Thinking Outside of Me

The closer I got to the date of my first treatment, I had to decide how I was going to think about the situation.  We had our verse to stand on (Mark 16:17-18), and we were at peace with our decision to go ahead with treatment.  We were educated about what it is, what it can do, and how to cope with what could happen.  Overall, we were as ready as we could be as the day approached.  Yet, the unknown lie ahead of me, not so pleasant thoughts would come and go, and mentally, I knew I had to prepare myself to endure and stand strong.

I asked God to help me have a greater perspective going into this, and to help me find a way to make the most of the situation.  He told me to think outside of myself.  Outside of my own little world, there were going to be people there that day that were going to be faced with a similar battle, or even worse than my own circumstances.  I could go in there thinking of a way to psych myself up for it, or I could go in there thinking of other people and expressing the love of God in some way. 

Two days before Chemo Day, the song by For King & Country "The Proof of Your Love" came on the radio, and God gave me a creative thought about what my way of loving people could look like.  It was to put together a chemo care kit that had tools and aids to help other people with their symptoms.  I went online and looked up what those items could be and came up with a list:

Salted nuts, ginger candy, ginger tea, peppermint tea, mints

I found a cool idea on Pinterest on how to make sharpie mugs, and was determined to give it a try!

I called the clinic to find out if they even allow for patients to bring in gifts for other patients, and they do...with caution.  You can't go around passing them out or anything like that, but they have a table for people to put items whether it be food, gifts, or other items that people who come in for treatment can have.  Each patient or family member can choose to take one or not.  That was good enough for me!  I got excited!  I found some awesome mugs in fun colors at Ikea for .99 cents each (thank you Oregon for tax free shopping)!





Then, I had to decide what to write on the mugs that could have a positive message to the people who receive them.  I know not everyone shares my faith, but everyone needs encouragement and especially hope.  Love isn't about shoving your opinions and beliefs at other people.  Love simply meets each person where they are at with how they need to receive it.  So, I checked out the internet for some awesome quotes that could apply to the situation, and here's some I came up with:

"Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

"Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance."  - Samuel Johnson

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say."  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"...It's not the years in your ife that count.  It's the life in your years."  - Abraham Lincoln

"Take the first step in faith.  You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."  - Martin Luther King, Jr.

And for those that did share my faith, I decided to include the simple, yet powerful verses that have helped Preston and I endure in our journey:

"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God."  - Romans 8:28

"When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to a rock that is higher than I."  - Psalm 61:2

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you.  Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."  - Isaiah 41:10

It took some time to master writing on a mug, but once I got the hang of it I had fun making them all!  A craft tip I learned in the process:  Alcohol or hand sanitizer works great at removing the sharpie to fix your errors!

We wanted to give an opportunity to have open doors in case some people were open to receiving more than the mug, so we included a card with our family name on it.  I also wanted to make it special for the people that received them, so I did my best to wrap up the lil package in a cellophane bag.



We didn't have a lot of time from the time I got the bright idea to having them ready to take in with me, so they weren't perfect.  But they were ready in time.

Normally, I wouldn't tell very many people about this, and I'm certainly not compelled to tell you about it to "toot my own horn" about it.  I just felt inspired to share it, because in doing this, in spending the remaining hours before chemo doing this, I found an indescribable joy in doing it for other people.  I went from feeling like I had to brace myself for a dreary day to feeling like I found an opportunity to embrace the joy in doing this journey with other people and loving people in my process. 

When you stop long enough to look outside of yourself and see beyond your own life, you can realize that other people are hurting just as much as you are if not more.  Just like Romans 8:38 says,"I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us.  We can't be separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in the future, by forces or powers in the world above or in the world below, or anything else in creation."  And I am convinced that likewise nothing can separate us from showing that same love, that agape love, to others regardless of what we face, where we come from, or where we are going.  Love is in you.  It's a possibility, an opportunity, and most of all, a choice.  And agape love (1 Corinthians 13)....well, it doesn't fail.  Give it like you desire to receive it, in all circumstances, to all people, and you'll find it can change you for the better.