The Lover of My Soul (Redux)

(This post originally published on October 1, 2012, during the time I was receiving treatment for breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.)

A week from today, I will return to Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion, IL, and if all goes well, I will begin my chemotherapy treatment. Within a few days after that, I will lose all my hair. It won't all fall out at once, but when it starts to get sparse, I'm going to shave it off. And I'm okay with that.

My body image has not always been so great. When I was a teenager, I had a lot of self-loathing. I thought my legs were so fat, at 105 pounds, that I refused to wear shorts during the summer. Even in my 20's, after my first brush with cancer, I covered the large scar on my right arm on the hottest July days in Kansas.

I am 50 years old now, and overweight, scarred, stretch marked, gray haired and wrinkled. Losing weight, gaining weight, short haired or long haired, I am still me. With the last surgery I endured, I lost my right breast to cancer, but I know I have the love of my husband, my family and my Savior. No matter how many body parts I lose, I possess a complete soul.

Here's something to hold on to: you are not the sum of your parts. You are more; a precious child of God, that He loves and treasures above all others. Jesus is the lover of my soul, and yours, too.  Laughingly, I always said The Hubster loved my guts. What I really meant was, he loves me, not the package I came in.

Appearances are temporary and shallow. We may not always look the same, but God will always have enduring love for us, that will not fail.

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I never want anyone else I care about to be scared, unsure, or ignorant of symptoms, the latest treatments, or self-care. Please take time to educate yourself. You deserve it! Here's a link with great information.

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Notable Quote:

 Psalm 66:16 (KJV) Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.