...And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
-Romans 5:2b-5
These verses have been carrying me through since I was in the eighth grade. Those who know me know that the words "perseverance," "character," and "hope" are tattooed on my shoulder. Just a few weeks after I was baptized at 13 years old, my mother was diagnosed with stage-4 Breast cancer. She went through chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and the next summer, was declared to be in remission. She was in remission for 3 years, until I was about to enter my senior year of high school. It was then that her CEA levels (a cancer indicator) skyrocketed, and for the next year, she would go through a battery of tests to find the cancer. They found it a week before my 18th birthday in her liver, and they knew at that point that it was terminal. I watched my mother die 14 months later, within the first week of classes my sophomore year. By that time, the cancer had spread to almost every conceivable place within her body. I have been told that I am an extremely strong person, to have continued on with my life the way that I have, and to be able to speak about my mother with the frankness that I do. Any strength that I have, comes from my hope in Christ alone. Through my suffering, I have persevered, which has refined my character, which brings me hope. My hope is not found in anything of this world, but in the GLORY of CHRIST. My mother was an incredible woman of faith, and the image of Christ RADIATED through her life and actions. Christ was GLORIFIED in my mother's life, and also in her death. It is through the hope in the GLORY of GOD that we can rejoice in our sufferings, and find true peace and joy in our lives.
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