In the medical TV series, Amsterdam, there is a group of cancer patients who play cards together while having their chemotherapy. It is such a wonderful way to lighten and brighten up the dreary weary journey. I love how the writers made use of humour to play out in each scene. The patients wear funny slippers and try to outdo each other to come up with funny names associated with tumours and cancers. They even name their tumours.
A proper lens to look at challenges in life enables us to cope with them. These cancer patients decided to laugh at their cancers. Max, the medical doctor of the hospital also has cancer. At first, he did not find it funny at all. He preferred to take his IV drip on a stand to go on his usual rounds of running the hospital. He thinks he has many more important things to do than playing cards and joking about cancer. Max did not want to appear weak to his staff and patients sitting in the treatment room with a bunch of cancer ‘victims.’ He blamed himself for failing to catch the symptoms of Willow who fell seriously ill as she coughed and laughed ‘at’ her symptoms. “She was laughing ‘because’ of her symptoms. There is a difference.” said the oncologist.
A big difference indeed. If you were coughing so hard you could hardly breath, would you crack jokes about it? Willow decided to fight the tumor with humor.
A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22
There once was a rich man, anxious and sleepless always. He spent a fortune and found no cure until a healer advised that he should only see green things. So the tycoon returned home and decided to paint his house green, buy a green car, have an entire household of people and things all in green. One day, the healer came to visit to follow up on his patient. A servant saw the healer and quickly splashed an entire bucket of green paint all over him. The healer’s final advise? Why not buy a pair of green eyeglasses!
Having a positive mindset enables us to look at life in a different perspective. Christians need to take on the lenses of God. Yes, we are just creatures. We cannot comprehend the mind of the Creator. But we have God’s Word and the Holy Spirit to guide us. God loves us. He sent His only beloved Son to die on the cross for our sins so that all who believe in Jesus will have eternal life. (John 3:16) He works out all things (good and bad) for good – to those who love Him and are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) God comforts us in our sufferings so we can comfort others with same comfort we receive from Him.
Every cancer has a purpose. Pastor John Piper wrote Don’t waste your cancer.
How are you coping with life’s challenges, my friend? Are you depressed? Are you sad? Do you wish for death so the pain would end? What is the best way to face the Big C? Fight with all your might? Give up and let go? Whatever choice you make defines your being. I can choose joy or I can choose depression.
When I was undergoing radiation in 2009 for my big C, I decided to write down a list of people I am thankful for… friends who encouraged me with words, hugs and supported me with prayers. Each day, as I read God’s Word, I basked in his warm embrace and comfort.
In 2016, when both my parents died within 5 months of each other, I was near breaking point. I had sleepless nights – wanting to check myself into the hospital so I could get valium and sleep away my grief, my anxiety and escape from my suffering. It took a broken ankle to wake me up from my near breakdown. God opened my eyes to see how He provided for my needs as I lay on the bed unable to walk for weeks. He enabled me to walk through the valley of the shadow of death as I sat in my wheelchair by the bed where my dying father was.
Today, these experiences allow me to encourage and comfort friends and people on the same journey of pain, grief and suffering. My personal encounters with God make me a credible and authentic witness to God’s grace and mercy.
It is in hot water that the flavour of tea comes out. Gold is melted in the fire to be purified as is silver. Diamonds are chipped and shaped from rough rocks, through cutting, grinding and polishing.
Job was a godly man who suffered greatly. Read his story from the Bible in the book of Job. He writes: “But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” All through his sufferings, Job remained firm in his convictions. He knew his God – the God who gives and the God who takes away. He understood the way of God – and the way of man.
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21
Looking at life through the lenses of God… what a different view we will see!
