Fighting for the moments

I was introduced to Kara Tippetts (not personally, though that would have been lovely) one evening when I was driving home from work.  She was on the Christian radio station I listen to.  On that short 10 min drive I heard enough to know I wanted to know more about this lady battling stage 4 breast cancer.

It was spring 2014 and my mom was in the midst of being diagnosed with cancer.  We didn’t know what exactly was attacking her body yet, but it had already destroyed several of her vertebras and was clearly a savage intruder in her body.

That evening Kara spoke in an interview how we often forget that God will be with us in the future, just as he’s with us today; that when the future shows up, God is already there.  We tend to forget this as fear of the future unravels our lives.  She referenced Proverbs 1:33 “But all who listen to me will live in peace and safety, unafraid of harm (without dread of destruction).”  My mom echos her sentiments as she stated in the uncertainty of her storm: “it will be okay.”  These four little words speak volumes.  They say that God’s got this and he’s holding you and I no matter what happens.  They say that fear is not welcome because trust is present and perfect love will prevail ushering in peace and safety.

I tucked these moments away in my journal for the next couple of years; but once again Kara Tippetts popped, very much welcome, into my life.  I remembered she had taught me something when Mom was acutely sick and so I hunted down my journals to remind myself of her wisdom.  Indeed, this verse and this concept continue to be a rock as I myself battle cancer. And Kara Tippetts continues to be a woman I look to as an example.  Sadly, she passed away in 2015 (Oh how I had hoped miracle upon miracle that when I googled her I’d find her alive), but not before writing books, blogging her heart out and championing LIFE.  She is known for being a voice promoting life when Medical Assisted Dying was becoming legal in the United States.  I think Kara and I would very much have enjoyed one another’s company.

You see, I went to her blog today and read her words and oh how they echoed my soul.  They say what I have not been able to.  So please read this beautiful woman’s words and hear my own heart in them.  Thank you Kara for sharing what it is like. 1

Each day is a battle to see, a struggle to learn, a fight against the lies of hopelessness. Each day I wake, I remember my story, then I want to go back to sleep. But through each day, I see so much truth, hope, life, joy that I simply cannot check out of living and fighting for my moments. ……. Slowly, I will drink my coffee and read my Bible, and find the strength to get moving beyond my despair. Some days I begin the day faking it for the benefit of my children, and some days I move from my bed with genuine strength and hope for the day. Each day has some mercy to make the moving possible.

"...fighting for my moments".  FIGHTING FOR THE MOMENTS.

We need to fight for the moments.  They rarely fall effortlessly into our laps.  And it is in the fighting and the wrestling that the beauty increases.  These moments are golden.  They are priceless and valuable.  (Oh how valuable, that like Kara I am not going to let go of any extra minute to end these moments, no matter how difficult.)

Beauty will find us there; in the pain, in the sorrow, in the fight.

And it will be okay.

It will be okay.

1. www.mundanefaithfulness.com  (I hope I have not overstepped by quoting this.)