March 2015
There
once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she
had only three hairs on her head.
“Well,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today.” So she did and she had a wonderful day. The next day she woke up, looked in the
mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. “H-M-M,” she said, “I think I’ll part my hair
down the middle today.” So she did and
she had a grand day. The next day she
woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her
head. “Well,” she said, “today I’m going
to wear my hair in a ponytail.” So she
did and she had a fun, fun day.
The
next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn’t a
single hair on her head. “Yeah!” she
exclaimed. “I don’t have to fix my hair
today!”
Attitude is everything!
Dr.
Oxendine told me that when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer. This was before I had an ultrasound or
biopsy. I had a mammogram and they
called me to come back because there had been a change. When I had the second one the doctor at the
Imaging Center told me I should see a surgeon right away. She sent the report to Dr Oxendine and I made
an appointment with him and had them to make an appointment at the Greenville
Breast Center. I really didn’t believe I
had cancer because I had tried to eat healthy foods, I wouldn’t use artificial
sweeteners or drink diet drinks, or eat things that I read were not good for
you. I exercised, and I memorized
scripture. For several years I had been
praying a whole page of healing scripture.
After awhile I had prayed it so much I had it memorized and when I woke
up during the night I would pray that scripture until I went back to sleep. Every doctor I have seen has talked about how
healthy I am, but I still got cancer.
When I went to see Dr. Oxendine, he talked to me like he knew I had
cancer. He told me before I left his
office that I had a journey ahead of me.
He said it wouldn’t be just a biopsy and surgery; it would be a journey
and asked if he could pray with me. In
his prayer he asked that God would be with me on this journey. I told him I believed I was going to be
okay. That’s when he told me that
attitude would help me win the battle against cancer. He said he had seen people go through cancer
and beat it with that attitude, but he had seen others with a negative attitude
that lost the battled.
He
gave me a copy of Dr. Kitchen’s report to give to the doctor in
Greenville. I read it when I got home
and saw that she was positive that I had cancer.
It
has been a journey and seemed like a long one while I was going through it, but
the Lord was with me all the way.
Philippians 4:7: “And the peace
of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.” And that’s what
God did for me. I never worried a single
day. I knew that peace which passes all
understanding that Paul talked about. I
knew it had to be God because always before when I heard the word cancer it
sounded like a death sentence. A
definition of peace: A state of rest,
quietness, and calmness, a perfect wellbeing.”
Peace doesn’t come from the absence of trouble, but the presence of Jesus. Philippians 3:6-7 tells us how to walk in
that much needed peace. We are to be anxious
for nothing, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let our requests
be made known to God: and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Jerry
had knee replacement surgery the next day after I had the second mammogram and
we were in Greenville at the hospital from Wednesday to Saturday. My devotion the day after his surgery really
spoke to me. “Rest with Me a while. You have journeyed up a steep rugged path in
recent days. The way ahead is shrouded
in uncertainty. Look neither behind you
nor before you. Instead, focus your
attention on Me, your constant Companion.
Trust that I will equip you fully for whatever awaits you on your
journey. There was more to it that was
good, but the last sentence was: “I am
with you, watching over you wherever you go.” (Gen. 28:15)
During
this journey, I had some bad weeks when I was doing the Chemo. I never got nauseated, but I was just weak
and had to force myself to eat at times. They told me said to eat a lot of protein and
a lot of calories to help build up my immune system so I knew I had to
eat. The food I ate tasted fine, but I
just didn’t want it. The only thing that
tasted bad to me was water and I had to drink 8 glasses or 64 ounces a day.
One
day when we were going for my Chemo, when we started through the door I said, “I
am so tired of coming up here,” and I knew if I said another word I would start
crying. When I said that it was like a spirit of
sadness came over me I recognized that the devil wanted me to have a pity party
so I started praying silently thanking the Lord for being with me that far and
I knew he would be with my the rest of the way.
When I did that the sadness lifted instantly and I was fine.
But
through all of that I could still find things to laugh about. Laughing is one of my favorite things to
do. We were in Kmart one day and Jerry
found me and took me to the other side of the store and showed me a wig he
wanted to buy for me. It was an orange
Afro style. I told him I wasn’t wearing
that, but he bought me a long white one which I wore one time to our Fall
Festival at church.
I
had my radiation at Self and they had the cutest pink wig at the store at the
Cancer Center. I tried to get the woman
to sell it to me, but she wouldn’t. I
told her I could have a lot of fun with it.
The
first day I had an appointment with Dr. Wood who was my radiation doctor, I was
ready to go except for putting on my wig.
I put it on my head and looked in the mirror and had it on
backwards. I looked like Donald
Trump. It was so funny. I enjoyed telling people about that and
laughing again every time I told it.
After
my hair was beginning to grow back, I went to pick up Ethan, one of my
great-grandsons one day and forgot I didn’t have my wig on. He said, “Maw Maw, you look
interesting.” I asked what he meant and
he said I didn’t look like myself. Then
I realized I didn’t have on my wig.
I
read something that Don Colbert, MD said that was interesting. “I’m convinced that laughter is absolutely
the best medicine as it charges the immune system and triggers the relaxation
response. In this stressful world 75 to
90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related
complaints or disorders. Laughter stops
stress in its tracks. The Bible says, “a
merry heart doeth good like medicine.”
Francisco
Contreras, MD a surgical oncologist said that science has definitively
confirmed the potent healing factor of laughter. Whether studies were conducted in Japan or
Loma Linda, California, objective results indicate that patients who experience
laughter receive a boost to their immune system as measured in the elevation of
natural killer cell activity and immunoglobulin. There are so many objective clinical trials
that support the healing power of humor that it surprises me that few doctors
take advantage of this medication. I do
realize that insurance companies probably do not reimburse doctors for telling
jokes, but who cares? As physicians, we
should be willing to do whatever it takes to improve the health of our
patients. Science confirms that positive
emotions invoked by humor have healing effects.
Anatomy
of a Laugh: Your whole body gets a kick
out of a good chuckle. Here’s what
happens when you laugh according to research.
·
Your heart
and lungs are stimulated.
·
Your heart
beats faster and your blood pressure rises temporarily.
·
You breath
deeper and oxygenate more blood.
·
Your body
releases endorphins, your own natural painkillers, and you produce more immune
cells. You burn seventy-eight times as
many calories as you would in a resting state.
·
Your
diaphragm, facial muscles and internal organs all get bounced around in a massage
sometimes called “internal jogging.”
After you’ve laughed, your muscles and arteries relax. That’s great for easing pain. Also, your blood pressure lowers and your
pulse drops below normal. Some researchers
think all this aids digestion.
He
also said “one bout of anger will diminish the efficiency of your immune system
for six hours, but one good laugh will increase the efficiency of your immune
system for 24 hours.”
The
immune system is what controls how healthy or how sick we are so we all want to
keep our immune systems as powerful as we can!
Nehemiah
said, …”The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Solomon
said in Proverbs, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, and a broken spirit dries
up your bones.” We need to apply these scriptures to our lives. Someone said, “You can rail in anger and
frustration about your relationships, work, politics, or the world in
general. But it’s a lot more fun and
more useful to laugh instead. Look for
the humor in whatever it is that is threatening to irritate you.
We
serve awesome God and He loves us so much.
He promised in Matthew 28:20
“…Surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.
I
am so thankful that I have finished all my treatments and now just have to go
for checkups. When Dr. De Brux started my reconstruction, he operated on my
back and took muscle and skin and brought it around to the front on September
29th last year. He told me it
would take a year to get over that.
I
had a lot of people praying for me and I appreciate every prayer that anyone
took the time to pray. I had people that
I didn’t know personally tell me that they had been praying for me or that I
was on their Sunday School class prayer list.
This means so much to know people are praying for you when you are in
need. I also got cards, notes and meals
brought in which we appreciated. When
you go through something like this it makes you realize more than ever what is
important. It also lets you see how much
people care for you. It gives a
different perspective on life.
I
had received so many cards the drawer where I was keeping them was running
over. I went through the cards recently
and reread them and then threw away 97.
(Some I could not part with just yet.) I told my husband, thinking this
would impress him, but he said I still needed to get rid of more. He loves to see me get rid of things because
I am a pack rat. One of my friends who
is witty always wrote a sweet note in the card and sent me funny things she had
printed off the internet to keep me laughing.
She always wrote notes in the card that made me laugh. On Halloween she wrote, “I won’t get to go
out tonight because someone took my broom.”
Every
day is a good day when we walk with the Lord no matter what the day
brings. God is with us in the rain and
storm as well as the sunshine. We decide
what our response is going to be to each day.
Are we going to be fearful, or anxious, or do we trust? Do we look for the silver lining behind the
cloud?
Problems
are opportunities for us to practice trusting God with it. Every problem that comes our way comes with a
promise and provision attached, but sometimes we get our focus on the problem
instead of God’s promise and provision.
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