Perseverance – Wrap Up

Well, I think it is time to wrap up our series on perseverance.  As I noted in the introduction, perseverance is a way of life for me now.  These past three months have been rather difficult for me as surgery recovery has not been great.  Even to this day, I still have pain and discomfort on a daily basis, but I must continue to persevere and not let this get the best of me.

Perseverance and failure cannot coexist. Failure happens when you quit. When all is said and done, perseverance, is the ultimate success insurance. Nothing can take its place.  That is why I persevere everyday.  Failure is not an option for me.  Victory over this disease will be mine, as long as I continue to persevere.

This journey with cancer has opened my eyes and my heart to many things.  I have learned what I am made of and how strong (and weak) I am.  Everyday is a battle.  Everyday is a blessing.  Everyday I persevere.  Everyday, I get one step closer to victory.

Let me leave you with a few more quotes:

I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. Christopher Reeve

Never, never, never, never give up.  Winston Churchill

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.  Henry Ward Beecher

We are made to persist. That’s how we find out who we are. Tobias Wolff

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.  Harriet Beecher Stowe

It’s a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired, you quit when the gorilla is tired.  Robert Strauss

I hope that you have gained something from this series of posts.  It was on my heart and just wanted to share my two cents worth of thoughts on the topic and what it means to me.

Perseverance – Part IV

Perseverance and being Positive

So how many people out there think I am a cancer patient?  I see that hand, I see that hand.  OK.  Well, you are wrong.  I am a person just like you.  I just happen to have cancer.  I cannot be a cancer patient.  It has a negative connotation to it.  So, I choose to be a person first, having cancer, second.  See the positive spin on this?

Persevering is a very difficult thing for anyone to do.  If you are not positive, it almost becomes impossible to persevere anything.  From the first day of my diagnosis, we have been positive.  There are no other options.  Success is my only option, failure is not. 

Being positive is not easy.  There are days when I really need to psych myself up to be positive.  It takes energy to be positive all the time.  I must confess, I am not always positive, that is for sure.  On those days, persevering can be harder than usual.  I am human, I get down.  I get frustrated, I get angry.  This does not help me battle my cancer.  Being positive helps me battle my cancer.  Being in that positive state of mind makes me battle this disease harder and longer.

Another twist that I have tried to put on this is calling cancer a gift.  What, you say?  Yep, my cancer is a gift.  I just need to know how to use this gift and make sure my journey is a positive journey for everyone who is affected by it.  It is not fair to my wife or family if I am not positive about this.  If I am not positive about this, life gets hard on my wife and family.  Undo stress is put on them and things get difficult.

I am still trying to understand what to do with this gift of cancer.  Until we know what to do, Sandi and I are just planting and watering seeds.  We hope that these seeds of faith will be sown one day, for God’s glory.  We have been blessed beyond belief because of this and our prayer is that we have blessed others because of our circumstances. 

Am I happy to have cancer?  Not really!!  Not a big fan of cancer at all.  However, being positive about it has made the journey a little easier and more bearable.  Being positive and persevering, again, go hand in hand.  The power of positive thinking makes life just plain old easier.

Perseverance – Part III

Perseverance and your Posse

What you talkin’ bout, Stef?  What do you mean posse?  Well, in sticking with words that start with the letter “P”, this fit.  What I mean is FRIENDS.

Hands down, there is no way to persevere unless you have a strong support of family and friends.  To me, it is an impossibility.  I am a strong guy, but my journey is bigger than me.  Trust me, God is always there, but here on earth, family and friends are a must for me to get by during this chapter in my life.  Friends are there and WANT to be there for you.  You don’t have to go it alone!

Let me give you some examples.  The first call I made to a friend when I found out I had cancer was to Aaron.  Since that phone call, Aaron has been there EVERY step of the way with me.  From checking in multiple times a week to see how I am doing to being there in the hospital for Sandi while I was undergoing my surgeries.  Aaron challenges me and prays for me daily.

Then there is Dino.  He is there for me with scripture and prayer.  He challenges me through God’s word to ensure I am digging into it and seeing what God may have for me in His book.  He and his family are probably some of my biggest prayer warriors as well. 

My great friend, Troy.  He is there with a timely text message, e-mail, or phone call.  Always checking up on me to make sure I am doing ok.  Even though he lives in Arizona, he is never far away for me.

Then there is my buddy, Jim.  He calls weekly and gets updates from me.  He then sends out an update to a whole host of people.  By doing this, Jim is helping people have specifics to pray for me and my family.

These are just a few examples.  I could list many, many more.  We have had friends come over and do yard work for us.  Fix our fence.  Seal our driveway.  Countless people have brought meals. 

All of this said, these friends help me persevere.  They seem to have the knack of calling at just the right time, when I am having a bad day.  My spirits are then lifted after the phone call or visit. 

Perseverance, you don’t have to go it alone.  Reach back to those who are reaching out to you.

Proverbs 17:17a         A friend loves at all times,

Proverbs 27:17           As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Perseverance – Part II

Perseverance and Patience

Who thinks that our time on earth is ours?  I don’t think so.  Every day is a gift and God is calling the shots.  Let’s face it.  At one time or another, we have all thought that we were/are invincible.  I know I did.  Up until about a year ago.  My life was good and I was rolling.  God throws curve balls into our lives.  When He does, he does not always tell us why.  This is where patience fits in.

My personality is one that likes to have things under control.  If things are not under control, then I like things to be over quickly.  Enter cancer.  Uh, let’s take a quick inventory.  I am not in control of this, for sure.  I am also thinking that this will not be over quickly.  I am about 14 months into my battle and we are not near done.  This could be years and possibly a lifetime battle.  I guess I should have not have expected this to be a short trip.  Most cancer journeys are not.  Patience.  Not my forte.  Still learning and learning and learning.

God’s timing is perfect and most of the time, it is not on our timeline.  God will do His will when He wants to.  He will let us know of why things happen when He wants to.  Fourteen months into my journey and I still do not know why.  Patience.  Not me.  Still learning.  It would be really nice to know why I have to go through this. 

I have friends looking for a job, for months.  I have friends in this blogsphere who are battling cancer.  There are people waiting to sell homes (good luck in this market).  Patience.  Perseverance.  They go hand in hand.  I don’t think you can even begin to persevere unless you have patience. 

I am waiting to be cured, patiently, while I persevere. 

Psalm 37:7a  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him.

Romans 8:25  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Romans 12:12  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

James 1:3,4   3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 5:10, 11  10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Perseverance – Part I

Perseverance and Pain

In my world, there are three types of pain.  They are physical, mental, and financial.  Persevering through any one of these at a time is hard enough.  Try persevering through all three at once. 

As I have said before, cancer is a cruel disease.  It wrecks havoc on your life and family.  It is persistent and that is when you have to persevere like never before.  I have been through some VERY difficult physical days.  Chemo sessions are not fun.  They really affect you physically, but you must persevere.  Surgeries are the worst.  You must persevere.  Waking up in the morning and not having the energy to get out of bed.  Forcing yourself to get up out of a chair.  It all adds up and yet, you must persevere.

When I was diagnosed a year ago, I knew that I was in for the biggest physical battle of my life.  What I did not know was that I was also about to face the biggest mental battle of my life.  Gearing up for chemo sessions, knowing how you will feel for a few days.  Not knowing how the results of your latest CT scan will come out.  Is this disease continuing to spread or have we got it stable?  What is really going to happen to me?  Will my family be ok without me, if God chooses to take me?  Thoughts of life and death flood your mind.  Yet, you must persevere.  Never give up.  Refuse to lose.

I had mentioned financial pain in my first paragraph.  This would be the least of the three pains, but it is a reality.  The chemo sessions cost as much as a car.  So I “buy a car” every two weeks.  Surgeries are not cheap.  Endless doctor fees and lab fees.  It all adds up.  However, God is watching over Sandi and me in this area as well.  Every time we needed funds, they have been provided for us.  It is amazing how God provides. 

Let me put this all in perspective.  Look at Job, in the Bible.  He went through hell and back.  I am not going through ANYTHING like Job did.  He persevered like no other.  There are others that are carrying much heavier burdens than I am.  I know that they are persevering as well. 

Pain and perseverance go hand in hand.  Trusting in God and relying on Him will get you through.

I leave you today with this verse that was provided to me by one of my commenters (Thanks Carmen):

“We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” Romans5:2-4

Perseverance – Introduction…

Not sure why this has been tugging at me for a few days now, but I feel compelled to share my thoughts on persevering.  Let’s face it, persevering is a way of life for me now.  So what is perseverance?  Here are a few tidbits to get our heads around this.

• Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. ~Newt Gingrich

 

• When the world says, “Give up,” Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”
  ~Author Unknown

 

• There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream. ~Author Unknown

 

• I may not be there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday. ~Author Unknown

 

• Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

• Getting knocked down seven times and getting up eight.

 

• Perseverance is commitment to hard work, patience and endurance.

 

• Perseverance is being able to bear difficulties calmly and without complaint.

 Let me tell you a story about Sandi and me.  It was 1998 and one morning, after a night of very terrible storms, we woke up to five feet of water in the lower level of our bi-level house. We lost everything on that level, plus both of our cars, that were completely submerged.  That was our first test.  We started the process of rebuilding our home.  A few months after the flood, we found out that we were expecting our first child.  Very exciting, but very nerve wracking for me.  About six months after that, I decided to change jobs, a stressor in itself.  Then we decided to buy a new home.  Yep, that’s easy.  NOT.  Oh, by the way, this all happened while I was getting my MBA.  Yep, learning about perseverance the hard way.  Going back to the thoughts on giving up, bearing difficulties, etc.

 

Well, we thought that we had been through enough, but God wasn’t finished with us yet.  Nine years go by and life was good.  Family was growing, job was good, and church was fantastic.  Then July 23, 2007 comes around.  My diagnosis date.  Stage IV colon cancer at the age of 37.  Not just colon cancer, but the worst type that you could get.  Great just what I needed in my life.  How would this affect my family?  What is my true prognosis?  How would my golf game turn out? 

 

It has been a little over a year now.  Everyday is a battle.  Everyday, I thank God for one more day.  Everyday I persevere.  Over the next week or so, I will be blogging on various aspects of this topic.  I hope you enjoy it.