometimes not so gentle way that He teaches us that the answer is in our own hands.  I realized that I have relinquished my life to cancer.  No, I haven't given up.  Certainly not.  What I have done is let it dominate my life 24/7 to the point where I have begun to feel weak and ineffective.  "Why aren't you painting?" my doctor asked.  Huh?  "Hello, have you forgotten that I have cancer?"    "Really, what does that have to do with anything?"  Ah, Dr. Mahmood cuts me no slack.  Thank you Dr. Mahmood.  If I can't stand in front of the easel with my arm up for very long at a time, I can certainly paint with the canvas flat on a table or I can watercolor or I can use my left hand and try a new technique.  I know these things so why have I not done them?  I don't have the answer to why but I do have a solution.

What God gave to me last night is that it is time to reclaim my life.  No longer time to talk about what I'm going to do and then never get done but instead to relate only what I have done and accomplished throughout the day in spite of having cancer.  So, now it's a little after 10am on Saturday morning.  After a wonderful prayer and study time this morning I had my black coffee and Ezekiel Bread.  Then I took Chipper for a much needed walk.  Came back, straightened some around the house, checked emails, put some lima beans and collard greens on to cook and baked some sweet potato cubes to add to the collards.  Just in case I don't feel well after the chemo next week, I want to have food ready in the fridge and freezer.  After that, I was a little tired so I had a 15 minute liedown and then I fixed my cancer killing smoothie.  That's a great restorative.   And now I'm back up and ready to continue my day.  Stay tuned.............

Precious Lord,
What would I do without You?  I would be completely lost.  My life would have no direction and I simply would not be able to go on.
Please forgive my giving some of my strength over to the enemy. Thank You for opening my eyes and saving me from an awful outcome that would have been of my own making. 
Thank You for giving me the insight and words last night to recognize where I truly am on this journey and how to move ahead forcefully and successfully.   As Isaiah said, I can look to the right or to the left but it is my ears that hear Your voice behind me saying, "This is the way, walk in it."  Thank You Lord for showing me the way.  I will walk in it.
Thank You for showing that way to everyone else out there fighting this enemy Lord, so they can move forward with the determination and accomplishments that You want for them.
In Jesus' precious name.
Amen