The day before Thanksgiving, we were going to the grocery store for last-minute items. My phone rang; it was the doctor’s call we had been anticipating. My hands shook as I answered. My husband pulled over and waited. “I hate to tell you this before Thanksgiving,” she said. “You have breast cancer. An oncologist will contact you soon.”
In stunned silence, my husband turned the car around. Even at home, we didn’t have words. We knew so little. We had questions but no answers. I paced without purpose, making both husband and dogs nervous.
I felt fear draw me from my Savior, so I asked God to take it. An old hymn, “I Will Not Be Afraid,” played in my mind. It reminded me that Jesus walked with me. Jesus had already secured my eternity, so I could live with uncertainty. My future was safe with Him.
Releasing fear led to thanking God in uncertain times. Paul wrote, “Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Thanking God in everything, even during cancer treatments, became an act of obedience and brought peace.
Challenge: Replace fear with true thanksgiving and walk in obedient peace.
Claudean Boatman lives with her husband in northern Colorado. They walk to worship in their local church and serve in prayer, safety, and missions ministries. She earned a Master of Theological Studies from Gateway Seminary, Rocky Mountain Campus (Denver area), in 2023.