The rash from radiation was all over my chest, under my armpit and on my ribs. It itched terribly and ached on top of that. I was thankful that this was happening at the end of my treatment. I knew all these difficulties would be over soon because my radiation treatment would be over soon. I had 3 days left to go. I looked forward to the end of treatment, but I knew it wasn’t really the end. Things would continue to be difficult. However, I knew this would be the beginning of healing and the beginning of being whole again. Healing means each day I should be in less pain, have less weariness and be a little stronger.
This whole journey was like a mountain range. I began to climb a mountain. I reached the top, felt victorious then would head down the other side. As I reached the bottom another mountain loomed before me that I steadily climbed, carefully putting one foot in front of another. I stopped to rest a lot on this journey, mentally and physically. The rest gave me enough strength to take a few more steps.
During this time I was reading Pilgrim’s Progress. In the book, there is a character named Christian who is on a spiritual journey. When he stops to rest, he loses something very important. When I read that, it sounded like he was being punished for resting. I don’t think God does that. His Word says that He will give us rest which means He will give us that needed reprieve, but I also think it means that when we need to rest, He welcomes us to rest. He encourages us to sit in the quiet with Him and gather our strength to continue our journey. God is not a workaholic. He is gentle and gracious with us. He would like us to faithfully walk the path before us, but He doesn’t ask us to walk until our feet bleed.
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