We live in a world where the constant phrase we say to ourselves is "Why me? Why me?" "Why is this happening to me? Why is that happening to me?"
Most of the time this is where the victim mentality sits in, we are blaming what we are going through on the world. Rather than looking at ourselves and seeing what part we played in the situation. For example failing a test, many people are quick to blame the teacher for not teaching correctly. But did you look at yourself and see if you studied enough, and did all your work in class? Or were you on your phone messing around and talking? In this world we live in and the generation most of us are growing up in, we are a "quick to blame" society, we no longer take responsibility for our actions, but instead push it on someone else. In most things that occur we play a strong role in the situation, and what we do affects the outcome. But in some cases we have no control over what happens, but it is what we do at those times that matters the most. I'm going to share something very personal and dear to my heart.
A man and women were married at one point in time, they were married for nine years, and it was a very unhealthy marriage, but they brought two children in to this world, a boy and a girl. After nine years of marriage a divorce was filed and was signed. At the age of 35 a single mom with two kids, got the most devastating news one can receive, "You have cancer". That's not really how it went though, here is the "condensed" version of it. The mom was in Clearwater, Florida, and recently went to the doctor because of something she felt in her breast, she was told she would get the results sometime during the weekend. As the sun was setting on June 23rd, 2008 she received a phone call. The doctor's office was calling to inform her that all was clear and there was no need to worry, she got off the phone but felt something wasn't right. As she got off the phone, she go on her knees and prayed and said to God, "You can use me so long as I can be here for my kids."
You see, in most cases, everything would have stopped right after the phone call had ended, but that wasn't the case. After she said that prayer, 15 minutes later, she received a second phone call, this time it wasn't good. The nurse on the phone stated that she accidentally mixed up the files, and the woman needed to come in ASAP. The single mom drove to the doctor's office, where they confirmed the diagnosis, and she was told it was Stage 3B Triple Negative Breast Cancer (Stage 4 is terminal), with no family history of cancer. She, as any human being, cried and cried, and the one thing she was concerned about were her two children, the boy 10, the girl six. At the time they were at their dad's home with the other half of their family. When it was time for the switch off, for her to have her kids, she brought them home and sat them down. Those kids were my sister and I, and that women was my mom. She let us know what was going on, and at the time we didn't fully understand, we just knew mom was very sick.
This is where many people would go and yell out "Why me?, Why me? What did I do to deserve this?" That wasn't the case for my mom, though, my mom was deeply rooted in her faith with God, and knew He had the ultimate plan for her life, so she trusted Him. Rather than being a victim in this tragic time of her life, she was a victor. She began praying harder than ever, digging deep down in the Bible, surrounding herself with Christian people who would stand behind her every step of the way, and most importantly trusted in God. During this time she was thinking to herself, "What can I do to share that God is still performing miracles in today's world?", this is where the video journey of her journey going through cancer began.
Not knowing if she would take her last breath while in her sleep, she knew no matter what, God was using her life as a testimony.
One of my mom's favorite Bible verses of all time is:
Mark 5:34, He said to her "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
The context of this verse states, as long as you are faithful and trust in the Lord, He will make good of all things.
Many people would think, "It was science that cured her, there is no such thing as God". But something should be understood, multiple doctors that saw her said that the chances of survival are slim to none, and even if she were to make it, the cancer would come back in 2-4 years and take over her body. They also let her know, that she would most likely not be able to have anymore kids because the chemotherapy would kill her eggs (And she had a healthy baby boy in December of 2012) So I would like to know where your thoughts stand now?
My mom not at one point during her treatment said "Why me? Poor me. Have pity for me" Her saying was "Why not me!?, God placed me on Earth for a specific reason only He knows, why not trust Him?". That is exactly what she did and she has been cancer free ever since as well as recently got remarried to an incredible man, who cares not only about her, but loves her kids unconditionally.
The whole reason behind me sharing this story with you is because, what if we all took on the "Why not me?" mentality and applied it to our lives and the struggles we face? Each of us has our own personal battles we face, if it's depression, anxiety, loneliness, etc. Why not use what you are going through to help others and reach out to people? My mom never thought in a million years that she would reach 1,000s of people. Who knows, how many of those people went to church for the first time after watching her videos, and then who gave their life to God?
You never know if what you are going through can end up helping 1,000s of people, rather than continuing to use the phrase "Why me?, Why me?" Why not try using "Why not me?" for a change, and see how that perspective can change the way you view life and strengthen your relationship with God?
