Bright be my prospect as I pass along;--
An ardent service at the cost of all,--Love by untiring ministry made strong,
And ready for the first, the softest call.
A. L. WARING
If there is one goal I want to achieve in my lifetime is to show others with a chronic illness that they too can live a purposeful life. Yes, it is harder and takes longer to do certain things, but we can still accomplish plenty. We are not finished living life.
A person does not go through all that, both physically and mentally, without a struggle. It is that struggle and determination that actually makes us stronger than the average person. It should not be an obstacle to us living out our best life. Life is meant to be lived, so let's live it fully.
When I first came out on YouTube, I went in search of other channels who were living life with cancer. The ones I found were either several years old with no current video or ones going through the treatment. I noticed two things right away. One, they stopped chronicling their journey once in remission. Two, they passed away.
That truly bothers me. I know that cancer is a hard word for many people to think about or say, but as survivors, shouldn't we encourage others to stay the course? Shouldn't we show them what comes after? The struggle isn't over just because we went into remission. For majority of us, living with pain becomes the norm or experiencing repetitions of recurrences.
I don't want anyone to think life has nothing more to offer us except living with pain. We shouldn't be afraid to embrace the challenges that come with it nor should we be afraid of sharing the same challenges with others who are coming up behind us.
Look at me, look where I have been and look where I am now.
That should be the words we want to live by and pass on to others with a chronic illness. We should also add and look where I'm going!
Trust me, the last thing I want to do is be flippant about the journey with cancer or any other chronic illness. It was hard, really hard and at times, still can be. Giving up is not in my vocabulary. God has given me another chance to breathe out into others. I want to be an encouragement, a supportive shoulder, a joyful cheerleader to my fellow survivors, no matter what that illness may have been.
Send me, Lord, send me.
Have a blessed day everyone.
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