Healing is Not Linear

“Some people cannot be cured, but everyone can heal.”

Healing is not a linear process, but rather, more of an upward spiral. You process things cyclically and each time it comes around, you peel back another layer and get closer to your core.

Healing is not linear.

But nothing in life ever really takes a straight path, does it?

Rivers wind.
Valleys dip.
Branches bend.

Many times, in my health journey I thought I was coming to the end, only to realize it wasn’t actually the end— it was the start of a new beginning.

Is there a good time to get cancer?

No.

But I think I came pretty close.

By the time I was diagnosed back in early December of 2017, I was showing signs of advanced cancer.

When I was told I was Stage 3, part of me felt guilty I had let my health reach this point. But I ended up getting diagnosed at the perfect time because it allowed me to take part in a new immunotherapy clinical trial.

Had I been diagnosed sooner, I would have missed this opportunity. I believe this trial is a large part I’m still in remission today.

It’s funny how things tend to work out for the best, even when all can seem lost.
One unexpected turn and it turns out you were exactly where you needed to be all along.

I’ve found that when we are worrying all is lost, God is working.

Just as our heart rate rises and falls, God draws straight with crooked lines.

We may not always see the big picture, but God sees the entire canvas.

We often expect the events in our life to unfold in a linear way.

We believe we must go from point A to get to point B.

We believe we must have XYZ in order to be truly happy.

But, my journey has taught me there are no short-cuts to coming full circle.

Healing takes time to unfold.

Each arc in the path of our journey is an important part of our story; without those experiences, we wouldn’t be the person we are today.

Maybe this struggle was sent to help anchor your faith?

Maybe what wounded you was meant to help remind you of your true strength?

It may not make sense now, but one day it will.
There is purpose is our pain.
There is meaning behind all this madness.

I’ve found that is only in overcoming ourselves that we able to help others heal too.

Finding Joy in the Journey

“We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.” —Joseph Campbell

JOY.

How can three letters be so hard to find?

Most of us try hard to find joy every day.

But for many of us, our joy is hidden under layers of heartache and past hurts.

Our joy has been pushed to the back burner to make room for other’s needs.

Our joy has been cast aside to make room for the passions of others.

Our joy has been linked to some future state we are always striving for but can never fully reach.

What if we have been searching for joy in all the wrong places?

This picture hangs above the desk in my office as a reminder that my journey will lead to many unexpected places.

I may experience tremendous loss, heartache, and defeat.

But JOY can always be found in the journey if I know where to look.

Take the word JOURNEY.

If you look closely you will see the word JOY is hidden among the letters, too.

JOURNEY.

Just like life, the word JOY can only be found once you complete the word JOURNEY.

This helps remind me that with perspective often comes the joy we have been longing to find.

Within the word, JOURNEY is also the word URN.

Reminding me that all our bodies are vessels and we are all on the same journey. We will all eventually return to the ashes of creation that formed us.

The string reminds me that our life is a tangled web of possibilities.

The bicycle made of silvery-blue string reminds me that our journeys are what we make them. We can let life knock us around or we can choose to grab the wheel and forge our own path or even blaze a new trail.  

No matter where our journey leads, we must always try to find a thread of silver lining —for where there is hope, joy will soon follow.

Perhaps our journey isn’t so much about the destination. It’s about realizing and rediscovering the joy we have been searching for all this time was there in our hearts all along.