Living As A Cancer Survivor - Finding A Purpose

Mark Everett Kelly, seen here with his dog Sammy, is a Stage IV survivor of Rhabdomyosarcoma.

As we enter my ninth month of "Living As a Cancer Survivor" blog postings, I feel God telling me to be more positive. Life is hard. We all have issues, rants, shortcomings, complaints, etc.

When I received the diagnosis that I only had six months to live in December 1990, I had no idea what to do. 29-years later, I still struggle; only now, I'm much more limited.

Despite surviving all this time, despite outliving all of my death sentences, I still struggle to wonder what my calling is. Why am I still here? Why did I survive? Why do I find myself struggling if I find myself blessed enough to be here? 

My heart goes out to those who lost a loved one to cancer. One of the reasons I started this blog to honor the memory of all the roommates at Sloan Kettering that I saw die.

I desire to live with a purpose and want to encourage all of you to also. I posted this on my Facebook page today after doing my devotional. If you are not religious, please don't turn away from the point of this message. Replace "God" or "Jesus" with whatever matters to you.

From AWAKENING: 21 days of spiritual fasting & prayer - Day 6 (devotional is on the Bible app)

"The voice of the crowd cannot answer the question, "Why are you here?" When you hear the voice of God, you begin to understand His purpose for you and what you are all about. It is then that you can prioritize your life around that purpose; this is a freeing place to be, and it uncomplicates your life. Once you begin to realize God's purpose for your life, you start to understand something foundational about yourself; you're not here on earth simply to exist but—guess what?—you were sent. Your whole life will change when you understand that you were sent here by God."

We all have a purpose. Don't give up. Don't quit. Don't despair. Earlier this week, I wrote an article on Althea Gibson. Gibson was a breakthrough athlete for African-Americans in two sports (Tennis & Golf). That means she was the first woman of color to participate as a professional in those sports.

This passage is from my article. I post this to show that there are others whom you impact that you of which you are not aware.

A LESSON IN HUMILITY & GENOROSITY

After retiring in 1977, Gibson took a job as a tennis pro, but by the mid-1990s, her health was failing. She also was deep in debt and unable to work. Slumping deeper into depression, Gibson did not take phone calls. She decided her time was up and phoned former doubles partner Angela Buxton in 1995 to say goodbye. 

Upon hearing the desperation and sadness in her voice, Buxton interceded. She wrote a letter to Tennis Week Magazine about Gibson's condition, and a few days later, Gibson started receiving envelopes of money of all currencies sent to her home. Extremely touched, Gibson had no idea how many fans her excellence inspired over the years. 

Encouraged, Gibson fought back and survived until 2003 when she died of respiratory failure. It's not often that a story touches my life as this one has, but as one who suffers from a variety of health issues, Gibson's legacy and how others stepped in when she needed encouragement gives me hope as well.

Press on my sisters and brothers. God Bless you all.

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