A little over one year ago, my eight year old daughter Katheryn was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. She underwent a delicate brain surgery where the surgeon was able to remove the tumor, but the surgery left her unable to walk or talk. After a month, God restored her speech, and her motor skills continue to improve to this day. In order to fight the cancer, she went through two months of daily radiation treatment and is now working through one year of chemotherapy treatments.

Because of my work schedule, either my wife (Ann Marie) or my mom will take Katheryn to her doctor appointments and therapies during the week. However, last Thursday, Ann Marie had some other commitments. So I took the day off from work and drove Katheryn to her doctor appointment up at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. We left the house a little before 9:00 am and got stuck in big city traffic on the way. When we finally arrived 15 minutes late to our appointment, we proceeded to sit in the waiting room for 30 minutes before they called us back. They needed to draw blood from her arm, which meant a needle. She bravely faced the piercing with just a few small tears. After this, we saw the nurse and the oncology (cancer) assistant. Then we went down a few floors to another waiting room where I filled out paperwork and we waited another 30 minutes for a hearing test. The chemotherapy she is taking tends to damage the ears. We received some bad news - her hearing ability is dropping in the high frequencies. From there, we went back up to the cancer center where we found out that her hemoglobin level (the "red" portion of blood that carries oxygen) was the lowest it has ever been. So we waited another 45 minutes while the blood bank staff located compatible blood for a transfusion. Katheryn has a "port" (used for intravenous access) in her chest. A nurse needed to access the port, which meant another needle. We spent the next few hours in the infusion room, while Katheryn received blood and another dose of chemotherapy.

At about 5:30 in the evening, we finally walked out of the cancer center, hand in hand. Katheryn had a smile on her face. She looked up at me and said, "Daddy, it has been a GREAT day." Shocked and taken aback, I stopped in my tracks, bent down, and asked her what made today so great. Her reply, "Being with you made it great, Daddy." Her words pierced me like an arrow. The first thing that overwhelmed me was the love she expressed and the value she placed on our time together. It was overwhelming. Secondly, my heart was filled with gratitude to God that she was able to look past all the difficulties of the day and see the good and beautiful things. It is truly the grace of God that is filling her life and bearing her up.

As we drove home that evening, we once again faced traffic. All the stop and go doubled the time of our return trip. While we talked and joked through the sluggish flow of cars and their exhaust fumes, Katheryn informed me, "Sometimes, I don't mind traffic." I asked her why it didn't bother her. "Because," she said, "it gives us time to talk together." Again, I was encouraged by the grace that was given her in the moment.     

As I listened to her, my Heavenly Father spoke to me of the profound truth that was behind those words of Katheryn. Our emotions follow what we are valuing at the moment, what we choose to believe and think about. My thoughts drifted back to those loving words she spoke to me, as we were leaving the cancer center, and a verse from the Bible came to mind. It was Psalm 16:11. "In Thy (God's) presence is fullness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (KJV).   

Through Kathryn's comment, my Heavenly Father spoke to me in my spirit, "Ben, your circumstances don't dictate whether or not you have a GREAT day. Being with Me is all you need. Because I have promised to never leave you or forsake you, every day is a Great day with Me."

Again, my heart was pierced, this time by the love of my Heavenly Father. I confess that I was not at peace for parts of the day. The news of Katheryn's ear damage was disturbing, especially because I have been praying that her ears would be spared. The more I began to think of a future for her with hearing aids, or even without hearing, the more burdened I felt. Knowing I was powerless to prevent it left me feeling anxious. But as I rode home, the peace of God flooded my heart, as I simply enjoyed Kathryn's presence and love, as well as the love and presence of my Heavenly Father. It was truly a GREAT day!

"Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:2-3, NASB).

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To follow the Brezina's journey with Katheryn through brain cancer and read all that God has taught and is teaching them visit: http://www.facebook.com/caringforKatheryn 

 

Ben Brezina is director of media and materials at Christian Families Today, a Christian counseling and training ministry in metro-Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

 

Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, public domain.

 

Scripture marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, � Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.