National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Here are some sobering facts, gathered http://www.cancer.org/

• Estimated for 2015 (in the U.S):
• 31,840 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer
• 60,290 new cases of CIS (the earliest form of breast cancer, non-invasive)
• 40,290 women will die from breast cancer

• 12% of women - 1 out of 8 - are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.
• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women.

One of my best friend's mother died of breast cancer a while ago. I remember when I heard about it and going to the service before she died. I remember her. I remember her smile. I remember how kind and what a lovely woman she was.

A while after she died, I started thinking up projects to help with this. None of them ever got off the ground, unfortunately. I still have the little pink ribbon charms I made, sitting in a box in my room. I have a list of sites discussing breast cancer. I have folders full of ideas on how I could help.

It makes makes my heart clench up when I think about all of this. I still nearly want to cry when I think of all the people that have died from this. I take deep breaths, thinking about the people that sit there in shock after they are diagnosed. The women that go through awful struggles. The families and friends they leave behind when they die.

I wish there was a "but..." I could put here. I'm sitting here, wondering about what I could say. A bright side to all of this.

And what I can think of is simple.

God has every single one of us in His hands.

We're still going to struggle.

Breast cancer is a horrible thing. We still don't have a cure. You saw the statistics above. You can see how many they estimated would be diagnosed and how many would die this year.

And not all of us will be scientists trying to find a cure. NOt all of us will raise millions of dollars to help the cause.

But maybe, actually, that's what's God is calling you to do.

I don't know.

But one way to start is to be aware of it. Then maybe doing a little research. That might put up a sprout.

Next, pray.

And pray some more.

The power of prayer is a miraculous thing - and I'm not just saying that. It has the power to save lives.

Breast cancer is one of our many, many wars going on at the moment. It's not the type you can fight with guns. Its a disease. A disease we don't know how to fight. And that's even more frightening.

Let's fight our war. 

A salute to all the women and men diagnosed, struggling, or dead from breast cancer. Fight your way through.

And keep us in Your hands, God.

Keep us in Your hands.