Inspiration from Unexpected Source

A few weeks ago I found out that a student from last year in one of my most fun math classes to teach was diagnosed with cancer. I remember the day I heard it. One student that I had last year came in my room crying her eyes out and couldn't even breathe. When she finally calmed down, she uttered the words "Liz has cancer". Liz was one of the handful of students I had kept up with since last school year. I knew that she was going to the doctor because her knee had been hurting for a while. The doctor said that her pain was caused by a tumor in her leg. When I first heard this I thought surely this is a rumor that has gone terribly wrong. Later that night after talking to a close friend from work who also taught Liz, I found out that the story was true. I think I spent a good 45 minutes just curled up crying. I even told my husband I had to get out of the house and find something to take my mind off of what had just been confirmed.

I kept thinking about how does Liz feel right now. What is going through her mind? Liz, is one of those all around students: Cheerleader, on the volleyball team, on the basketball team, very smart young girl. I tried to imagine what would I do if I were in her shoes and tried to think how would I want people to act. Well after all of my wondering, I got my glimpse today of how she feels and what her thoughts are.

One of Liz's closest friends came by my room today like she does regularly and asked if I wanted to purchase a Liz Strong bracelet. I obviously did. The bracelet is hot pink and had a blogspot webpage listed on it. Liz had started a blog about her thoughts and updates on what was going on in her life with her chemo, doctor visits and daily life. I read the blogs that she had posted and realized how amazingly strong she was. She spoke of prayer, God, and how she wanted us to think of others that were in need of support. Liz has become a great inspiration for me. She seems to have her eyes set upon God. It reminds me of the verse in 2 Timothy that I used to always say when relating sports to your religious walk through life with God. "Let us run the race that is set before us looking onto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith."

To me this sums up our entire aspect of life. We always feel we are in control, but God has already laid out a path for us. Our job is to focus on him and his will. If we would just listen to him, we will recieve more blessings than we could ever know. I mean he knows what is best for us and what will truely make us whole. Liz could have gotten angery at the world, or focused on the pain and fear of what would happen. Instead, she is looking at this as a journey that God is leading her through. Who knows what the purpose of the journey is and where it will lead, but she knows that God is in control. Last year, Liz touched my heart as one the students I blessed to get to teach and get to know. This year, Liz is my inspiration to keep my eyes focused on the one who has already laid my life's path for me. If she can look something like cancer in the face with strong faith. There is no excuse why I shouldn't be doing it too.