It was June of 2016 when my husband started complaining of swallowing difficulties. This man had never been to the doctor so he did not have a primary care physician. A week later we were hosting a BBQ and he completely lost his voice. Friends at our home that evening told me to get him an appointment with an ENT immediately. At this first appointment the ENT told him he was 95% sure it was throat cancer. Later, the biopsy confirmed he had Stage 3 Throat Cancer. This rocked our world!
The Holiness of Cancer
You see, Ron had been drinking beer AND smoking since he was a teenager. He confessed to me that six months earlier he had begun praying to God for help with his addictions. The ENT guessed that the throat cancer had probably been growing for about six months!
As I look back now on all of the things in our world that were colliding, I am reminded of Hebrews 12:10, which states, “They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness”. Ron had to quit working during his chemo and radiation treatments. He had a feeding tube placed in his stomach and had to pour a formula in it three times a day. He could only eat popsicles due to the throat pain from the radiation.
This certainly felt like discipline from God, but it was good discipline from a good Father. Earthly hardships, like cancer, is one of the ways that God brings discipline into our life, and He does this on purpose. Even when the discipline is severe (Hebrews 12:7-8), God’s intent is to make us more like Him – to share in His holiness. We may not like this discipline, but we understand it and accept it.
God’s Presence Through People
Our immediate family and church family leaned in by praying for us. Ron couldn’t attend services for a while, but the Lord kept me encouraged by the hugs, prayers and people asking about him every week. One time, we had first-time visitors who I chatted with and they were themselves cancer survivors. I felt as though the Holy Spirit used these ladies to bring me comfort and encouragement.
God strategically placed people in my life to show us He was near. Hebrews 13:5 tells us, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” God did not abandon us during the cancer, and He never gave me reason to doubt His presence.
The Courage We Found
During the treatments Ron said he wrestled with God, asking why he had to go through this: the fatigue, the pain, NOT EATING. He felt the Holy Spirit tell him, “If I don’t make it hard on you, then you won’t learn.” One of the passages that kept us going was Joshua 1:9, which states, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”. We KNEW God was with us through this whole ordeal and giving us courage as well.
Now, Ron is a two-year cancer survivor! Although he still deals with the after-effects of cancer treatment, and we don’t know what lies ahead, we know we are never alone.
If you have cancer, or know someone who does, may you cling to this truth from Psalm 46:1 that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”.
Kathy Wilhite is an underwriting assistant at Merchants Bonding Company. She and her husband, Ron, have been married for 26 years. She has 2 sons and 8 grandkids. She lives in Round Rock, TX and enjoys making homemade Mexican food and spending time with family.
