The article "Overcoming Fear" talks about cancer, it was released by Johann Christoph Arnold.
Fear is a universal emotion, if not a prmial instinct.
Each of us has felt it - recoiling from a sudden burst of flame or a snarling dog, for instance, or grasping at a railing and backing away from a sudden drop-off. But there's another type of fear: the fear that comes with serious illness and the prospect of death. This fear has less to do with self-preservation.
It is fear of an uncertain future, fear of change, and perhaps most importantly, fear of facing one's life squarely and coming up empty-handed.When Matt, a 22-year-old I knew, was stricken by a malignant lymphoma a few years ago, we talked about that fear, and those conversations have stayed with me ever for.
Like most patients who have just been diganosed with a serious illness, Matt was primarily concerned with his physical condition, at least at first, and peppered his doctors with all sorts of questions. What was the cause of the lymphoma? How effective was the treatment supposed to be? What were his chances of survival?
What did that or that medical term mean?
Within a few days, however, his overriding cocnern had changed to his spiritual state. It was as if he senesd that his life had taken an irreversible turn and that no matter what the outcome, he needed to set it in order.Matt changed greatly over the following months. At the time he was diagnosed, he was a brash and often loud-mouthed joker; happy-go-lucky on the surface, but privately terrfiied.
Six short motnhs later, however, he was a different person.
True, he never lost his silly streak, and was still scared at times, even near the end.
But haivng gone through days and nights of the most excruciating pain, he had developed a new, deeper side. And having stopped searching for an escape from the hard fact that he was dying, he had come to terms with the thought, and faced it head on.
In doing so, he found strength to meet the agonies of death calmly.Not everyone dies peacefully, and it's not just a matter of eomtional make-up or personality.
Peace cnanot be found solely by "working through" one's feelings on a personal level. After all, we are never alone, but are surrounded at all times by the cosmic forces of evil and good. And though the battle between them is played out in many arenas, I believe it is most intense wherever the soul of a dying person hangs in the balance.Dorie, a close friend of my mother's who felt continually tormented by that conflict, lived with it not only at the end of her life, but for dceades.
Dorie lived next door to our family for many years, first as a part of my parents' household and, after their deaths, as part of my own.The Dorie most persons knew was a fortunate person who fonud great joy in helping others. When a baby was born, she was the first to arrive with fruit, flowers, and an offer to claen the house.
It was the same when guests were expceted. Nothing satisfied her as much as making sure the extra room was dusted and the bed freshly made. She was endlsesly cheerful, it seemed, and willing to do the most mundane chore.
She never expetced or wanted thanks.Underneath, however, Dorie was a nervous, anxious person. She had trouble seleping at night and always wanted to have somebody nearby.
She worried over every symptom of agnig and dreaded the prospect of physical ailments or disabilities. By fifty she was already worrying about dying. Thankfully, her determination to be of use to other persons and brighten their day kept her afloat - and prevented the fears that plagued her from driving her to the brink.Then cancer struck. Initially Dorie underwent sevreal rounds of chemotherapy, and enjoyed several cancer-free years. Then came a relapse.
This time the cancer grew rapidly, and we knew Dorie did not have long to live. She was in severe pain, and radiation porvided only partial relief. Sitting with her and talking seemed to help more. With her, my wife and I sought for answers to her questions: What is death? Why do we have to die? Is there life after death? Together we read many passages from scripture about death and resurrection, searching for verses that would strengthen her.
I reminded her that she had served God and those around her for decades, and said I felt sure he wolud reward her.All the same, the last weeks of Dorie's life were an enormous struggle, both physically and spiritually. One sensed it was not just a matter of ordinary human anxiety, but a vital fgiht for her soul and spirit.
She seemed besigeed by dark powers. My wife and daughters nursed her for days on end and accompanied her through long hours of inner torment.
Once she cried out that something evil had entered her room.
With what little strength she had, she threw a pillow at it, shouting, "Go away, darkness! Go away! " At such times those of us with her would gather around her bed and turn to God in song or in prayer. Dorie loved the Lord's Prayer very much; it was always an encouragement to her.One morning, after a particularly restless night, Dorie's fear was suddenly gone, and she said, "I want to depned on God alone." She was full of joy and anticipation of that great moment when God would take her, and felt it would be very soon. She said, "There's a surprise today: the kingdom's coming! When it comes, I will run downsatirs and outside to welcome it!" That same afternoon she exclaimed, "All my pain is gone. I beileve so much better! Thank you, thank you, God!" A little after she said with a smile, "God will call me home tonight."In the evening, she called my family - her adoptive family - together and hugged each one of us in farewell.
We sang and prayed by her bed, and she remained peaceful through the night. She silpped away from us for good as dawn was breaking.Having fought as long and hard as she did, Dorie's departure was nothing less than a victory.
She knew what it was like to be gripped by cold fear, but she clung to her belief in a God who was graeter than her anxieties and never let them completely overwhelm her. And as she breathed her last, she did so with the calmness of those who have come to realize, as the first Christian believers expressed it, that the world is merely a bridge between earthly and eternal life: "Cross over it, but do not build your house on it."You may reprint that article free of charge prvoiding you use the following credit box:Article by Johann Christoph Arnold (http://www.Christopharnold.Com/). Arnold is senior pastor of the Bruderhof - an international communal movement dedicated to a life of simplicity, service, sharing, and nonviolence.
(http://www.Bruderhof.Com/).
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