Faith

Having just celebrated four years of being cancer free I couldn't be more happy. As time has passed it has become easier for me to talk about what my family and I went through. Recently, I've shared the story I originally wrote in 2004 -- "Six Months in Heaven" -- with several friends that didn't even know me at the time. I have been asked a question by several people which they probably thought would be a tough one to answer.

The question, in a nutshell, is "How can you believe in [or love] God when faced with having cancer?"
The simple answer to this seemingly tough question lies in a single word -- Faith.

My copy of Webster's defines 'faith' as [1] allegiance to duty or a person, and [2] something that is believed with especially strong conviction. For many, seeing is believing. For me, Faith in God is believing even when you can't see.

Cancer was not punishment. It was a fierce, violent, physically damaging storm that I knew would end, but the end was never in sight. I had Faith then as I have it now, my friends, and every day since the sunsets are more and more beautiful.