Cancer and Faith in God

Cancer and Faith in God

For millions of people around the world, cancer is considered devastating, both physically and psychologically. Due to the widespread prevalence of the disease worldwide and the uncertainty and serious inconvenience of the most common methods of treatment, it has more than deserved the moniker "terrible disease". Many people can relate to the disease, either as a direct sufferer or knowing a family member, relative, colleague, or other acquaintance who has gone through the experience. Cancer has absolutely no racial, religious, cultural, or social boundaries. It affects the rich, the poor, the aristocrats, the sinners, the intellectuals, the drunkards, and even those who are perceived to be living super-healthy lives. Due to the influence of various factors on the diagnosis, the sufferer is filled with fear and is forced to put aside the questions of everyday life in order to concentrate on the basic and eternal considerations that bring with it probable imminent death. From this moment on, not only physical suffering, but also intense pain caused by a roller coaster of emotions, losses, regrets, and relationship challenges becomes the norm. A person with a disability looks for hope wherever it can be found. Very many people bring this search to God or a Higher Being with whom they identify. In such a time of crisis, the already existing relationship with God blossoms. For exemplary Christians, access to God and the sources of their faith is key. Second, it is the support of close friends and family, who are all going through the crisis to some extent with the sufferer. In the shadow of the "big C" everyone involved needs considerable understanding, compassion, and guidance. This brings us to the heart-wrenching story of Shirley Cameron. Born in 1975 in South Africa to parents who were told they couldn't conceive, Shirley grew up a pastor's child. Although for her, a very talented and gifted life has turned into a struggle with depression, failed friendships, and the belief that she is worthless and unloved, not by God or anyone else. Her marriage collapsed after five and a half years and she found herself alone in the UK. At university, she decided that since the Christianity she had grown up with had left her facing an unrelenting God whom she could never please and who always found her guilty, she turned away from him. In the UK, her desire became a successful career woman, traveling and having fun. But as time passed, she found to her surprise that what she wanted most was to get married and have children. Her mother had always been a close friend and confidant, and most of all, she longed to meet God and be saved. The Lord continued to pursue Shirley, and on one of her journeys alone on a beach in Dunedin, she prayed for a long time, "because I thought God might want to hear me." Through her efforts to find the right man and other life circumstances, her relationship with God gained strength. And then in April 2013, now a member of Greyfriars in Reading, Shirley's life is turned upside down when she is diagnosed with cancer. Once diagnosed, Shirley decides to "cut my crap and do it with God". He blesses her, but mostly with the realization of the one thing she wants above all else, the knowledge that he loves her. This experience is fascinatingly captured in a book called "Mommy, Please Help Me Die." Please read it and there is no doubt that it will change your personal and spiritual outlook not only on cancer but on life in general.