Challenged To The Core - Kathi Brixey

Surviving cancer is more than just beating the odds and living. It is so much more! Getting through the physical changes that your body goes through is monumental in itself, then, there is the mental trauma that can set you back a bit. There are lasting repercussions and side effects that are different for each individual. Chemotherapy and radiation take their toll on the body. A survivor can be left with different lasting reminders of their experience with cancer. I am not telling this to scare you but rather to educate you so you might be better prepared in the event that someone you love is diagnosed with cancer. This is a fight for life and without the Lord there is no hope. I was watching television one morning recently and the T.V. anchor Robin Roberts had been challenged to do something outside her comfort zone. She wrote the lyrics to a song that has now hit the radio waves thanks to the artist who recorded it. This particular recording artist had also written a song with a line in it “I am not my hair” which had significant meaning for Robin. When she heard it for the first time she had been going through chemo and had just lost her hair. When you lose your hair or a body part you are confronted with the question of your true identity. Who are you and what makes you who you are? Are you what is on the “outside” or are you what is on the “inside”? It’s a confounding question. The world would have you be what is on the “outside”, but if you are a believer then you know that God looks at the “inside”. I recently had my hair cut, restyled and then colored. I feel like a million bucks! After surviving cancer now for nine and a half years I felt like it was time to go forward and have the outside match the inside. I no longer knew the woman in the mirror, because she didn’t reflect the person I had become on the inside. The Lord allowed me the opportunity to walk through the valley of cancer and in the process I learned that He loved me beyond my imagination. I learned so much about myself and what was really important in life; where my priorities should be as well as why. I am a work in progress and trying to be what God delights in.

My appearance had become dull and ordinary, but in my heart I have been bubbling over with gratitude that God chose me to show His mercy, grace and sovereignty. What do you think are the most important things to do, dwell on, or achieve in life? It is whatever God has called you to do! Sounds so simple but it can be very hard to complete. When I lost my hair I learned lessons in prejudice, in the rudeness of strangers, in acceptance of what I cannot change and in being ready to change the things I can. There were other lessons as well, but none more poignant than knowing that God loves me no matter what my outward appearance may be. His priority is what is in my heart. It doesn’t matter to Him that I have cut, colored and styled my hair, what He wants to see is a changed obedient heart, one that looks for ways to show others who He really is.

When we die, and we all will someday, what will people say about you? “He was very handsome and wore his clothes well.” “She was a beautiful woman and could she put together an outfit.” “He achieved a lot in his life, what a fortune he left for his family,” or “She was very involved in the community I’m sure her family must have been very proud of her accomplishments.” What is wrong with this picture? Would you rather not hear how kind and caring either of them might have been to others, or “they were always there for their family and friends.” The ultimate for a believer should be to hear their Heavenly Father say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” For me that is my pursuit every day. Do I always achieve the goal? No I‘m human, but I keep trying. No one will remember in a time of stress or need a grumpy hateful person, what they will remember are acts of kindness that saw them through their time of stress. That then should be our goal, to try to achieve what is delightful to God, to develop an inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. Being caught up in outward appearances is an addiction of the world. We all do it from time to time, but as we grow older hopefully we realize we can’t stop time and gravity. This is when our perspective usually changes. The media in general push what they view as acceptable, and then we adjust the “look” to suit our budgets. However, some of us try to maintain exactly what we see no matter what the cost. Does this expense make us better that the others? No, just poorer. What I am trying to say is this, if we are not working on the inside to make the changes that God wants in us what is the purpose of dressing up the outside?

It’s not hard to be kind and gentle to others when you look at them as God does. We are His children and deserve the very best from each other. What an awesome world this would be if we treated each other with compassion and love. My challenge to you this week as you “check your pulse” is this, spend ten minutes each day this week being kind or doing something tangible for someone else and see if they notice. If they don’t its okay, because you know in your heart that what you are doing is delighting the Lord!

Kathi Brixey
“Working to Delight Him”
CHALLENGED TO THE CORE
P.O. BOX 414
LAKE ARROWHEAD, CA 92352-0414