What Defines Us?

We came in the front door of Hope Lodge last Monday night close to nine.  My treatment had not gone so well.......the X-ray machine in Treatment room 4 was on the blink.  I lay on the hard metal table for a very long time, face mask in place, body in position, half covered by a heated blanket but still chilled.... I waited and waited as people came in and out of the room working hard to fix the machine.  Finally it was ready to go, and the treatment could begin.  At the end, while I was getting off the table I cut my finger on something sharp.  Frustration rose in me.  I was definitely ready to go back to our second home after a challenging night.

As we walked down the main hall of the Lodge  to the elevator I heard the most beautiful violin music.  At first I thought it was coming from the TV room but it sounded so clear.  Sure enough in the large dining area a woman was holding audience with a group of around 25 people.  Everyone was captivated by this young woman (who's lack of hair identified her as a member of our club), while she played the most beautiful notes on her violin.  She was sharing her talent with others, while fighting her own personal battle with cancer.  The music was literally soothing to my soul, and by the looks on the faces of others, they too were being blessed by one woman who was not letting cancer totally define who she was.

I could not help but think about how cancer is so big, and it can be so consuming with treatments, surgeries, and more, that it seems to be all that defines us.  And that is a lie.  It is comforting to sit at a table with a group of people who speak the jargon that has come to be so familiar to us on this journey.  It is comforting to talk with people who get it~ to hear their stories with cancer.........but they are more than that.  Cancer does not get to define who they are or Whose they are.

Yesterday Joel and I went to a class at Mayo on releasing stress.  We were the only two there so the leader could adjust the session to our needs.  As we talked about what stresses us out she shared ideas on how to manage our emotions and shift our thinking.  She brought up declarations to speak over ourselves and mentioned, among other things, stating daily, "I am a child of God".  Yes, this is what defines us!  Being a child of God is first and foremost who we are, and Whose we are.   There are times in life where we are focused on the battle before us, and that is as it should be, but we can never forget that we do not fight the battle alone.  God walks with us.

I don't remember the number of times God has brought to me Exodus 14:14 through Scriptures, devotionals, Facebook and Instagram.  I hold to it tightly as I remember to define myself not by the battle I fight but by my God who fights for me.  I am a child of God!