Previous Post in this Series: Treatment – Lots of Radiation
Or Start at the beginning: Having Cancer as a Christian
Around the second week after receiving chemo I started to go to one-on-one counseling at my church. The reason for going to counseling was to deal with the fear and emotions that I was experiencing while going through treatment. I had looked into some other secular counseling options but I felt I really need my counselor to have a Christian perspective. The reason for this was that I was really believing that it was God ultimately that was going to get me through this. Unfortunately some of the websites that I had visited out there were too accepting of the negative outcomes of battling cancer. I needed someone who would ask me the hard questions about my beliefs and help me deal with my weaknesses.
I got that person.
The interesting part (to me anyway) was that while we did talk about the cancer we talked about a lot of non-cancer things as well. We talked about my life growing up and my interactions with my parents, other family members, and friends. My counselor challenged me on a spiritual level but also on a relational level as well. My counselor had a good balance of psychology and spirituality.
It was during our sessions that I explained that I had interacted with the Lord about my healing and that I had questioned Him about why he did not heal my right then and there. I told them that I had felt God had told me that he was going to heal not only my body but my mind and spirit as well. My counselor was very happy that I had this interaction with God and that I should keep seeking Him which I did.As the weeks and sessions went on I began to feel better both physically and spiritually. During that time God did some amazing things in my life in regard to healing my heart in some areas with my family and also in the area of finances. I was really happy that I was making progress.
As I began to get to the tail end of my treatment I started to feel in my heart that surgery was possibly not the best idea. I struggled with this because I had promised God that I would do whatever it took in order to get past the cancer and now it seemed that I wanted to back out of a part of it. I asked my counselor whether they thought that I would not be living up to my part by not having the surgery. They said that although I had made a pledge to God that He was merciful and it was possible that He could make it to where I would not need surgery.
It was weird because I knew of God’s mercy and had experienced it at different levels before but this time around it seemed so much more serious. For me it practically was a life and death decision. I spent a lot of time in prayer, not to try and convince God but see what it was that He thought was best. The more I prayed the more I felt that surgery was not the thing to do. I prayed for God’s will to be done and that he guide and direct me, my wife, and the doctors. I put everything into God’s hands and waited to see the results.
Next Post in this Series: Treatment – The Last Week – Coming Soon!
Or Start at the beginning: Having Cancer as a Christian
Counseling and the Question of Surgery
Previous Post in this Series: Treatment – Lots of Radiation
Or Start at the beginning: Having Cancer as a Christian
Around the second week after receiving chemo I started to go to one-on-one counseling at my church. The reason for going to counseling was to deal with the fear and emotions that I was experiencing while going through treatment. I had looked into some other secular counseling options but I felt I really need my counselor to have a Christian perspective. The reason for this was that I was really believing that it was God ultimately that was going to get me through this. Unfortunately some of the websites that I had visited out there were too accepting of the negative outcomes of battling cancer. I needed someone who would ask me the hard questions about my beliefs and help me deal with my weaknesses.
I got that person.
The interesting part (to me anyway) was that while we did talk about the cancer we talked about a lot of non-cancer things as well. We talked about my life growing up and my interactions with my parents, other family members, and friends. My counselor challenged me on a spiritual level but also on a relational level as well. My counselor had a good balance of psychology and spirituality.
It was during our sessions that I explained that I had interacted with the Lord about my healing and that I had questioned Him about why he did not heal my right then and there. I told them that I had felt God had told me that he was going to heal not only my body but my mind and spirit as well. My counselor was very happy that I had this interaction with God and that I should keep seeking Him which I did.As the weeks and sessions went on I began to feel better both physically and spiritually. During that time God did some amazing things in my life in regard to healing my heart in some areas with my family and also in the area of finances. I was really happy that I was making progress.
As I began to get to the tail end of my treatment I started to feel in my heart that surgery was possibly not the best idea. I struggled with this because I had promised God that I would do whatever it took in order to get past the cancer and now it seemed that I wanted to back out of a part of it. I asked my counselor whether they thought that I would not be living up to my part by not having the surgery. They said that although I had made a pledge to God that He was merciful and it was possible that He could make it to where I would not need surgery.
It was weird because I knew of God’s mercy and had experienced it at different levels before but this time around it seemed so much more serious. For me it practically was a life and death decision. I spent a lot of time in prayer, not to try and convince God but see what it was that He thought was best. The more I prayed the more I felt that surgery was not the thing to do. I prayed for God’s will to be done and that he guide and direct me, my wife, and the doctors. I put everything into God’s hands and waited to see the results.
Next Post in this Series: Treatment – The Last Week – Coming Soon!
Or Start at the beginning: Having Cancer as a Christian