All Things New, April 4
Daily Reflections from Inside the Cancer Journey
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Written by Karen Wonders
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19 ESV).
Do you have any regrets? Is there anything in your life you wish you could change? Something from your past that makes you cringe?
If only we could wipe away our mistakes!
In college, I had a friend named Jen. Jen was a heavy smoker. She didn’t care that smoking was harmful to her health. She didn’t care about all the money she could save if she didn’t buy cartons of cigarettes every week. Jen was not willing to quit.
Just two years after we graduated from college, Jen was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She had metastases that had spread to her lungs, liver, and brain. A few years later, Jen lost her battle to cancer.
I had the opportunity to visit with Jen shortly before she died. At our visit, Jen lamented over her choice to smoke all those years. She wondered if things would have turned out differently for her if she had quit. She wished she could turn back the clock and stop herself from trying that very first cigarette.
We all know people who smoked their whole lives and never got sick, and those who never smoked and still got lung cancer. Regardless, cancer has a way of pushing us to look at our past. Remember, when we accept Christ, we become a new creation! We are given a new beginning! Even if we can’t escape the consequences of our decisions, He will work on our behalf to rebuild and restore us. He is our defender, even when all hope seems lost. Today, let’s purposely take our eyes off our circumstances, and focus them on God!
Pray: Father God, thank You for making all things new. Thank You for advocating on my behalf and for giving me hope when all seems lost. I know I can’t undo my mistakes, but thank You for making it possible for me to be forgiven of them! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Your Turn: God instructs us to dwell not on the former things (see Isaiah 43:18). Where are you doing this in your life? Since you can’t undo the past, how are you going to move forward with a new attitude of hope and trust in God?
Karen Y. Wonders, PhD, FACSM, Cancer Caregiver
Karen is the Founder and CEO of Maple Tree Cancer Alliance, and Professor/Program Director of Exercise Physiology at Wright State University. Her passion is to advocate for exercise as part of the national standard of care for cancer. Her non-profit organization provides free exercise training to thousands of cancer survivors every month (www.mapletreecanceralliance.org). Dr. Wonders and her husband have 7 children—aged 16 and younger. If you think her hands are full, you should see her heart!
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