Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Finding the light of hope

“Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path”
-Psalm 119:105

Today I am going to the beauty shop to get my color corrected. Scarlett was in last week and when I made my appointment her hairdresser told her that the appointment after me was a lady coming in to get her "chemo cut." I remember my own "chemo cut" back in June 2004. I had already started my chemo treatments and my hair was thinning leaving strands all over my clothes and the backs of chairs I sat on. So I said the heck with it. I decided to cut it in a short pixie - Halle Berry style- to make the loss more manageable. Later on my dear hairdresser at the time, Annetta Nadolna, came to my house and shaved the rest. I realized after all was said and done that we ladies never realize just how much time we spend messing with our hair. It was the most liberating aspect of the whole chemo experience to me to be bald and beautiful!

So I wanted to leave a little letter of hope for this Lady who I do not know but yet am connected to as a sister by the ties that bind all of us who conquer cancer. I know she will conquer cancer also. I am adding her to my daily list of those who I continue to pray for after all these years. Prayer is such a lovely gift because it gives both ways. You bless and you are blessed in return through the joy of giving.

My gift to this lovely lady today is something I wrote a while back about finding the light of hope. Here it is. God bless you my sister in Christ whoever you are:


FINDING THE LIGHT OF HOPE

Do we find hope or does hope find us? I found it appears to us in moments of surrender. In my own cancer journey, the light of hope glimmered when I finally stopped fighting the fear that cancer could destroy me, and surrendered my fight to the power of God to fight for me. It was at that moment I decided to win. I faced my fear and remembered my brother Chip’s motto about fear – that it is False Evidence Appearing Real. So what is the true evidence that is real? These “facts” can be found in the greatest book of truths – THE BIBLE.

I started scouring the bible for verses that revealed the promises of God to each of us. I found a blank journal book and began recording the truths I found to feed my soul each morning and arm myself with the protection I needed to face each day. It brought me great joy as the nuggets of power jumped off the pages at me. They had been there all along but I think the difference was my new receptivity to embrace them. I finally understood what is meant by “power in the word.”

A popular country music song “Jesus Take The Wheel” by Carrie Underwood offers us great advice. It encourages us all to remember that God is in control. If we can begin by believing this, we can allow hope to perch itself and make a nest in our souls. But the key to this, is believing with all your heart and soul. Hope is believing in the outcome. It is believing what you cannot see. It is realizing the victory is already ours. Cancer is not so much a battle for your body as it is for your soul.

What we cannot see is more important than what we CAN see. What we CAN see is limited. What we CANNOT see is unlimited power of God’s universe that is available to us. There is great power in the unseen – it is that place where we can cleft in God. When we learn to abide in God, to immerse our spirits in quiet, we start to hear the whispers God speaks to our hearts.

The most important aspect of hope is understanding that you can hope because YOU ARE NOT ALONE. God has promised us He is there all the time. Wherever God is there is power. It’s up to us to accept that truth. Once we do the universe unfolds and begins to unleash mighty miracles.

The spoils of our victory is that peace that surpasses all understanding. It is knowing that no matter what God’s will is for our bodies, we have won the battle for our soul. When we can honestly say “No matter what happens – it is well with my soul” then we become filled with a happiness that makes us want to run out and bless the world. That, my friend, is what winning is all about. It is a battle we win day after day if we refuse to give in to despair and choose life.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was reading, Johnny, Rene, and Scarlett,

in the devotional that Nancy and I use and today's scripture was from Psalm 103. As I read David's poem of praise I felt led to forward you of some of the words of hope which God left us for inspiration and strength. Here they are, Psalm 103:1-5 (though I highly recommend the entire text).

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name,
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits-
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

I know of no stronger statement of God's love and faithfulness and am so thankful that our God is alive and has given us a "spirit of power and love" that enables us to walk in His presence through all of life's experiences.

Though we have not met, Johnny, I want you to know that Nancy and I have been blessed by the presence of Scarlett in the life of our family. As one father to another, I pray that my children's lives will positively impact those with whom they have contact the way that Scarlett's life does.

Please know that we continue to lift you, Rene and Scarlett to God in our prayers, believing that He will "crown you with love and compassion" and "heal all your diseases". May God bless you today with the very real sense of His presence,

Kit Crews

Scarlett Lillian // Jacksonville Senior Photographer said...

You are so wonderful Mr. Crews! Thanks for sharing. I was just reading that very verse in my quiet time yesterday before you sent the message.

Anonymous said...

you and your family are so amazing. i think of you all everyday and pray for you constantly. Your faith is such a glorious inspiration. The Lord has a purpose for us all, and i belive that the more you share the more you will continually touch the hearts of other...even if you dont know it. I wanted to make sure that you know that you have truly touched mine, what a beautiful journal entry- praise God. Sometimes lifegets so fast that we forget to put everything in his hands... but youre right, if we continue to study and live by the truth we shouldnt have much to WORRY about because there is no better place to be than in God our Father's hands. may God continue to Bless you all
Jessica (EBNER) Fletcher