The Real Source of Inspiration...

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A comment was made to me last night that has been made to me a few times over the past year or so. While the comment is a generous compliment, it has never sat well with me and I've struggled to know how to respond. This morning, I felt pressed to share...
This journey with cancer has been difficult at times and some people tell me how inspiring I am to them. Very kind. But here is the truth: I have tried to endure the trials of my life on my own in the past. I failed miserably every time and was miserable while doing it. If I were to try and survive this trial of cancer on my own, the person you would see on a daily basis would be a shell of a man.
The real inspiration in this journey? The one that truly deserves the praise? Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. It is only through the strength and peace they afford me that I am able to manage each day. It is only through their mercy that I can smile and endure this.
The only good decision I've made on my own this journey? To submit to His will and allow Him to carry me through. I finally accepted I couldn't do anything worthwhile on my own. I acknowledged that without God I am nothing and that I truly needed Him to help me endure.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, in her beautiful poem entitled “Gethsemane,” expressed it this way:
“All those who journey, soon or late,
Must pass within the garden’s gate;
Must kneel alone in darkness there,
And battle with some fierce despair.
God pity those who cannot say:
‘Not mine but thine’; who only pray:
‘Let this cup pass,’ and cannot see
The purpose in Gethsemane.”
I know this journey has a purpose... I'm grateful for all I've been taught. Furthermore, I have been carried and have felt and seen God's love in my life. One of my favorite poems "Footprints" ends with the following:
"The Lord replied, 'My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
God deserves all the praise. He has carried, supported, and sustained me through this journey. I am nothing and would wither away into the darkness without Him. He has blessed me with so many loving individuals in my life to cheer me on. I thank you for that.
If you submit to God's will, He will carry you through. Your metaphorical "Gethsemane" will be for your good, if only you will submit.
I praise and honor God for His goodness. He lives. He is aware of each one of us and knows us so intimately that He can and will succor us if we but let Him. Amen.

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