Let Your Light Shine

One of the things I love most about my job is being a part of many stories of hope and healing. I am fortunate to work for a faith based hospital where your surgeon can pray with you before surgery, chaplains roam the halls regularly, it is not uncommon for meetings to start with prayer and sacred encounters (as we now call them) happen on a daily basis.

I had lunch with a woman named Christie the other day. She is one of our cancer patients. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer when she was 8 1/2 weeks pregnant with her second child. She was only 29 years old. She had a mastectomy 10 days later and then began six rounds of chemotherapy. Her baby is now about two months old and she just finished her radiation treatment that she started only one week after her baby was born. I only spent an hour with her, but she touched my heart and she probably doesn't even know it. She is an amazing woman of God and never once lost her faith throughout her journey battling cancer while carrying her child. She now wants to "let her light shine" and bring hope to others in her situation.

On the other hand, there are also stories of loss. It is incredibly sad to hear of parents who lose a child. I can't imagine what this feels like and my heart aches for them. Yet once again, I have been inspired by the faithful, Godly women who have found grace under devastating circumstances. I find myself asking why these women were chosen for such loss. They are so undeserving of the grief they have to live with. Though undoubtedly grateful, I sometimes feel guilty for a healthy pregnancy and beautiful baby boy. God deserves more than I have given and yet I have been truly blessed. I think that is why I have been drawn to meeting these people or reading about them. The lyrics to a song by Mercy Me have been playing over and over in my head:
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I do hope they know how they have impacted the lives of so many others. I know that I have been especially touched by these women and only hope that I can be as faithful and humble as they have been in such difficult situations.