I am a breast cancer survivor. I can wear a pink ribbon. I can walk in a race and have SURVIVOR written on my shirt. My scars prove that I have been through a battle. If you want me to I can spin a tale that will make you so sad that you might feel like giving up. But why in the world would I do that? How cruel to share my own personal horrors just so I don't have to feel alone? Misery certainly does love company, but I would rather use my voice for good.
Every single person alive today is a survivor. Perhaps you were raised in a family with alcoholism, abuse, or neglect. You have suffered an illness, death of a loved one, or loss of a dream. You are a soldier that has lived through war, a parent dealing with a struggling child, or a child watching a parent's health decline. Infertility, unemployment, divorce, betrayal, depression.....the list is endless. Unlike me, your scars may be hidden from the rest of the world. There are no fundraisers or ribbons that celebrate the truth of what you have faced, but there is something you can do with your experience.
One of the most profound relationships I have had in my adult life came to me after I became a cancer patient. Through my church I met a woman that had been diagnosed with breast cancer over a decade ago. Her road to recovery had been difficult. In fact, the doctors said her cancer was incurable. Although she may have wanted to simply forget, she allowed her pain to be brought to the surface not for her own benefit... but for mine.
Gioia is a little Italian spitfire from Long Island, New York. She could have been an honorary Valvano and quickly became my most trusted confidante. She listened to my fears, but never allowed me to wallow in misery. She understood me even when I was unable to put words to the emotions. Our shared love for Christ was the best part of our friendship, but a close second was our ability to laugh. Like when I left my prosthesis aka "swim boobs" at her beach house and we had to call the real estate guy to go get them and mail them back to my house. Now that is hot. And the time when I was going through my reconstruction and I let everyone feel me up during our support group meeting. Hmmmm...good times! You get a bunch of church ladies together that are going through cancer and things can get CRAZY. I know without a doubt I could not have gotten through the last 5 years without her family.
You have the opportunity to be what Gioia was for me to someone in need. Take the most horrible thing that has ever happened to you and celebrate the fact that you walked through it and left it behind. Then use your victory to encourage someone. When you use your "stuff" to help others you are the one that is blessed. You begin to feel more hopeful about your own life. Picture yourself like Rocky Balboa in that scene where he climbs a flight of like a million stairs. After finally reaching the top, you jump up and down with fists pumping high above your head. You not only survived but you conquered and now you plan to make sure that nobody falls on their way to the top. There are people all around you searching for a reason to hope...a way to survive...a person just like you.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up....1Th 5:11
Fiesty today!
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