Courage and healing are certainly desired by anyone facing the challenges of cancer. Tim Mitchinson’s Journal Star article “The search for courage and healing” provides encouragement and support with stories of survivors who found their courage and healing through prayer.
Judging by the sea of pink to be seen in October – a lovely sign of support and love – there should be many interested in this hopeful article. The beginning is below but be sure to click through to read the entire article.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many individuals and groups are joining together to help raise funds and bring attention to efforts to combat this disease. Pink (the color signifying these efforts) is everywhere. Even pro football players can be seen wearing pink on their uniforms. I vividly remember turning on the television last year and seeing an audience full of women who have survived breast cancer. I applaud their courage, determination and victory!
Margaret Price is one such survivor. I read her story on-line. After her diagnosis, she reasoned that her treatment must include a learning experience. She stated, “The whole process was a major learning lesson.” What she learned was that she was innately strong and with the love of her family and friends could handle more than she had previously thought.
She credited prayer with helping her find this inner strength. “I have always believed in the power of prayer,” she wrote. “My advice is to think positively, pray a lot and laugh a lot.”
Prayer and spirituality are vital ingredients in the experience of many cancer survivors. On the Cancer Survivors Network, R. E. wrote, “Spirituality can be many things. Some may find it at a church or a synagogue while others find it in the comfort of a mountain stream or the spray of the ocean. When times are difficult or stressful I find great comfort in the presence of nature and the meditation of prayer.”
When my friend Marian discovered a lump in her breast, she found spirituality and prayer not only helpful in surviving this illness, but powerful enough to heal it.