Fifty Minutes to Talk about God!

If you listen to podcasts, this is one of Lisa Murtha's from "Verbal Journal...ism". I prayed for God to give me the words to say that would glorify Him, and how He has lovingly carried me through cancer. Some of that is in here, but this is what came out...

https://verbaljournalism.substack.com/p/we-walk-by-faith-and-not-by-sight?utm_source=podcast-email%2Csubstack&publication_id=1441093&post_id=146728798&r=11yqvl&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true&fbclid=IwY2xjawEyxblleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHeq4tSz7EztJwU-GhmsUOvA6TSFZzabJavzvMfsxJvRqgdVmIiGj9cUbuA_aem_D0UYRIkbXcPilzxlqjXshg

20-some years ago, I met Tamara. I will never forget the image of her so joyfully walking into preschool with her son, Addison, riding piggyback. While other moms and dads (myself included) were dragging their kids along, distracted with daily to-do lists and the logistics of drop-off, Tamara was fully living in the moment and embracing Addison’s fleeting childhood. She knew so much more than me already. 

As the years went by, Tamara and I crossed paths many more times, sometimes at our kids’ schools, sometimes through friends and sometimes through our creative careers (Tamara is a gifted author, illustrator and visual artist). When I learned three years ago that she’d been given just months to live after a diagnosis of recurrent cancer, I was heartbroken.

My friend Peg and I rushed to meet up with her and offer support; I will again never forget the day we first saw her after that difficult diagnosis. Wearing a winter coat with a giant Jesus Loves You button pinned to her lapel, she entered the room just as beautiful and determined as ever.

Her journey since that day has been paved with highs and lows, but - three years later - she is just as vibrant and faith-filled as always after choosing to pursue both alternative (traditional Chinese) and western medicine to keep the cancer at bay. Her life during those same three years has been abundant with love, hope and faith as she has embraced daily gratitude and a powerful desire to share all she has learned about God’s grace with anyone who is willing to listen. She has also cherished watching her daughter get married and celebrating the birth of her first grandchild - two things doctors told her she'd likely never see. 

I cannot thank Tamara enough for sharing her story of faith and perseverance with us. She is a guiding light for all who are fortunate enough to cross her path -

Lisa

*The title of this piece is excerpted from the New King James Bible, 2 Corinthians 5:7-21. But Tamara’s guiding bible passage is “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” Psalms 119:71

I trust Jesus will be there - that's all I need!

        In May of 2021, I was uncertain if I would make my daughter’s wedding, as I had breast cancer that had spread to my brain and bones. But not only was I alive and well enough to go — I danced all night at it. A year after that, I have the privilege of being a grandparent!   

        I can rightfully proclaim that God has been extremely good to me, but what one can see on the outside pales in comparison to the compassion He has on me within my heart. Currently, I have a tumor sitting right next to my brain stem, so my team of doctors cannot remove or radiate it. The only way to fight it is to try to shrink it with chemo. (I also use mistletoe, an alternative and natural immune booster.)

        When I lay sick, or crawl into bed at night, you would think my jousting mind would be clouded with nothing but worry…and believe me, I do have to fight that from time to time. Rather, God sweeps in without me even asking Him to and comforts me as only He can. His loving presence is bigger and better than any threat to my life could ever be.  

 

         Every two months I peer anxiously at my scans to see what future I might have. But as Charles Spurgeon said, “Wherever Jesus may lead us, He goes before us. If we don't know where we are going, we know with whom we go.”