Scars are Marks of Ownership

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Lynn

Scars. We all have them. Some of my scars are visible; the scar on my knee when I fell off my bike in grade seven. A little scar on my nose when my brother and I were playing under a table and the leaf of the table collapsed on top of me. I have “battle” scars from cancer surgeries and treatments.

Scars. We all have them.

The thing about scars is that they are often associated with “pain“.  I can remember with great clarity how I felt when my body was marked with each one of those scars.  I remember the pain vividly.  It wasn’t pleasant, but I have learned that scars are marks of ownership to the Father.  As we experience the pain, we experience the Father as He helps us get through the pain.  I have learned by walking with the Father that sometimes pain, when processed with the Father, has the great potential to be used for His perfect purpose.

There are also scars that no one sees. Years ago a former Pastor spoke about “Heart Scars”. He said they are oftentimes far more hurtful and damaging than those outward physical scars we bear and their effects last far longer, sometimes for a lifetime. Heart Scars are caused by a friend’s betrayal, a careless word or comment that stings and hurts; gossip, lies, judgmental attitudes, broken relationships. Those scars run deep and unless processed through with the Father, they never heal,… not completely.

“I know that I will enter heaven scarred,” he said, “they are marks of the battle, [here on earth] but they are also scars used for the sake of Jesus.”

I had not thought of it like that before. Certainly when I went through cancer, I did not know that I would come to a point in my life where I could honestly say I was thankful for both cancer experiences because God changed me by using my scars and my pain to draw closer to Him.

1. God used pain to move me. I couldn’t ignore the fact I had cancer. I had to take action, it would have cost me my life otherwise. I had never thought much about my health or my mortality before. My cancer diagnosis forced me to rethink priorities in my life.

2.  God used pain to move me towards Jesus.  I ran straight into the arms of Jesus.  I had no one else to turn to.  Although I had the support of family and friends there were times they just couldn’t comfort me, try as hard as they might.  In my pain, God revealed Himself to me more clearly and compassionately than ever before.  I would never have experienced Him the way I did without journeying with Him through cancer.

3.  God used pain to move me towards others.  We are called to bear one another’s burdens, encourage, befriend, support, and love one another.  I allowed others to minister to me during my time of need.  I relied on them as I never had before.  I let go of foolish pride to allow myself to become vulnerable not only before others but before God.

4. God used pain to bring me together with others who have experienced similar suffering. I will admit, my heart hurts every time I hear of another person going through cancer. In my opinion, cancer is our ongoing plague worldwide, far surpassing Covid in diagnoses and deaths. I have several dear ones on my prayer list right now who are going through various cancer treatments. I try to encourage and share my personal journey with them.

One of the most profound things I learned was that pain is not to be wasted!

Whoa!  Think about that.  Whatever circumstance right now that you are in, big or small…if you are experiencing pain, do not waste it!  If God has purposed you to experience cancer (or any other kind of “pain” physically, or if you are experiencing Heart Scars) do not waste the opportunity to draw nearer to God and to others through the experience.

John Piper, @JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books. John Piper wrote about his journey with prostate cancer in 2006: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/dont-waste-your-cancer

10 Ways to Waste Your Cancer

1.  You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.  It will not do to say that God only uses our cancer but does not design it.  What God permits, he permits for a reason.  If you don’t believe your cancer is designed for you by God, you will waste it.

2.  You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.  “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor.  No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)

(I know when I journeyed with the Father through breast cancer in 2001 and endometrial cancer in 2019, it was easy to think of cancer as my “curse”, however both were faith challenges. Could I walk with God “through the shadow of death” and stand firm in my faith no matter the struggle? That was my test.)

3.  You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.  The design of God in your cancer is not to train you in the rationalistic, human calculation of odds.  The world gets comfort from their odds.  Not Christians.  Some count their chariots (percentages of survival) and some count their horses (side effects of treatment), but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.  (Psalm 20:7)

4.  You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.   “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”  (Psalm 90: 12)  Numbering your days means thinking about how few there are and that they will end.  How will you get a heart of wisdom if you refuse to think about this?

5.  You will waste your cancer if you think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.  Satan’s and God’s designs in your cancer are not the same.  Satan designs to destroy your love for Christ.  God designs to deepen your love for Christ.  Cancer does not win if you die.  It wins if you fail to cherish Christ.  God’s design is to wean you off the breast of the world and feast you on the sufficiency of Christ.

6.  You will waste your cancer if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.  It is not wrong to know about cancer.  Ignorance is not a virtue.  But the lure to know more and more and the lack of zeal to know God more and more is symptomatic of unbelief.  Cancer is meant to waken us to the reality of God.  It is meant to put feeling and force behind the command, “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord.”  (Hosea 6:3)… What a waste of cancer if we read day and night about cancer and not about God.

7. You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection. When Epaphroditus brought the gifts to Paul sent by the Philippian church he became ill and almost died. Paul tells the Philippians, “He has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill” (Philippians 2:26-27) What an amazing response! It does not say they were distressed that he was ill, but that he was distressed because they heard he was ill. That is the kind of heart God is aiming to create with cancer: a deeply affectionate, caring heart for people. Don’t waste your cancer by retreating into yourself.

8. You will waste your cancer if you grieve as those who have no hope.  There is a grief at death.  Even for the believer who dies, there is temporary loss—loss of body, and loss of loved ones here, and loss of earthly ministry. But the grief is different—it is permeated with hope.  “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)  Don’t waste your cancer grieving as those who don’t have this hope.

9. You will waste your cancer if you treat sin as casually as before.  Are your besetting sins as attractive as they were before you had cancer?  If so you are wasting your cancer.  Cancer is designed to destroy the appetite for sin.  Pride, greed, lust, hatred, unforgiveness, impatience, laziness, procrastination—all these are the adversaries that cancer is meant to attack.  Don’t just think of battling against cancer.  Also think of battling with cancer.  All these things are worse enemies than cancer.  Don’t waste the power of cancer to crush these foes.  Let the presence of eternity make the sins of time look as futile as they really are.  “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:25)

10. You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.  Christians are never anywhere by divine accident.  There are reasons for why we wind up where we do. Consider what Jesus said about painful, unplanned circumstances: “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.  This will be your opportunity to bear witness.” (Luke 21:12-13)  So it is with cancer.  This will be an opportunity to bear witness.  Christ is infinitely worthy.  Here is a golden opportunity to show that he is worth more than life.  Don’t waste it.

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“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”  (Romans 8: 18-21)

(Reblogged and updated from Heart Scars post April 21, 2014)

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35 Years of History

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Lynn

I’ve devoted quite a bit of time going through photos, and old, long-forgotten files, that were basically thrown into a big box and stored for decades at our church. One day, our church’s receptionist ran across the box and asked if I would go through it and “organize” its contents. I guess she thought with my being “retired” I needed a project to do, and because my husband and I have thirty-three years of history with our church, I was the most likely candidate for the job.

It took me months to sort through the papers, toss duplicates, create and date file folders and try to make sense of the what, when, and where, of church life to file all the papers properly. Then there was the hundreds of pictures! Over thirty-five years of old photos, never labelled, just saved for someone to eventually sort through.

Namely me…

Church gatherings, potlucks, special events, building projects, children and youth activities, VBS weeks, baptisms, weddings, funerals, Sunday School gatherings, all documented on film but with no dates or names on the majority of the pictures. When I came across pictures of people I recognized, I immediately jotted their names on the back…if I could remember their names! That became the biggest task for me. Sorting through all the pictures, trying to figure out who was in the picture and when the picture was taken. I scanned in most of the pictures on my computer to create digital files and then began the daunting task of matching pictures with all the past events our church family had participated in for over thirty-five years.

I came across a brief write-up about the early years written by some charter members who had the presence of mind to keep track of the early history of the church. I was overwhelmed with thankfulness to discover it, because I wasn’t a part of the church body during those first years. Taking up where they left off, I added to that early history by collecting more stories, pictures, and reminiscences from staff and members, past and present, to finally compile it all into “book” form.

It has been a labour of love.

God never purposed that any of His children would go through life alone. He created “family” to support, encourage, and love each other. He gifted me with my husband, children, grandchildren and extended family. He also placed me amongst a family of believers who “Love like Jesus, Live like Jesus, to Change the World”.

My church family is exactly that…a family! I can’t imagine life without them! I share a memorable history with them. I have unpacked much of that history over these many months, and I appreciate my brothers and sisters in Christ so much more as a result. It doesn’t matter that some of them have moved away, we still have connection. A few dear ones have gone Home to be with Jesus. I miss them, but we will reunite one day. I have laughed and cried with many of my church family. We have shared struggles, victories, and common experiences. We have prayed, worshipped and fellowshipped together. Evident in our church’s history is the common goal of bringing Glory to God in all of our endeavours.

Looking back to move forward is how we should approach the future. I am looking forward to how God will shape our church for His Perfect Purpose in the years ahead.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

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It’s Been a Week

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Lynn

Every now and then I have a “Why Me?” week. Can you relate? I had three important meetings scheduled this week and I missed each one of them. Last Saturday night I had a bad flare up of diverticulitis. In pain all night, with accompanying fever, feeling nauseated as well, I had to miss church on Sunday. I just tried to stay hydrated, but I thought, “why me?”, two words I whine whenever things don’t go as planned for me. I texted my friend, Jeff, to take the lead for me in a church committee meeting. Without hesitation he agreed, texting, “We are a team, we look after each other!…Rest…”

That’s so comforting to know that someone steps in and handles things when I’m unable to. It was a miserable day for me health wise, but at least it was a worry-free day.

Tuesday, still feeling the effects of diverticulitis, I also started to get a sore throat and the start of a cold. So, I had to miss our small group study that evening. Wednesday, I was just starting to feel a bit better tummy-wise, when a rotten cough would not abate. Between fits of coughing, I texted another committee lead at church to tell them I was not going to be able to attend. She emailed me back advising me to get better and rest. Today, my ribs hurt from coughing and I’m physically wrung out!

I have a list of to do’s, but no strength to do them. My husband takes up the slack as he does each time I have one of these “Why Me?” weeks. He tells me to rest, but usually I can’t let go of things I had planned and I get stressed out thinking about the catch-up work that still needs to happen the following week.

In our entranceway, a scripture verse hangs on the wall. A friend of mine hand-crafted the dried flower arrangement around the words she had beautifully written out in calligraphic lettering. I usually walk past the framed artwork without a glance, but this morning I stopped before it. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

This week, several well-meaning friends have told me to “rest” to get over these nagging ailments. It’s good advice. Sometimes rest is the best medicine! I’ve spent time in the Word. I’ve been quiet and contemplative, not hurried or rushed to get things done. This week of rest has given me time to read a great new book penned by a young friend of mine, “Anything But Ordinary: Finding Faith That Works When Life Doesn’t”. I highly recommend it!!

I am thankful for friends who have prayed for me, and covered for me in meetings this week! I’m still not 100%, physically, but this week of rest has been good and just what I needed!

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