A plaque hanging on hospital wall puts it well.

Cancer is so limited…

It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith [or]…destroy peace [or]…kill friendships.
It cannot suppress memories…silence courage [or]…invade the soul.
It cannot steal eternal life.
It cannot conquer the Spirit.

My friend Louise fought a hard fight with cancer.  Every three weeks she had to have chemotherapy that lasted the entire day. And this went on for months. In addition, she had to have shots to boost her blood count.

Yes, she had bad days and she got discouraged from time to time. Numbness in her fingers and toes and the aches and pains that accompany these drastic therapies are certainly draining. Being a person who never let grass grow under her feet, she found it hard when she didn’t have the energy to do all the things her mind wanted to do.

But Louise was a believer in Jesus Christ since childhood. The evidence of God’s Spirit in her life was that she illustrated the poem I read, for her life truly displayed love, hope, faith, peace, friendship, courage and a conquering spirit.  She wasted little time on questions like “Why is this happening to me?” Instead, she said,

I know who holds my tomorrows, and I know who holds my hand today! I praise God for the wonderful peace He gives me deep inside and for His wonderful people who walk along side and encourage me when my body grows tired!  While I am walking through the valley of the shadow of death, I know it is just a shadow, because the reality of the living Christ is with me, and His joy is my strength.

And then she added, “I suggest you taste and see how good the Lord really is!” (Psalm 34:8).