I think I have cancer Charis

I finally dropped my records off at the hospital. The rapid assessment will take 3-5 days, so I may even get the results this week. As frustrating as this is, it will give my friends more time to pray. In fact, Garrine is praying and fasting today. After the hospital I took the advice I shared in my last podcast, to smell the flowers and surround yourself with joy. So I treated myself to lunch in Kensington market, and ate it mindfully and gratefully on a patio in the sun.
One of my biggest stressors, which impacts my health, is rushing. Work is busy, then I rush to cook so hopefully I can write at night. I love meeting people and sharing inspiring stories - it's what I feel made for - but I don't have enough time. I need to eat more lunches out, hold potluck parties, and accept what takes a long time.
Is there an area you can simplify in your own life? Can you share the burden with others or make it more fun? Friends, please take care of your health.

One thing I’m good at is literally “smelling the roses.” I intentionally planted David White asters by the front door so I could smell them when I come home. They’re three feet tall and just about to open. The Hal’s honeysuckle are blooming in glorious profusion right now; I climbed behind the currants to cut enough sprigs to scent my bedroom and office. My roses are just starting to bloom, and will have over 100 blooms next week. Now that I know they love tea, they’re as high as Jack and the Beanstock. I always have flowers in the house and carry them around with me from room to room. I need their beauty to cheer me up, especially now.
You need that too, you deserve that too. If flowers aren’t your joy in life, surround yourself with beauty, art, music, scents, nature, walks, good food. Surround yourself with that which gives you joy.

My wonderful morning of fasting and prayer evaporated into great frustration! On Friday my doctor told me to rush records over to the cancer hospital to book my biopsy, and the promised requisition didn’t come. I lost 4 days in a horrible runaround. Now I’m finally on the way to drop them off. To calm myself down and restore myself to peace, I think I’ll sing. May you quickly find peace from the frustrations you’re facing.

Garrine and I prayed and fasted today. It started with 90 wonderful minutes in my prayer chair. Then I told my friend from Rwanda about my scare; he prayed with me too. God saved him from a suicidal depression years ago after a terrible tragedy. He proves God can bring anyone to joy, no matter what they face. May God lead you to health, not the valley of the shadow of death, but know this: God is with you and God is good. Jean Paul encouraged me with Romans 5, rejoice in your sufferings for they produce perseverance, character, then hope. Don’t waste your sorrows. Friends, we need prayer as much as vitamins, remedies and therapies for health. May you find a circle of prayer to lift you up. Find a special place to find your peace and inner healing. God bless you with physical healing too.

I have so much to share with you today. While watching This Life, a CBC TV series about a woman with cancer, I almost set off my fire alarm.
More seriously, a request for help from a near-stranger in the Dominican Republic brought up bad memories of sponsoring a street kid from Uganda who ended up squandering my money. I get that the strongest skill he’s learned in life is survival, but I think I’ll help people closer to home. But his request reconnected me with a friend in the DR who’s going to pray and fast for me tomorrow. I’m grateful and encouraged by sweet Garrine. I remember how Jesus gently carried my mother over the threshold when she died. It was not just peaceful, it was joyful. Even to the end of this life, and beyond, God is with us. He is with you and your angel is still before the Father, and your angel is praying for you. I encourage you to pray too. I hope you get the comfort, strength and peace from it that I do, and that God answers our prayers for healing.

People, prioritise your health! Live every day. Do not let stresses, especially of work, make you sick, keep you up nights, make you lose time with your family on weekends. It is not worth it! You only have one life – live it to the best of your ability. That might mean working hard, but not worrying yourself sick. Invest in your life priorities. Don’t put off your dreams. Check one thing off your bucket list every year. Dance often. Take Sundays off. Sleep in. Work stress is not worth it. God, show me where to invest my energies at this time. Should I take the rest of today off, or use it to work as hard as I can while I can?