MY LIFE Matters: Health and Wellness Issue - 23

HEALTH Cover Story
any evidence the doctors told me, although valid, I purposed to
render false with the hope of doing what I could to change the
outcome.
FALSE. EVIDENCE. APPEARING. REAL . . .FEAR. I had to
confront fear.
How would I confront fear? What was the remedy? I was diagnosed
with breast cancer in 2017, that eventually metastasized in
2020. I was given so much " evidence " that I felt like there was no
hope for me. I think I began to believe in the doctor's evidence
rather than in God's truth for my life. God's truth was, " With
GOD ALL things are possible. " With God, healing was possible
or at least maintainable. I reframed what the doctors were telling
me in light of God's truth. Hope and light began to rush in. The
weight of fear and uncertainty began to lift. I believed I could be
healed. It was a mental war at first. My mind was at war, see-sawing
between fear and belief. My mind would often fall back to what
the doctors would say, " I regret to tell you that the results are
positive and the prognosis is poor, there is nothing we can do. "
My mind had received so many seeds of doubt and darkness that
my soul longed for light (hope). But I knew I couldn't be double
minded. I had to resolve myself to the fact that I was placing my
faith in what God had in store for my life.
Heavy words from doctors can heap a mountain of fear over
one's life. Fear can cast a dark shadow over what appeared to be a
seemingly bright life and future. I read a quote from author Amy
Lee, " Never fear shadows, it only means there is light somewhere. "
Yet I still questioned, " light somewhere, light where? "
For breast cancer or metastatic breast cancer, it can feel as
though there is no light at the end of the tunnel. When will we
ever get to ring the bell and take our places in survivorship land?
But I was determined to see that light at the end of a tunnel. The
brilliant thing about the mind is that it will find a way to an answer,
to find the light-a revelation, a breakthrough. The mind
will find its way back to hope. I learned that if I kept focusing on
the dark, doubtful, and fearful aspects of life, the mind would
create a cold dark cave of hopelessness. I was exhausted by the
weight of hopelessness. So, I was intrigued by Amy Lee's quote,
" Never fear shadows, it only means there is light
somewhere. " There is always light in a dark situation.
The light of Hope; I had to look for it. I had to extract
a bit of mental muscle to find it. I realized that I had
complete autonomy of what type of breast cancer
journey I wanted to have. I had to ask myself if I was
going to stay in the dark cave of despair, doubt, and
fear or if I was going to find the light. I was determined
to find hope.
What I discovered is what I call " mental hygiene. "
I practice every day. For my mental hygiene, I do
whatever is needed to cultivate a healthy mindset for
the future. As a woman of Faith, I drew from scripture.
One scripture, Job 3:25 talks about fear: " For
the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and
that which I was afraid is come unto me. " I realized
the very thing I feared most would come upon me
if I meditated on it too much. My life would be consumed
with fear and death if I kept ingesting what
MY LIFE MATTERS
HEALTH AND WELLNESS ISSUE SPRING 2023
23
the doctors and statistics were telling me. I did not want to live a
life of fear, doubt, and death. So, I delved deeper into scripture to
see what God said about a healthy mindset. Proverbs 23:7 reads:
" For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. " I had the revelation
that if I didn't start thinking and meditating on a regular basis,
my mental health would suffer and with it my physical health. I
did not cause my cancer, but I can choose what my survivorship
looks like and how I thrive. I can help my body recover, gain
back strength, and I can calm myself through prayer by taking
deep breaths. When I take in a breath, I release the stress. Each
breath out I would say a prayer or confession: " I have peace of
God that surpasses all understanding. " Take a deep breath in and
breathe out. " I am healed in Jesus's name. " I did this daily to keep
MY LIFE Matters: Health and Wellness Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MY LIFE Matters: Health and Wellness Issue
