My sense of gratitude has grown over the time I have been dealing with my disease. For sure, it was deeply felt when reflecting on how God blessed my surgeons and oncologists whose expertise has made it possible for me to be alive now 13 years after my diagnosis to write what you are now reading. That is truly life-and-death level of blessings for which to be thankful. But I’ve come to be aware of and grateful for all God’s mercies, big and small, He delivers in abundance each and every day. When that happens, it as though a shield of love surrounds me, driving out fear (1 John 4:18). Gratitude is, once again, an antidote for fear. And, as Michael J. Fox, in his brave battle with Parkinson’s disease, has said: “Gratitude makes optimism sustainable.”
This attitude is no self-help psychologizing strategy to deal with stress. It is a powerful spiritual realization that I’ve experienced over the years of dealing with this disease. I’m certain the same realization has been true for you too as you have gone through tough Smes. It speaks to God’s infinite lovingkindness in our life, even when the tough Smes seem to get worse. Yet, we, like Habakkuk, can truly find reasons for which to be thankful, even under the most trying circumstances:
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights. Habakkuk 3:17-19
God “delights to show mercy” (Micah 7:18) to even the least deserving of us. He is incomprehensibly good, and, as Paul said, “loved us before we knew him.”
