What?! Grateful for a cancer diagnosis? Grateful for chemotherapy?
With God’s grace, yes! It is not because those things are good themselves; on the contrary, they are hard and awful. But rather because when they are accepted in trust that God is in control, and in hope He can bring about a greater good, the greater good really can be seen and experienced.
Bishop Vladimir Fekete, SDB, opened the conversation at LCI’s online Kartause Connection meeting on November 19 with pastoral guidance on how and why Christians can always be grateful. He shared stories from his own remarkable journey from his native Slovakia to his mission post in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Bobette’s testimony in a nutshell was that even things which seem impossibly difficult can turn into a blessing. She shared how she began writing down concrete things she could be grateful for. Soon, the keeping the list became easier and easier. Several participants jumped in to share their own personal stories of suffering which turned into moments of grace in their lives.
Bobette’s son JoJo also waved a hello to all participants. He is now a healthy thirteen year-old, after recovering from an aggressive form of leukemia, which had followed closely on the heels of heart surgery when JoJo was just seven years old. Bobette shared that she can truly say she is grateful.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thes 5:18).