Category Archives: Cancer

Being Real

“Lord, I don’t want this for my life.”

These fearful and saddened thoughts had been consuming me over last week. I have been walking this cancer journey now for two months. The first few weeks were overwhelming, and I was in a pit of despair. However, the Lord is slowly revealing his truth and plans for me and I have found peace and even joy. But last week, Satan began to nag at me through my thought life; little, subtle, quiet fears and doubts making me question my future and doubt God’s faithfulness. Have you had similar doubts?

“What if my CA125 levels jump back up?” (They have dropped from almost 2700 to 144)

“You will die from this, Alissa. You will miss seeing your children grow up.”

“What if my lymph nodes swell up again? Will my chemo stop working?”

Ugh. So many sad and defeating thoughts.

I am in God’s word every morning and intentionally trying to acknowledge Him throughout my day. But….life is busy and I am easily distracted and pretty soon I am consumed with my own thoughts instead of taking every thought captive to Christ. And I end up with tears and defeat.

I begin to feel alone and my hope of healing fades.

I know you have defeating thoughts as well, different from mine, but still thoughts of doubt and fear. We worry and fret over tomorrow and live in regret for yesterday, which in turns ruins our joy and peace for TODAY! Psalm 118 tells us that “this is the day the Lord has made…he tells us to rejoice and be glad in it”. But how can we find that joy when our minds wander from yesterday to tomorrow. Satan’s schemes are to keep us in bondage to these, because if we get stuck somewhere else, we can’t focus on today. We are unable to find the peace Jesus promises to us every day. He is deceptive and sneaky….a liar and a cheat, trying and many days succeeding at keeping us in chains. But it was for freedom that Christ set us free!

Jesus teaches us about worry so often. In Matthew 6: 25 He tells us NOT to worry about our lives…that we are instead to seek first His kingdom and his righteousness. He is the same forever…yesterday, today and tomorrow! Why fear when God is for us!

So, what do we do when we are consumed with these negative thoughts? We open god’s word and we wrestle with him until we hear from him, until we finally build our trust once again and we seek after him with our whole hearts.

Nothing…I repeat, nothing is worth more than our relationship with Jesus! And he already knows our thoughts and weaknesses and our doubts. He is waiting for you to bring them to his feet, to sit with him and let Him fill us with his hope and peace. He is worthy of our praise and he deserves our attention and ultimately our surrender.

Surrender isn’t just a one time occurrence. I was talking with my 8 year old son yesterday and he said, “I thought surrendering my life to the Lord would feel more special. But I don’t feel different.” Well, he surrendered his life 1 1/2 years ago and has had ups and downs in his faith, as do we all. But I gently reminded him that his initial surrender to the Lord was not the end of his faith…it was just the beginning. Jesus is still there, waiting on him to return to him daily and to seek after him. That his faith in christ is a relationship that he needs to build…every single day through bible reading, prayer and being watchful for the Lord working in his life.

And this is what I am learning as well. The bible is true! God’s word is alive and active. Jesus is with me. God is sovereign. What else can I desire then this? To know God and make him known…this is Classical Conversations, our homeschool community’s mission statement. I love it! It reminds me that God can be known. And we are to seek him and share His good news with the world!

As I have been in His word, he is showing me who He is. He is real and he struggled as we all do. He was human and God all at the same time. We worship a God who had emotions just like us, who was tempted in every way, just as we are, who he needed strengthening and he needed encouragement. He chose his friends wisely and yet even he was abandoned and felt human disappointment. But he models for us humility, and graciousness and how he himself was refreshed. He spent time…so much time…in prayer! Especially by himself. He prostrated himself before the Lord. He depended on His Father at all times, especially as he was approaching the Cross. He suffered so much for us, and was willing to do so, yet in the garden, he still asked God to take it away from him. He was real.

As I read in Luke 22 verses 39-46, God showed me Jesus’ human side. That he knows and understands my emotions and he speaks life into me as I begin to understand more and more who he is and how my life rests in Christ. I am reminded of his disciples humanity as well through their own struggles as well and how much Jesus loved them and poured into them.

And I am realizing that my thoughts, my feelings, Satan’s lies, are not truth. They are not my reality. But I am learning….they are real. And it’s ok to be real. It’s ok to vulnerable, but it’s not ok to believe the lies in my mind. It’s not ok to get stuck in my emotions, it’s not ok to let my emotions lead my life. But unfortunately, they are a reality this side of heaven. Satan wants to make feel guilty for my sorrowful moments, for feeling sad and overwhelmed. He wants me to feel defeated in the tough moments of life. But Jesus has a different way.

Jesus’ struggle in the garden of Gethsemane speaks truth to us! Luke 25:45 says, “When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them (his disciples) asleep, exhausted from sorrow.”

Did you see that? I have never noticed that before. His disciples were exhausted from their own grief and sadness. They knew Jesus was struggling and needed to pray. They didn’t fully understand what was about to happen but they too, were sorrowful. And sorrow is exhausting. When you are filled with emotions…sadness, grief, etc, it is physically exhausting.

But then I reread the verses just before this.

These verses describe Jesus’ struggle in the garden before the Lord. in verse 42 Jesus asks God, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus knew the path before him, he knew it was going to be difficult. And even he asked God to make it different, as I have prayed so much these past few months. I don’t want this cancer journey for my life. Please God, I have pleaded, take it away. And yet, this is the cup he has for me. And I am learning to accept it and say, not my will but yours Lord. As much as I don’t want to have cancer, I do want God’s will in my life more.

But the next verses spoke most clearly to me. Verse 43 says “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.” Even Jesus needed strength from outside himself. He needed God’s strengthening! I needed to hear this!! I cannot do this on my own! Nor did God intend for me to! I need the Lord’s strengthening. He doesn’t expect me to walk this journey alone. He is with me always! He is my source of strength and peace. He will never leave me or forsake me!

And verse 44 says this, ” And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Jesus was in anguish, y’all! He was struggling! And what did he do? He prayed more seriously! He physically was experiencing what grief and despair brings to our physical bodies. And that is exactly what you and I need to do! When we feel despair, sadness or are struggling with worry and fear, we need to get on our knees , open the Word of God and surrender our thoughts to God, surrender our will to our heavenly father who loves us and knows us and is our source of strength!

The greek word for anguish is agonia, and I love what the Blue Letter Bible App says this means…

Agonia=a struggle for victory!

Jesus was struggling! Agonizing! But it wasn’t for defeat…. no! It was for victory! Victory is defined as overcoming an enemy!!!! He knew Satan was there trying to defeat his thoughts. And he was praying for victory in his anguish. Jesus didn’t struggle for naught. He struggled for our victory…his death on the cross is our victory! He conquered death and sadness and despair! And he models for us exactly what we need to do in our despair. We are to pray more earnestly and we are to struggle for victory! Our anguish is not a ticket for defeat, it is for our victory in Christ.

And I am beginning to see that in all of this, God is working out things together for my good and for my victory, but he is also using my real emotions, my weakness for your victory. 2 Corinthians says His power is made perfect in my weakness! Hallelujah ! My struggle is not for naught! My emotions are real and when laid at His cross, Jesus is using them to strengthen me so I can shine his life and light into those areas of darkness in your lives. He is using my weakness to strengthen you!!

So I am learning to be real.

Jesus was real and he wants us to be real, to show our emotions, but to take them to the Lord and let him redeem them and use them for our good and for the good of those around us. God’s ways are not our own.

How are you struggling right now? What emotions are gripping you and pulling you into defeat and fear and doubt?

Be real!

Pour out your emotions to the Lord and let him strengthen you! Let your anguish be a struggle for victory! Surrender to God’s will, even if you don’t want what he has for you right now! The more we surrender, the more we dive into God’s word, the more we begin to align our lives with His plans and His will, the more we will find peace and joy in the midst of our pain. James tells us to “consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Be real my friends and submit to Jesus and know that He is doing a work in you and through you to make you complete.

Hebrews 5:7 tells us “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.”

Suffering is for our victory….our victory in Christ!

Do as Jesus did with his struggles…

  1. Pray earnestly
  2. Submit to God’s will
  3. Read God’s word for truth
  4. Trust in God’s plan for your life.
  5. Obey His commands

Please share any struggles you may be having so I can be praying with you.

Waiting on the Lord

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.  He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1-3

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Waiting is never easy.

Have you ever looked up the definition of “wait”?  So often when we think of waiting, we just think of this negative space where nothing happens.  But to wait for something is so much more than that.  It really means to remain stationary in readiness or expectation, to look forward expectantly, and to be ready and available.  

Expectant.  Available.  Ready.

How many of us, rather, feel stagnant, frustrated, idle and hopeless in the waiting rooms of life?

What if we changed our perspective?  What if we allowed God to change our perspective?  That the waiting in our life instead…was an opportunity for us to pause and get ready?!?

To instead anticipate, be optimistic, prepared and hopeful?

What are you waiting for?

What do you need to begin preparing for and anticipating?

Me?….Well, I was waiting for my diagnosis, surgeries, answers, hope.  Now…I’m waiting for the Lord to heal my body from the cancer that has ravaged my lymph nodes.  I’m waiting for my hair to fall out, for my chemo to be over, for my life to start again.

But as I have been waiting…the Lord is opening my eyes to His perspective on waiting.  It may seem like there are giant pauses in our lives….but our God is working!  He never sleeps. He never fails.  And He is showing me that this waiting time…is for me to seek Him.

Lamentations 3:22-26 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion, ” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”  The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Waiting is my time to prepare, to anticipate Him and His workings in my life, to get ready and be hopeful.  To be hopeful for what Christ is working together for my good.  So…how do we get ready and prepared for Christ in our lives?

Lamentations says it perfectly.  It says the Lord is good to those who wait for him….who prepare and are hopeful for him.  That He is good to those who wait and seek Him.  Do you see that?

While we wait, we SEEK HIM!! We don’t just stop our lives and pause in fear and worry and hopelessness.  We dive in to the Word of God and we seek His face!  We close our eyes in prayer and get our our knees and we cry out to the Lord.  We let go of our anxious Martha ways and we sit in His presence, like Mary, at the feet of Jesus, our Savior and we rest in knowing He is enough for us during this season of waiting.

Are you sitting at the feet of Jesus where you are right now,  making ready your heart for what God is preparing for you or are you anxiously worrying over what may or may not come?

Stop waiting and start seeking.  You will find Him.

Deut 4:29 “But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Enjoy this beautiful song I discovered today as you seek more of Jesus.  Kari Jobe – The More I Seek You w/lyrics – YouTube

For more encouragement on waiting and an update on my cancer journey, watch my youTube Channel- Alissa Perez: Live Differently.  https://youtu.be/kkqVjgbfq_o

Live Differently: The Beginning of My Journey with Cancer

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Proverbs 3: 5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Trust.

We all know this word.  We think we understand what it means, but do we ever really stop to think about the depth of this word?  In our world today, unfortunately we have lost our trust, giving us a sense of frustration, or even hopelessness.  But trust…real trust…although it can seem like a lost trait…is very real in the person of Jesus.  Our culture has turned it’s trust to people and things, where it was never meant to be in the first place.  We have taken our eyes off God and onto man-made creations and fallible human beings.

Trust is a verb that means to rely on the truthfulness of, to place our confidence in, to hope or expect confidently.  Truth, in this day and age, is sadly becoming elusive and unreachable because it has become something people have to decide for themselves.

But…there is hope.  Truth is a person!  Truth is real, attainable, knowable.  Truth is Jesus Christ.  And there must be truth to have trust.  To have hope.  To have confidence.  And we don’t have to trust in people or things!  The Bible tells us to Trust in the Lord!  He is our confidence, our truth, our hope!

In December, I was praying for the Lord to give me a word for the upcoming year…a practice I have been doing for the last several years.  An overarching theme for the year to come to guide my thoughts and actions, alongside a verse for the year.  In the past, the Lord has given me Intentionality, Giving, Community.  But as I was praying this last part of 2020, the clear direction He was giving me was to TRUST Him.  And subsequently Proverbs 3 was laid on my heart.

Trust.

I always thought I trusted God.  I said it.  I believed it.  But….had I actually lived it? I am not ignorant to the struggles others face…believers and unbelievers alike.  I have seen and heard and walked alongside others enduring their own battles and trials.  I have walked the road of infertility myself…that longing for a child.  My own mother is journeying the cancer road herself.  But…the Lord knew I would need TRUST as we rounded into 2021.  He knew that more than ever before…I would need Him.  To rely on Him solely and to lean into his understanding when I had none myself.  He knew the road I was about to be on was going to be one of the most difficult I would ever find myself on.

The reality of my journey with cancer began on January 13th, when I was diagnosed with poorly undifferentiated metastatic adenocarcinoma, which means they didn’t know where it was coming from but that I had cancer and it was spreading throughout my lymph nodes.

Cancer.

Wow.  I never saw it coming.

But the Lord did.  The night before my biopsy, our church had a prayer service.  At this point, being a medical professional, I knew the differential diagnosis.  I knew I could have cancer.  I just didn’t want to believe I had cancer.  So I begged God for an easily treatable diagnosis.  An easy diagnosis.  A different diagnosis than my fears were waging with me.

And the Lord answered me.  He reminded me as I knelt before the alter crying out to Him that the journey I would soon begin was to be between me and Him.  And that I would have to trust Him.

Trust.

Having confidence in someone when you don’t understand.  Believing that that someone  loves me and is working all things together for my good.  Relying on that someone for my strength and to make my path straight when I can’t even see the path before me.

This my friends… is Trust.

This is Jesus.

I can’t begin to share all the Lord is working in and through me so far on this journey.  All I know is that He is working all things together for my good. (Romans 8:28).

My diagnosis has changed over the last few weeks as we’ve sought for answers, undergone several tests, spoke with different physicians and started chemotherapy.  My final diagnosis is Stage 4 fallopian tube cancer (more rare)…which is lumped in with Ovarian Cancer (more common).

I have Ovarian Cancer.

It’s still so weird to even say or type or to sit in the Oncology office.

I have cancer.

Do you ever have those dreams where you wake up and are so thankful it’s a dream?  Me, too.  Except this time….it’s not a dream.  But…what started out as a nightmare, the Lord is redeeming.  He is strengthening me and bringing me to the end of myself.  He is changing my life.  He is calling me out of the darkness into His glorious light!  He is becoming my peace.

And more than anything else….I am looking forward to sharing how the Lord is working in my life as I begin to walk out this new life of mine….differently.

The Lord gave me that mantra many years ago.  I began this blog many years ago with that in mind…knowing and believing that the Lord has called me to live differently.  Yet…it has taken 8 years for him to bring me to the end of myself and to show me what this will really mean as I travel along this path with Him.

Let me encourage you today!!  This is my journey, yet YOU are walking beside me.  The Lord is at hand! (Phil 4:5) He is leading, guiding and transforming YOU as you come alongside.  Be alert and know that he is weaving us all together for a greater purpose than you or I will ever comprehend.

Let us, therefore, seek His face together, for ..”no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Cor 2:9

Let the journey begin!!