This Is My Story - Linda Rondeau

Our story today comes to us from cancer survivor Linda Wood Rondeau, author of It Really Is a Wonderful Life. This is from an article found on Linda’s blog, This Daily Grind, regarding her cancer journey (used with her permission). You can read more on her journey here.

Praying the Lord's Prayer

November 16, 2012: Chemo #3 plus one day

I am continually amazed how God is adding to my strength even through the setbacks of infections and sleepless nights. Lately, I’ve noticed an improved ability to focus on my writing. He gives as the day requires.

One new thing, though, is that I'm holding conversations with my husband while I'm doing other things and I have no recollection of the conversation. So we've decided that hubby needs to turn me around and ask the question, "Did that compute?"


Since the last entry God has lead me to the following verses:

The Lord’s prayer Matthew 6:9-13 Twice following the Lord’s admonishment to stop our worrying. Rather our prayers should be:
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”

V6:8B FOR YOUR FATHER KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU ASK HIM
Our persistent prayer should not be for what we think we need but for our need to fashion our desires to align with God’s.

Matthew 16:25-34
Temporal things shouldn’t take primary concern in our prayer life, for God already has a plan to meet those just as has he clothes the fields and watches over the fowl of the air. Our momentary troubles will right themselves in God’s time. By worrying over these things we are distracted from the bigger things God wants to teach us and show us.

We need to keep God foremost in our hearts and mind committing each new day to Him who is truly our Daily Bread and our purpose in His design.

Shaved

But still saucy!

Yesterday while at chemo I talked with a Cancer volunteer, a lovely woman who is ten years in remission for bone marrow cancer. Although she had a bone marrow transplant she continues to require chemotherapy every three months as prevention. She can no longer hold down a full time job but loves her volunteer work with the American Cancer Society. She is a mentor and feels she has helped a lot of folks in that capacity.

“By giving of yourself, you take your mind off your own troubles,” she said. “I count my blessings every day, and thank the Lord for his goodness. I’m alive, and I have a near normal life, a husband who loves me, and a reason to get up in the morning. My faith has made all the difference. Instead of asking God to take away my condition, I pray that he will use it for me to help others.”

Wow. I was humbled. I asked God to help me pray the same way.

Cancer stinks, but God can change it to a sweet aroma if we let him work in and through us.
In Exodus 34 Moses asks God to tell who He is so that when Moses leads the people he will be able to explain God to them.

God answers Moses in v34:6

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger abounding in love and faithfulness, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished...”

A great reminder for each new day to keep our lives focused on our great, compassionate God who wants nothing more than our love.