My declaration is simple.  My seven-month-long battle with breast cancer is over.  Finished, done and completed.  The enemy could not kill me.  Just as the Old Testament people of God built an altar to remember what the Lord had done, I have built an altar of thanksgiving to the Lord for what He has done in my life.

Three years ago, after many years of debilitating arthritis, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me and said, “Walk in water.”  I had missed physical exercise after being very active most of my life, so I was very happy to begin an exercise program in the local lap pool of our village. The Lord was right, and after two years of daily water-jogging, I was in better health than I had been in fifteen years. 

Then came the late night phone call from the surgeon, and I heard the words that all women fear and dread.  I had breast cancer.  It was at that very moment that I was faced with a decision – lay down and be overtaken, or just keep moving and power through.  I decided to power through in the power of the Lord, and my own sheer will not to give in to cancer.  And so began a walk through an experience that has changed me forever. 

My first experience was with a very persistent, Christian woman who is a doctor of Radiology.  She discovered the mass, overlooked for years, hidden under an old scar.  She persisted in pushing me to see a surgeon, setting into motion the physical aspects of my treatment for breast cancer.  So began all the biopsies, tests and more tests, two major surgeries, and seven weeks of daily radiation.  I was left with cuts, scars, incisions, and skin burned to a crisp.  Even though all the medical people were wonderful to me, I felt mutilated, violated, and humiliated.  I lost all sense of personal modesty as I was splayed out, uncovered, in front of what seemed like thousands of eyes.  I was forbidden from going into the lap pool until everything was completely healed.  The lack of exercise caused my overall health to deteriorate, which made everything more difficult. 

I did not, however, have the luxury of lying down and quitting, because I am a very busy woman.  Like most women, I have many responsibilities in many areas.  Also, I am a caretaker.  My elderly mother-in-law lives with us and we take care of her, and for twenty-nine years we have taken care of our son, who was born with Down Syndrome.  So I understood the urge to ask, “Why?”  But the whole cancer thing took me beyond a simple “why.”   It was more like a “whoa” or “just wait a minute, here.”  I had thoughts that needed explanation.  I think that these thoughts apply to any Christian who is going through difficult situations.  I have served God most of my life.  I have been faithful as a senior pastor’s wife for 32 years.  I have gone through many trials, but this one just seemed like too much. What was the deal here?  I didn’t get angry, but I knew that my spirit was wounded.  I just did not understand. 

In spite of my questions, during those seven months God gave me unusual opportunities to witness and minister to people.  He gave me glimpses into the reasons for this particular battle.  Even though I believed my body would heal, I didn’t know how to get my spirit healed from the disappointment and questions.  But the Word of God was the rock to stand on, and all through the seven months I gathered a collection of scriptures, words, articles, and anything else that had meaning to me for this battle, and I read through them once a day. .  The Word of God has the answers when we face the hard things of life.  The Lord also gave me a song to take me through.  It is a song titled, “Didn’t You Know” by Donnie McClurkin.  I saturated my spirit with that song, and it stayed with me through the entire ordeal.

Finally the day came when I was able to return to the lap pool.  I was very nervous about returning to what had once been very familiar.  Mustering up courage, I walked to the stairs of the pool and stepped in.  At that moment God began a miracle in me.  As I immersed myself in the shoulder-high water, with my song playing on an MP3 player, I could feel my spirit begin to heal.  Ephesians 5:26 speaks about the washing with water through the Word, and at that moment I had an overwhelming sense of healing as the water washed over me.   I made my way over to the edge of the pool, looked up to the sky, raised my arms, and built an altar of thanksgiving for what the Lord had done.  As I listened to the words of my song, I thanked my Heavenly Father, because He had walked with me, and talked with me, and wrapped His loving arms around me every moment of the last seven months.  He never left me alone.  Now each day as I do my laps and pass by my altar of thanksgiving, I know that forever I will praise Him.

Ephesians 5:26

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