“Praise the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord.”

 

 

 Psalm 113:1

 

In May of 1998, a breast cancer diagnosis on the first day at work as prayer coordinator for an international Christian ministry threw me into a whirlwind of emotions.  I felt as if a hurricane had snatched me up and spit me out in a foreign desert land. Even though I knew that keeping my eyes on Jesus and into His Word would be my stability and compass, my emotions seemed to separate from me. At times, I could not sense the presence of God

 

Two weeks after a lumpectomy, we moved house to another city, away from our friends and church of 27 years. A week later, I learned that I needed another surgery to get all of the cancer. Fear gripped me from time to time, and loneliness and isolation seemed to be my worst enemies. The second surgery necessitated a third – this time, a mastectomy. I remember feeling emotionally numb and empty inside. Sadness and loneliness continued to be my companions. I felt like I was in a vast desert with no oasis in sight.

 

 

Then, the Lord reminded me of the words of a favorite Christian song: “the chains that seem to bind you will serve only to remind that they drop powerless behind you when you PRAISE Him.”  I began to practice praising God and meditating on Psalm 3:3: “He is a shield about you , and the lifter of your head” And as I did, I  began to walk out of the desert and into a land of safety and stability.

 

 

Three days after my mastectomy, my daughter and I experienced a rear-end collision at a high speed on the freeway. Massage therapy for the whiplash injury was a blessing in disguise, though, because my back was spasming due to the removal of my breast

 

Four months later, the effects of a follow-up cancer drug caused hemorrhaging.. The only help for the bleeding was another strong drug. A few months later, I opted for a complete hysterectomy in order to get off of the drug.

 

While rehabilitating the range of motion of my affected arm in a pool, the Lord gave me a vision of a day-spa-like facility where cancer patients could recover in a truly Christian atmosphere, being aided by the touch of massage therapy and the comfort of water moving over them in pool therapy. Both of these modalities had been very helpful in the healing of my body and my soul.

 

This vision seemed to be the extension of a dream I had in my youth of a beauty salon where women would have the option to become beautified on the inside, via Christian music or Bible lessons, while getting their beauty treatments.

 

The Christian day spa for cancer patients would also offer nutritional snacks, resting rooms, Bible studies, specialized support groups, and a lot of space for relaxation and fellowship. 

 

As a result of my vision, Cancer COMFORT Ministry was born in the Fall of 2001, when 11 other Christian women, mostly cancer survivors, met to brainstorm a ministry that could grow into the day spa dream 

 

Now I praise God for the difficult cancer journey He took me through, and I am very pleased to be able to watch God lead us, a step at a time, in a rewarding ministry of service to others as we work toward the reality of our dream of a Christian cancer support center.

 

Great is thy faithfulness,

                         Lord unto me.”

Chisholm and Bunyan