Going Public

I haven't posted for weeks. I've been laying low, still in shock that I had the courage to "go public" with my fight against breast cancer and the spiritual/emotional journey it has been.

Here are the two ways I told my story publicly:

1. I wrote an article for Intervarsity's website The Well, a resource for women in graduate studies or professional careers. It was an honor to write this article, available at here. It was also a huge leap of faith to write for a public forum about my medical and spiritual struggles. It was especially public in my little world, because I shared the link on Facebook with many acquaintances who were not aware that I had cancer and with whom I have not shared deeply about my faith.

The best part about writing that article was not what I expected: the thrill of completing an assignment or being published. Rather, it was the moving responses I received by email. The article proved to be:

• an opportunity to address faith questions with one friend
• a journey shared with other Christian women dealing with their own anxieties
• a "call to faith", as one acquaintance wrote
• a chance to reconnect with people from my past on a deeper level

It was hard to air my vulnerabilities, but I was blessed by the experience!

Any Christian knows that God uses our vulnerabilities to draw us closer to Him. It's a lesson straight out of Christian Living 101. No one gets through life without a thorn in the flesh of some sort, conditions beyond our control such as medical problems, disability, emotional challenges, abuse, or poverty. When Paul pleaded with God to remove his unnamed thorn, God answered "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9). Our thorns remind us that we humans rely completely on our loving Heavenly Father every breath of the day, every step of the way.

But here I learned a equally beautiful lesson that builds on the first. We'll call in Christian Living 201. When I make myself vulnerable, God can use me to bless others and build my relationships with them. Airing my struggles publicly connected me to others in ways I could not have foreseen. How humbling to learn that my experience spoke to theirs.

2. That was the heavy-weight stuff; now for the light-weight story of sharing my experience publicly. I took part in a clinical trial for a post surgical product and was asked to submit a testimonial about my experience with the product. The company's photographer took my picture and *presto* I'm a spokesmodel. 
:)
They might use my photo, first name, age, and words in advertising material. Here's one of the photos: