DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
HERE WE GO AGAIN



©ABC News, WATCH VIDEO, photo source

“Here we go again…”

Thus begins yesterday’s note from Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts about her new diagnosis.

Robin blogs, “Here we go again. As many of you know, 5 years ago I beat breast cancer. I’ve always been a fighter, and with all of your prayers and support, a winner. Sometimes the treatment for cancer can cause other serious medical problems. Today, I want to let you know that I’ve been diagnosed with MDS or myelodysplastic syndrome. It’s a disease of the blood and bone marrow and was once known as preleukemia. My doctors tell me I’m going to beat this — and I know it’s true.”

Robin made the announcement yesterday at the end of Good Morning America (GMA) that she found out the MDS diagnosis on the very day that GMA beat The Today Show in ratings for the first time in 16 years. She also mentioned landing the biggest interview of her career with President Obama on the same day that she had a bone marrow extraction test.

“Talk about highs and lows,” she said.

Here’s the thing.
Oddly enough, Kevin and I are included in the small percentage of people who can actually say we know what Robin is going through.

The first year of our marriage, Kevin was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. We went through 6 months of chemotherapy to eradicate the cancer, and it worked, praise God! But, then we had a scare, quite like Robin’s. Kevin’s final scans showed what looked like a new mass, and we begin preparing for him to undergo a complete bone marrow transplant.

When Robin talks about having a bone marrow extraction and a drill in her back, we remember that. When she talks of the highs and lows, we are right there, Sister!

And Robin’s right – going through cancer treatment can result in a lot of other ailments. Kevin got shingles, which stems from chicken pox virus, because the chemo knocked out his immune system and it could no longer keep the virus in check. The doctors give medication for nausea, but that might cause constipation. Then, you get medication for constipation, and that may cause cramping. And on and on. Medical roller coaster.

Now in our case, Kevin was spared. After months of preparation and more tests than we care to count, our surgeons ruled the new “mass” to be benign scar tissue. Crisis averted (sigh). For a little while, anyway. :=) We were relieved and are still eternally grateful that Kevin has been cancer-free for almost ten years now.

We will be praying for Robin, and we ask that you pray too. We have the unique experience of being able to pray specifically, having walked through some of her journey; but all of us can lift up our sister and fellow follower of Christ.

Here’s truth:

The only point that caused me pause in Robin’s note that I wanted to bring out this morning is the statement that “God only gives us what we can handle…”

This is a wonderful Americanism that has been passed off as God’s word for a long time. Many Christians quote this as a way to encourage each other through our hard times. Some even said it to Kevin and me as we journeyed through cancer.

While it may sound good, I just need to take a second today to bring truth to light, no disrespect to Ms. Robin, of course. The statement that “God only gives us what we can handle” is simply not true. It’s also stated as “God will not give us more than we can bear.”

The scripture that this statement is referring to is:
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

The truth is this passage is about God not allowing us to be tempted to sin beyond what we can handle. When we are tempted to sin, meaning do things that break our relationship with God, there is always another option where we can, in the words of Spike Lee, “Do the right thing!”

That scripture has nothing to do with enduring the sometimes crappy circumstances that are a result of living in a fallen world. It’s true that God allows hardships in our lives, but He’s not up in heaven like, “Watch! I’m going to let her have cancer. I’m going to let him lose a child. They can handle it!”

I don’t have sufficient time this morning to unpack suffering and ‘why bad things happen to good people?’ or ‘how can a good God allow bad things?’ or ‘why did Job lose everything?’. Perhaps we can do that in a future blog. My point is that God is utterly benevolent, and is not throwing stuff on us to see if we can bear them.

Our lives are full of situations that we cannot handle.
The Bible is full of people with circumstances they cannot handle.
The Psalms are full of songs about events that people cannot handle.

As a matter of fact, Psalms 55:22 says: “Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you…” God knows we can’t handle these hardships. So He says, “Throw them on me. I’ll carry you.”

Robin says all throughout her interview that her faith will sustain her. She is depending on God. She has not walked away from her faith. She’s leaning on God. What an incredible testimony!

I really am not trying to be hurtful in any way. I just want us all to frame our worldview in truth. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll think twice before we tell another brother or sister that they’re going to be fine in whatever circumstance they might be facing because God knows “they can handle it.”

Let’s all cast our burdens upon the Lord because He knows (and we know) that we can’t handle it, whatever ‘it’ is.

Our Prayer

We lift Robin up and stand with her for the Lord to heal her body. We pray that the bone marrow transplant will be successful. We pray that her body will not reject the marrow from her sister. We pray for her and her sister to recover quickly. We pray for Robin’s immune system to be strengthened, even during the chemo. We pray that she will not have adverse side effects. We pray for every doctor, surgeon, oncologist, medical professional, that God gives them wisdom, supernatural insight and truth at every turn. We pray that nothing will be hidden, but all things made plain. We pray that through the entire journey, the Lord will be so close to Robin and draw her close to Him. We pray that He will sustain and provide everything that she needs.

Lots of love to Robin.
Lots of love to you, Fam,
Naima

Does this challenge you? Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know what you think:
RESPOND TO BLOG
Facebook, Twitter