Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:16-18, NLT
Cancer has again made an appearance in my life. At this point in time, having anyone I know go to the doctor makes me nervous. My aunt battled breast cancer. For a while, it looked like she was going to win her battle. She went to be with the Lord in July 2009. Her older brother followed, losing his cancer battle in December2009. Less than a week after his funeral came the news that their cousin had lost her battle with lung cancer. This month, I learned from my best friend that she had found a suspicious lump in her breast that her doctor wanted to examine closer. Within 12 hours of her tests, an email came that the doctors had found a malignant mass between the liver and pancreas of one of my mother’s best friends.
With all of this sickness surrounding my family and friends, I Thessalonians 5:16-18 is becoming harder and harder to follow. “Always be joyful”? “Be thankful in all circumstances”? About the only part of this passage that seems doable is the part in the middle: “Never stop praying”.
Only I am even having a problem with that part. At this point, I don’t even know how to pray about this.
With Aunt Gail and Uncle Bob, my prayers were for their souls. They both had spent years wandering away from the Christian teachings of their youth. I prayed that God would reach them in time, that He would put someone in their lives to remind them of the love of God before their lives were over.
I prayed for Lori much the same way. She’s a good person, but that doesn’t mean her heart is right with God. That doesn’t mean it’s not, either. Wow. As I type this, I realize how pathetic it is that I don’t know. Lori is one of the most important people in my life, and I have tried to share my faith with her over the 18 (good grief, have we really been friends that long?) years that we have known each other. Yet I can’t say that I know what her relationship with Christ is. I know she believes; I know she prays. But does she have a close relationship with Him? Not knowing that, I prayed that her tests would come back negative and that God would give me the boldness to ask her about her faith.
But then there is Bea. I don’t wonder at all about her. I know that she loves Jesus and that when her life is over, she will be in Heaven, praising Him with the angels. Her prognosis is not good. And I just don’t know what I pray for. Do I pray for her healing? That would be awesome for her family and friends, but would that be awesome for Bea? She is ready to go when God calls her. Is it fair to her to pray for her healing, when she is ready to experience the full glory of God in Heaven? When I think about her situation, I find it very difficult to pray for healing for Bea. Instead, I find myself praying for her family and friends. I pray that God will guide and comfort them, no matter what his plan for Bea is. As Mom said earlier this afternoon, “She may be ready to go, but I am not ready to see her go.” I know that Bea is OK with whatever God has planned for her—whether it be complete healing on Earth or complete healing in Heaven.
Her friends and family, though, are going to have trouble being joyful or thankful in this, even though we know it is all a part of God’s plan.
