infiniteperspective.net

Adversity is a great ally. I’m not referring to it in the masochistic sort of way—after all, who would want to go through the rough road if an easier choice were given?  But it is a wonderful helper to have along especially if you need to scrutinize people without rose-colored lenses. It is when misfortune comes along that the bonds that hold family and friends together are tested. It is when times are difficult that human kindness and compassion are most genuine.

I always thought I had many friends who were always concerned for me. I also thought that I had many close relatives who would stand by me no matter what. When I got sick, I realized how wrong this perception was. It’s quite funny now that I think about it: When Big C came to visit me, people who I thought were for me, went bolting out the back door! It wasn’t my loss however, because God, with his inexhaustible supply of goodness and mercy, gave me others who truly cared about my welfare. I’d like to refer to them as God’s hands—men, women and children who extended and continue to extend God’s miracle of help and healing into my life.

Without these wonderfully supportive family and friends, my spirit would have succumbed during my twenty-six days of confinement. Let me explain. The fight against cancer or any other debilitating disease for that matter, is not merely physical. It is as much a mental and psychological battle. The mind is a very powerful tool for healing—I believe that before any therapeutic effects can be felt physically, the power to live, to survive and ultimately overcome the disease must first begin with the mind. The resolve to fight must come from within. Without them, I would have resigned myself to the thought that there was no hope at all. Their constant presence lifted my spirits when things looked exceedingly grim. And despite the initially pessimistic prognosis, they responded optimistically. In order to get all the treatments I needed, they took it upon themselves to source out funds. Their response to my sickness was not fear or surrender—it was to face it head on at whatever cost. When you have that kind of support system, summoning the resolve to get well comes easy.

Doctors are integral to any curative process and I was fortunate to have medical consultants whose hands were sanctified by God to administer the medicines that would benefit me and my baby. All of them collaborated to map out the best plan of action for me and I’ve never been more grateful that Maria Carmela and I were placed under their care. When people hear my story, the most common remark made is “You’re lucky you had very good doctors!” I don’t think it was luck—I believe God purposely employed them to do His work of healing me so I can find my way back to Him.      

Then there were my previous students and their parents who mobbed the hallways of the eleventh floor of the Medical City just to show their support. Despite the fact that I was quite a strict mentor—a “terror” teacher—they shed tears upon learning of my disease and then later on, rejoiced with me when my baby and I made it through.

From far and near, people offered hope and encouragement. My mother-in-law and sister in-law, my siblings, some aunts, uncles and cousins, old friends, colleagues, bureaucrats, even people who I have not even met from lands far away, heeded the worldwide call to be God’s hands for me—giving support in any way possible.

When a potentially fatal illness strikes, you can expect those around you to either be very concerned or very indifferent. In the early days of my continuing battle against cancer, individuals had the audacity to suggest that it would be better for the baby to be aborted because the chemotherapy might bring forth a deformed infant! Some of my closest kin have even come close to quashing all hope of my being restored to full health. Others simply kept their distance.

Indeed, adversity is a great ally. It brings out what is authentic in people. In the end, when individuals allow themselves to offer the Almighty’s wonderful gift of human compassion and tenderness to those who need it most, then are they fulfilling a most divine mission: that of being God’s hands in a world so wanting in prayer, faith, and miracles.#     

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.