I refer to myself as a realistic optimist—one who doesn’t deny the reality of the current situation, but who chooses to believe that God can and will bring good out of even the most dire circumstances. Focusing on God’s goodness allows us to levitate above our problems by drilling down into His Word which reveals His plan for our lives. The deeper I go into an understanding of His love for me, the more I self-identify with my immortal destiny instead of my mortal condition of being a cancer patient. I am a child of the King, whose inheritance is sure and absolute, not the victim of an evil and always fatal disease. I now often say that I don’t believe in bad news—bad news is just good news before its conversion experience. A realistic optimist understands that in every circumstance there is reason to be grateful, even if you aren’t able to see it at the time. Realistically, it is what it is. You just have to believe that “what it is” may be different, and better, than what it appears to be at that moment in time. We don’t know the end from the beginning, but God does, and He holds us in the palm of His hand.
