Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4
My diagnosis had finally been confirmed. It had taken five months as my family and my church prayed for me. The diagnosis was changed from a dormant type of lymphoma to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and chemotherapy seemed to be the most effective treatment. The prognosis was good but chemo scared me to death. I’d heard all the bad stuff chemo caused… sickness, nausea, fatigue, and loss of hair. It sounded so bad but all I knew to do was pray. So I did.
The first treatment was scheduled and I saw my doctor first. He reassured me whatever side effects I faced he could counteract with medication. Still, fear grew faster than the cancer. Eventually I realized God had brought me this far and He wouldn’t leave me just when things got tough.
Hooked to IV’s in the infusion chair, the medicines that would cure my cancer dripped slowly into my veins. It took all day but I got through just fine. “Piece of cake,” I said. “I can do this.”
My treatments were scheduled twenty-one days apart. There would be one week of fatigue, then two weeks when I would feel better. The first two treatments were easy, but the third one left me tired and nauseated. It seemed as though the three weeks of recovery would never end and neither did my prayers. And they paid off because I was able to spend Thanksgiving with my family.
This whole incident reminds me of the poem, “Footsteps in the Sand,” where God walks beside me during my life but when it gets tough, He carries me. I know God is carrying me right now. I am halfway through my treatments and with each one, it gets a little harder. But I know God will never leave me. He will be with me, whether He is walking beside me or carrying me.
Have you ever felt afraid or alone going through a trial? Let God walk along with you. You are His child and He loves you so much. When things get tough, He’ll pick you right up and carry you through it.
Barbara Duram is a retired Human Resources Assistant, grandmother, served in various women’s fellowship positions at church including circle chairman and retreat chairman. Read Barbara’s devotions.
