I've found that these days it is best for me to tell my head what to think and not let my thoughts wander to every worry and possible outcome that comes my way through the information overload that is the cancer journey.
A few ways that I inform my mind with right thinking is by reading the Bible every day and by reading books and listening to music that keep me grounded in who God is.
I haven't read many new books during this time, but I have returned to classics I've read through the years that are tried and true and always spur me on to right thinking about God and circumstances in the middle of trials and suffering. I've listed three books below that are on that list, and I've shared links to them (by clicking on the title) if you're interested in checking them out further:
1. Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot
- Elisabeth Elliot was a missionary in Ecuador in the early 1950's whose husband was murdered while attempting to make contact with members of the Auca/Waodani tribe. She went on to write many books over the years about suffering, the trustworthiness of God, and the blessing of obedience to Him. Keep a Quiet Heart is one of my favorites, and I've read it several times. It is a collection of essays she wrote in her monthly newsletters over a period of many years. I think the title of the book is aptly named. In it she points readers toward a deeper, more fulfilling, and restful walk with God.
2. 31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers
- Ruth Myers and her husband, Warren, wrote this book. It leads the reader through a month of praising God through a prayer everyday highlighting His goodness and thanking him for it. A friend of mine gave me this book in 2009, and I have returned to it many times over the years. My copy is highlighted, underlined, dogeared, and written in.
3. A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser
- This book was written in 1995 by Jerry Sittser a Christian college professor who lost his wife, mother, and 4-year-old daughter in a tragic car accident on the same day, leaving him to raise his three remaining children (8, 7, and 2 years old) on his own. I first came across this book shortly after my parents moved in with us. A line from this book was quoted in a book I was reading about caregiving at the time and it intrigued me, causing me to purchase the book.
- The subtitle of the book is "The Soul That Grows Through Loss", and that is really the focus of the book, catastrophic loss. We all experience losses in life in may different ways whether it be through the death of a loved one, a divorce, illness to one's own body, or myriad other ways. How we process and move through loss makes all the difference. This author processes his loss in an honest, raw, and open way while always focusing on God. It's one of the best books I've ever read. I've returned to it many times over the past 8 years. I've read it at least 10 times, and I'm reading it again during this season of cancer.
One song that has come to my mind continually during this journey is "God Leads Us Along" written by George Young in 1903. It speaks to the many different seasons of life that God leads us through and stays with us through. It also speaks to the fact that we don't all experience the same trials and hardships or the same joys and pleasures, but we come to salvation in Christ the same way, only through His shed blood on the cross. The words of the song are a comfort to me, and the melody is beautiful. I've listed the words to the verses and chorus below and added a link to the song below that.
Verse 1: Thru shady green pastures so rich and so sweet, God leads his dear children along
Where the waters' cool flow bathes the weary one's feet, God leads his dear children along
Verse 2: Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright, God leads his dear children along
Sometimes in the valley in the darkest of night, God leads his dear children along
Verse 3:Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose, God leads his dear children along
Thru grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes, God leads his dear children along
Chorus:
Some thru the waters, some thru the flood
Some thru the fire, but all through the blood
Some thru great sorrows, but God gives a song
In the night season and all the day long
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