"Step by Step"

"Step by Step"

were the words of my doctor (and many others) when she told me I had cancer. And yes that has been my way of moving forward ever since. God has given me peace and I am not jumping ahead getting overwhelmed with the future tasks or thinking the worst and am moving forward on what is to be done today. That is a gift from God since that has not been my practice in the past in difficult situations. Thank you Lord for the gift of peace!

I am being reminded of many people and many things related to this theme. Like Abraham, Paul, David, Joseph, and many others, whom were on their own journey, persuing their dreams and goals and then LIFE HAPPENED. Confusions, detours, unbelieving, and lots of things that didn't make sense came along. And they had to proceed in faith step by step. We would assume they might have wondered how they would ever get to their puporse or goal that they believed God had given them. But they chose to trust God. They chose to beilieve that He would still lead them and He was in control of ALL that happens in their lives. So, by their example and how they walked step by step, I am also to forge forward and walk in faith.

A friend recently said to me that there is not victory without a battle. This was another piece of encouragement that boosted my faith giving me patience, strength and peace. Because I too believed I have received a promise from God and I was on my jouney to conquer it, but like the others "Life Happened". I did not ask why because God had prepared me for this dark cloud (storm). God brought me through a huge storm a few years ago where I learned alot. I felt like all that was robbed from my life was returned by God in better condition then before. I had lost my sense of meaning and direction but He showed me how to start to learn to trust Him to live for what I know today. Just as things were starting to smooth out, I ended up in February with shingles. Thankfully, this prompted me to make an appointment for a physical exam which I amazingly got within a month. I started to learn how to trust God in illness. I started to fast and pray with a new understanding of it. The shingles did not end up being the nightmare that you hear about. My experience was with very little pain, the rash did not spread much at all, and the rash sprouted dry instead of oozing and crusting.

So just before my physical exam and the series of tests that were to follow, I read a passage in the Bible and somehow knew that it was a reality that I could have cancer and this was another test to teach me more about warfare. This is the word that was given to me to prepare me for the medical tests and news that I had Breast Cancer: Judges 3:1-2 "...These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Isralites who had not had previous battle experience);... Therefore, I knew that this was just another test to teach me how to fight the battles which come along as part my life.

So like those who came before me, I will follow step by step and He will lead me. I too chose to trust Him. And like a countemporary saint sang out loud his confession of trust to the Lord, I also use his words to express my own: 'Oh Lord, You are my God ...and Step by step you lead me and I will follow you all my days...".