I received an anonymous comment on the blog recently and have been considering what to do with it: show it and respond via the comment field, ignore it, or respond to it in a post. As a writer, I believe strongly that increased understanding, and sometimes consensus, comes from discussion. Hiding comments that don’t reflect my opinions will not further the understanding of either individual. As such, here we are, about to embark on a potentially touchy discussion about RELIGION.
The original comment:
Deb I read your blog and you are right on in all that you write. I too am going through the same valley yet there is a difference , I am going through with Jesus Christ.He gives eternal life , hope for hopeless , joy in the pain , shelter in the storm . Psalm23 says Even though I walk through the darkest valley ,YOU ARE WITH ME.God is right there with you and Ken, all you have to do is ask Him for help and He will. He will give you His peace , strength , mercy and grace. He will give you His Son and all of the promises in His eternal word . This doesn’t mean that He will heal your precious Ken on this side but His promise is that He will heal Him completely on the other side HEAVEN.JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD , HE DIED FOR OUR SINS AND ROSE AGAIN FOR Our SALVATION.Try Him Deb . With much love .. A person who has been praying for you and Ken.
Anon, as I have nicknamed our anonymous commenter, refers to a Psalm that I used to say every night before bed, in the more formal language of the King James Bible:
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Since I’m generally silent on the topics of religion and/or spirituality, it may be a surprise to some that I had a Christian upbringing, raised by a devout Catholic mother and even confirmed into the Catholic church. My ever-pragmatic mama, however, cautioned my sister and I that, “God helps those who help themselves.” In other words, all our pray was good for naught unless we were also willing to act. It was her way of reminding us that our God (not necessarily yours) does not trouble Himself greatly in the affairs of the individual.
To be perfectly honest, and hoping that you will all understand that I refer to MY beliefs and that I respect fully that your beliefs may and probably are somewhat or greatly different — if God will cure Ken based on my prayers, then (apologies, God, for telling You what to do when You haven’t even asked my opinion), God should cure everyone with cancer. As important as Ken is to me, his children and extended family, and his friends, he is not intrinsically more important or valuable than any other cancer patient/survivor. If God is planning to hand Ken a cure, let all cancer patients be cured.
If, however, as Anon indicates, our prayer is actually for the next life, I fear our beliefs will differ there too. I don’t pray for potential benefit in the next life: I pray for strength in this one.
Because I respect greatly a well-turned phrase, I’ll end our religious/spiritual discussion with this movie quote: “I know I promised, Lord, never again. But I also know that YOU know what a weak-willed person I am.” Some of you will recognize that quote. If you don’t, you surely need to drop everything pretty much right now and watch Ladyhawke. You won’t be sorry that you did.
Wish us luck or if you like, pray for our continued strength of purpose, this week. Today we’re at the doctor. Tomorrow is Ken’s second PET scan. Thursday, he starts round 7 of chemo.
Have a wonderful day, everyone.
I am sending good thought for you and Ken this week. Jacquelyn 🙂
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As always, insightful, honest and compassionate. I am grateful for your willingness to share your experiences with us.
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I think that was a great discussion, Deb. It’s nice to share ideas. I also love that version of the 23rd Psalm. Greg and I used to share our concepts of faith, philosophy, tradition, and religion, and I miss those talks. I hope anon enjoyed it as well. I most often find myself praying for the strength to face what must be faced. For the ability to discover and uncover the changing definitions of joy and peace, victory and success. To make the best decision or give the best counsel when called upon to do so. And to recognize and release or turn over what is not mine to hold or control. I try to keep in mind all the miracles that have come to me and mine in so many guises…And disguises. After all the goodbyes, and the precious hellos, these are some of the prayers that have come to make the most sense to me.
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Gosh, in re-reading that it all sounds so vanilla. But when I felt, and feel, like I was holding the life, death, and destiny of my family in my inadequate hands, those prayers were all I could manage. And sometimes all I could offer up were my feelings…
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Sometimes the ritual of saying prayers that I said with my mother is so comforting, even though I know that my hands, too, are woefully inadequate to the task facing us.
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Oh, me too, Deb! In fact, I found a little note from my Mom to me after her death tucked inside a Holy Family prayer card. The note said that she said the prayers every morning and evening, and to “give it time, it helps.” I cherish that prayer card. And the note. And I say those little prayers every morning, and every night.
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