Don't waste your cancer

Many of you may know John Piper, a pastor from Minneapolis and author of many books. For those of you that do not know John Piper, here is a good opportunity to get to know him.

One of his booklets is titled “Don’t waste your cancer”. I found it a very good example of how we are to deal with the things that God allows in our lives, no, it is not by accident that we get struck by some kind of illness and that includes cancer.The big question is, what do we do with it? Curse God or ask God to use this opportunity for yourself and others.

Here is a link to this booklet; you can read it online for free. I know you will be blessed by it. Maybe you can see or add your own illness or accident to this story. No, it is not just for those that are afflicted by cancer, it is everything that God allows to happen in our lives, even as small as a headache.

 John Piper writes about the following points in his booklet.

1. We waste our cancer if we don’t hear in our own groanings the hope-filled labor pains of a  fallen world.
2. We waste our cancer if we do not believe it is designed for us by God.
3. We waste our cancer if we believe it is a curse and not a gift.
4. We waste our cancer if we seek comfort from our odds rather than from God.
5. We waste our cancer if we refuse to think about death.
6. We waste our cancer if we think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.
7. We waste our cancer if we spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
8. We waste our cancer if we let it drive us into solitude instead of deepen our relationships with manifest affection.
9. We waste our cancer if we grieve as those who have no hope.

I have tried hard not to waste my battle with cancer and share my story and God’s blessings with others. We pray often for healing but even more that God will help me carry this load which can at times weigh very heavy on my heart. We pray that God will use my cancer to bring sinners to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and I pray that my cancer will not be in vain.

There are days when I wonder if I will see the end of 2012 because of the discomfort I feel inside my body.There are also days when I feel good and look to the future with great anticipation. I have to learn however to take life and its blessings day by day and stop looking too far into the future, that already is a challenge on its own.

Today is 3 weeks ago that I stopped Chemo treatments that too has its challenges. At times I feel more vulnerable because I am not taking any meds, yet I know that God is in control and that healing only comes from Him.The diet I am on is not a pleasant one. I always loved my food but now the joy of eating is no longer there, now I just eat to live. No meat, no salt or spices, no dressings of any kind but just fruit, veggies, fish and yogurt, it’s all very bland and tasteless but the blessing is that I can still eat.

I am not as tired as I was before and I have more energy, however, I can feel that things are happening inside of my body. It’s hard to explain how and what I feel but it is uncomfortable at times.

I want to thank all the people that stop me, call or email me to encourage me time and again, your words may be few, you maybe don’t know what to say but your words and prayers mean a lot to me and Henrietta. It is truly blessing for us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
God bless you and keep you.
John