Think about today’s verses. Often, God brings joy to our lives not by substitution, but by transformation. His illustration of the woman giving birth makes this clear. The same baby that caused the pain also caused the joy. In birth, God does not substitute something else to relieve the mother's pain. Instead, He uses what is there already—but He transforms it.

Whether we’re physically alone or surrounded by people whose love is loud and tangible, cancer can be a lonely place. No matter how much our friends and family love us and are with us, they can never truly understand what it feels like to be where we are. If you’re feeling alone, even wondering where God is and if He might just have forgotten about you or abandoned you for some reason, I get it.

When we are so busy that we don’t even have time to eat, it might be that we are just too busy. Our society rewards working long hours until exhaustion. Yet, our God felt it necessary to rest on the seventh day after creating the heavens and the earth. (See Genesis 2:1-3.)

I guess I’m like most women; I love getting flowers. It’s kind of silly, really. It’s not like flowers are good for anything. Yet, my grandmother told me that flowers are the most gracious of gifts because they don’t do anything except make you happy. It’s true. Flowers don’t have to do anything for me to love them. I just love them because of what they are.

Our scripture for today says, “Be angry, but do not sin.” It can be confusing.

It may be that along with a cancer diagnosis, you find yourself feeling more anger and frustration. You may become angry and impatient when lab or test results are delayed. You may feel angry with healthcare providers who are emotionally distant or seem unsympathetic. It can be irritating, frustrating and exhausting when therapy schedules interfere with your family life, your social life and your work life. Cancer is not only inconvenient, but life-altering!

As a pastor I’ve said it plenty of times to people asking for prayer, only to find that quite often they scarcely feel reassured. Faith that “God’s got this” when it comes to the results of their cancer test tomorrow, next week or even next month may seem like a bridge too far. What I meant to say is that no matter what happens, God is going to be with them through it and will provide for all their needs. To them, saying that God’s got this cancer is like promising He will prevent or eliminate it, and that is too much. As a pastor, I’m then asked to pray God will forgive their “lack of faith,” about which they now feel (inappropriately) guilty.

For some, the awareness of cancer may come via the announcement of our primary care doctor. Others notice their body begins to fail them in some capacity, forcing them to seek an answer from a noted authority. At some point, your deepest fears are realized. It's cancer.

Before Mark’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, he was terribly sick and admitted into the hospital to have a stent placed in his bile duct. During this time, I reached out to my dear friend, JoAnne. She is full of God’s love and not afraid to share God’s story with anyone open to listening.

When my husband, James, and I married, we knew we wanted to have children someday. Several years later, we decided we were ready. After eight months of hoping and praying and starting to wonder if something may be wrong, I was pregnant. The hope of this child was quickly shattered.

The word “cancer” tends to bring to mind only bad things—chemotherapy, nausea and sickness, losing your hair, disability, loss of your job and income, exorbitant medical costs, scary surgeries, losing body parts, chronic pain, saying goodbye to loved ones, and even death. The Bible says that God is working for your good in all these things, too.

As a cancer caregiver, I could not help noticing that my wife’s cancer diagnosis and treatment took a toll on her own body image. Her self-reflection in the mirror revealed to her that she had cancer. She somehow saw “damaged goods.” Yet, when I looked at her, I saw the same woman that I found attractive and fell in love with many years ago. Same eyes, same nose, same mouth and cheeks and forehead.

I remember my granddad’s face was twisted and pained. It was like some invisible fist had punched him in the head—and in the heart—and in the stomach … all at the same time. He was a strong man, but he looked crushed and weak. I remember a waiting room, an examination room with big windows, and doctors and nurses moving around me. I was being diagnosed with cancer. At three-and-a-half years old, I did not understand.

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

For some, the awareness of cancer may come via the announcement of our primary care doctor. Others notice their body begins to fail them in some capacity, forcing them to seek an answer from a noted authority. At some point, your deepest fears are realized. It’s cancer.

Looking back, we can see the beauty of God’s plan in using our cancer struggle for His glory.

However, those plans were hard to see when we were surrounded by cancer. When it is hard to see that God has a plan, remember today’s verses: “… call on me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you.” Go to God in prayer, and call on Him. Then, wait on Him to reveal the good plans he has for you.

At Maple Tree, we understand the impact cancer has on your identity. Surgery takes away your body parts. Chemo takes away your hair. Hormones cause you to gain weight. Sickness causes you to lose weight. You’re fatigued and weak. You can’t do the things you once could.

How do you stay you when everything about you is different?

My problem? I need to pay attention to what’s important. You may not have this difficulty in your kitchen, but each of us can have problems paying attention to what’s important when things get difficult.

One day I took my 4 year old son Garrett and his 8 year old friend Andrew to the pool. For permission to swim in the deep end, you had to swim the length of the pool. Both boys got in line to pass the test. The problem was Garrett could not swim across the pool. How did I know? Because three hours earlier, Garrett had a swim lesson in the exact same pool and he could NOT swim across it. Mostly of the lesson he clung very tightly to his kick board.

In the land of the free and the home of the brave, jury duty is a fact of life.  Everyone thinks juries are a good idea but most people don’t want to be on one.  Jury duty usually finds us hoping the “other guy” will be chosen for the jury and we just get to go home.  After all, there are plenty of people that can serve on a jury and do a great job.  Why do you have to be the one chosen? 

Even though Jesus didn’t have the benefit of a good garden hose, He was a foot washer. John 13 tells us the night before He died Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and everyone seemed to like it- except Peter. Peter couldn’t handle Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, humbling Himself by washing Peter’s feet.

One Easter when my daughter Heidi was a preschooler our family attended a St Louis Cardinal baseball game. Picture this: surrounded by tens of thousands of fans, my husband, son and myself are in jeans and cardinal t shirts but Heidi is still decked out in her Easter finery- shiny shoes, foofy dress and a bow bigger than her head. Heidi is sitting in my lap with ruffles galore and we are cheering. But this is no ordinary cheer, we’re cheering our Easter cheer.