Everyone Has a Cross
Let’s face it — we all have crosses to bear. We do not have a choice in the size of the cross we are given, but everyone has one. If you have an illness, children, a husband, siblings, parents — one day, any of these may become your cross.
Some Crosses Are Visible to the World
Some crosses are so large they become conspicuous, and the world takes notice as you pass by.
Complaining Is a Sign of Insufficient Prayer
If you are constantly complaining about your situation in bearing your cross, you are not praying enough.
A Positive Attitude Deepens Dependence on God
Your positive attitude when carrying your cross will bring a new level of understanding of total dependence on God.
Crosses Are an Invitation to Grow
We must grow from these experiences to fulfill what God has intended for us.
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” — Luke 9:23
What cross in your life right now feels heaviest — and have you brought it fully to prayer?
Grace Under Fire: Jane’s Story of Carrying the Cross
A Woman Who Has Mastered the Cross
There is a dear friend named Jane who has mastered the art of carrying her crosses. About four years ago, her husband of twenty-six years was diagnosed with stage two cancer. As if this were not a heavy enough cross, around the same time God permitted another — Jane suffered a mild stroke.
An Iron Cross
Both Jane and her husband were on the road to recovery when, in May, she received what can only be described as an iron cross to bear. Her beautiful twenty-five-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, was diagnosed with stage four melanoma. Things have not gone well for this precious young woman, and the cancer has gained the upper hand in this battle.
A Field of Hidden Mines
From the beginning, Elizabeth’s plight has been a field of hidden mines and grenades coming from every direction. Her cancer is too far advanced for experimental drug therapy. She required immediate, radical treatment simply to slow the growth of the malignancy.
Grace Under Fire
Through it all, Jane has remained steadfast — a true picture of grace under fire. Yet the wear on her heart is visible, and her eyes carry the quiet anguish of a mother’s clandestine pleading with God. How she has maintained such composure is beyond human explanation. Jane is a living testament to what it looks like to carry a cross with grace.
A Mother’s Heart
Nothing is worse than watching your child suffer, and every parent knows the instinct to do whatever it takes to make it better. Jane holds fast to Scripture — anchoring herself to the truth that nothing is impossible with God. This is what keeps her focused, interceding without ceasing for Elizabeth.
The Call That Changed Everything
On January 2, 2017, Jane received a call that Elizabeth had been hospitalized again — complications from brain tumors affecting her speech, and additional tumors disrupting her cognitive function. With Elizabeth in Denver and Jane in California, the distance only compounds an already agonizing situation.
And yet — this is precisely where God meets Jane. He holds her through this grievous trial.
Believing for a Miracle
On January 6, 2017, Elizabeth is scheduled for surgery to remove the cluster of tumors at the center of this battle. The prayer is that Elizabeth will consent to the procedure and that this will be the road to her miracle. Jane will be at her daughter’s side — as she has always been — her rock, her advocate, her mother.
“For nothing will be impossible for God.” — Luke 1:37
Why Must We Suffer? — And a Prayer for Elizabeth
The Question Every Suffering Soul Asks
Why, Lord, must we suffer like this?
The answer, when sought in prayer, is always the same: so that we might understand our own vulnerability — and discover that when we allow God to take over our pain, it becomes His as well. He does not stand at a distance watching. He enters into it.
God: Our Modern-Day Simon of Cyrene
The Lord is our modern-day Simon of Cyrene — but unlike Simon, He does not carry the cross for only part of the journey. He carries it the entire way, to the very end.
The Emotional Weight of the Cross
We never give up, because we are faithful and trusting people. And yet — when a cross of this magnitude is placed upon us, emotions come with it. Anger. Blame. The relentless question: Why me?
These are not signs of weak faith. They are signs of a human heart in anguish. In the end, we return to what is most natural — what draws us back to the foot of the original cross — where we bow our heads and pray without ceasing.
A Note of Hope
Please join in prayer for Elizabeth. She is recently engaged and plans to be married in October of 2017. Her life is full of promise, and that promise is worth fighting for.
A Prayer for Elizabeth
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in urgency, on behalf of Your daughter Elizabeth. We stand in the gap for her, and in unity we plead her case before Your holy throne.
Lord, You know all things. We are asking — earnestly, desperately, and with faith — for a miracle. Reverse these cancer cells. Restore Elizabeth’s body. May this surgery be the turning point, the link to the miracle only You can provide.
It is within Your power to manifest a healing. From the very beginning of this trial, You have been there, holding Elizabeth close to Your heart. We believe that still.
We remain before Your throne, interceding for precious Elizabeth — trusting in Your goodness, Your mercy, and Your power.
Amen.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit He saves.” — Psalm 34:19
