An Extract from ‘Kisses From a Good God: My Journey Through Cancer’
Nothing can prepare you!
It is a phrase that invited itself to become a part of my vocabulary. The invitation delivered the moment that bad news invaded my world.
But it was simply not true !
I have heard these words so many times in the aftermath of a tragedy or bad news, but although true for some they are not universally applicable. Of course the truth of the unwelcome visitor cancer entering my life did creep up on me without warning. All of a sudden that trespasser that I had seen in so many others lives was now invading my world and with that comes of course shock. But unprepared, no!
I increasingly believe the mask of being unprepared is a subtle mind game played by the enemy of our souls to prevent us from accessing the things which have prepared us for events like these, preparations which will at the least minimise the effects and hopefully destroy the enemy entirely.
The lie can suggest that no one else has been where we are travelling at that moment and will itself prevent us from travelling in relationship with those who have won authority in their journey. It is an invitation to a lonely walk with self pity as a willing travelling companion diverting us from the strength available outside the mindset of unpreparedness.
“Nothing has prepared me” invited me to enter into an abyss of self pity and in that place to miss the strength which was available.
Wherever we live, we live in a culture. Put simply a culture is the traditions, practices, beliefs and traditions by which we cope with our world. Nothing prepared me is a manifestation of a culture, a culture which addresses crises outside of relationship God let alone a good one. One definition of culture puts it as the software of the mind our own internal operating system. Sometimes we literally create a culture to protect us from a different environment. For instance in Spain they have siestas after lunch. Realizing that the fiercest rays of the sun are at noon and the two hours after, the culture of shutting down for a few hours protects the people from the heat of the sun and the streets of Spain are enjoyed in the cooler evening hours.
A culture is also the medium used in scientific laboratories for growing microscopic organisms.
What culture would the cancer invading my life land in? What would grow in the medium of my life and what beliefs and practices do I experience which will protect me from earths fierce cancerous rays.
The truth is I was prepared and I believe that many who read this have been too. The question is more correctly whether I had the ability to access what had been put inside and around me for such a time as this. Many people and circumstances did prepare me and now I hope I stand in a place that prepares you or walks you through your fire although I pray it never comes.
