“What Cancer Cannot Do…”
“Dear Gracious God,
We know that cancer can do some things like startle us and re-shift our focus and our day by day routines and tempt us to worry about the future and wonder about the unknowns…but we also affirm there are many important things that cancer simply cannot do.
In faith we assert that it is limited next to Your limitless love and Your invitation for us to fulfill Your divine design for each one of us as we live, love, laugh and learn here on your planet earth.
It cannot cripple Love….oh, it may temporarily blind us with fear but we know it cannot decrease Love…our love for you, our families, our caregivers…who all invest generous time and care for us on this journey. In the end we know love will triumph but we also experience its victories day by day…
It cannot shatter Hope…oh, we know it can shake us up as we encounter the vulnerability of our life, but we also know cancer can be an invitation to broaden our hope…Lord, help us remember that nothing is going to happen today that You and we together cannot handle…as we cope with hope in You and with You…
It cannot corrode Faith…oh, we acknowledge the temptation to lessen our faith as we wonder some of the whys involved in this diagnosis…and the tendency to wonder what went wrong…but we also know Your divine will is what will prevail so we echo with Julian of Norwich, ‘All will be well and all will be well. All manner of things will be well.’ We utter this with the grace of faith only You can bestow…
It cannot destroy Peace…oh, in the midst of anxiety and trouble spirits, we want to cry out, ‘Help!’ And when we do, deep within we hear, ‘Come to Me all who labor and are heavy burdened and I shall give you rest. Take up My yoke and learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart, and you’ll find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden in light.’ Thank you for the gift of peace, the kind that only You can give…
It cannot kill Friendship…oh, we proclaim wholeheartedly our gratitude for the friends who have stood by us with notes, calls, hugs, meals, errands…so many ways we’ve been blessed by care and prayer…May we never take for granted those who say or write, ‘You’re in my thoughts & prayers.’
It cannot suppress Memories…oh, what a treasure chest each of us has of past moments that have enhanced and enriched us…and God, this cancer journey has highlighted the awesome blessings we have been given along life’s path…May we ever by humbly grateful and never grumbly hateful…
It cannot silence Courage…oh, we bow before You asking for the grace to face each moment with heartfelt bravery affirming with the lady who once said, ‘From the day that you’re born, ’til they take you in a hearse, things are never so bad that they couldn’t be worse.’ Help us maintain perspective as we watch others endure difficulties worse than our own…
It cannot invade the Soul…oh, we thank You again for the profound privilege in knowing that You are our God and we are Your people…as we receive the armor of Your grace protecting us in the midst of the muck, in the heart of our very life circumstances. Stand with us as guardian of our souls so we daily place our hearts in Your Heart one breath, blink, swallow and heart beat at a time…
It cannot steal eternal Life…With Your presence, may we turn any stumbling blocks into stepping stones.
It cannot conquer the Spirit…nothing can stop Your Spirit, so God of life and love, permeate us through and through. Keep us mindful of the height, depth, width and breadth of Your Holy Spirit beckoning us to draw near and walk with You day by day come what may. In faith, hope and love, we commend ourselves to You knowing also that the Big C (Christ, that is) can conquer the little c (cancer). Help us hold to that truth today, tomorrow, and always as we fulfill our unique mission here on Your planet earth. Amen.”
“For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” 2 Corinthians 4:16.
Sister Sue Tracy 
Dearest Sister Sue,,,,,,,Each paragraph leaves us with a very important message. You have helped so many carry their cross, with your thoughts and words. What an Inspiration you have been to so many of us. I Thank God for You, and for giving you your own website, so you now can reach out to many others in need of help. May God Bless you always,
My Love, and many Thanks!,
Corlyss
Thank you you Sister for being God’s ears, eyes, heart and arms. You will be surprised how far your faith and courage has reached! Thank you so much, Life is worth living to the end.
carol
Really enjoyed this and it is true every step of the way. I had colon cancer in 2009 and I would not trade the experience for anything. It does cause one to refocus and it helped me to quit planning or waiting for the right time the right time is now. Now is all you have. If you want to do something do it now because nothing else is promised. Don’t wait. Have no regrets. It made me realize that God was really all I had and I let go. I realized I was powerless and it was freedom in a way. The whole experience brought me closer to God.
I thank God Sister Sue for how He has worked through you to touch my life as well as so many others. It’s been wonderful to be a sister with you in our Red Hat group but most of all to be a sister with you in Christ Jesus. May He continue to bless you, comfort you, and give you peace. Love always, Dar
Praying for you Sue. You have been the most wonderful sister ever, the best I could have ever picked. You taught me to believe in myself and gave me the courage to do things and live life to the fullest. So glad our paths crossed in 1981 at St Pius X church in Hale, Mi. You as our dearly loved Parish Sister and myself as the organist. Remembering all the fun times with Fr Murphy as our Priest. WHittemore, Hale and Glennie. What a team we were😊😊😊. Remembering Our Liturgical dance for your Jubilee and Christmas masses, our trips to the national music convention, sleep overs when the roads were bad and travel was not at best. We even managed to tuck in a ski trip when you were assigned to move to Indian River, to the Shrine better known today as Cross in The Woods, Oh the memories and there are many…..You were there when Our family needed you most to comfort us and give the Eulogy when I lost my dear mother. You always seem to be like an angel always in the right place at the right time. My family fell in love with you the instant they met you. You were apart of us and always will be…Love you Sue to the moon and back. Sending an abundance of love. May the Lord Bless and Keep You forever. May his light always shine upon you and may he hold you in the palm of his hand forever. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Sister Sue, what a pleasure it was for me to share a spot on the waiting couch with you in radiation at Lemmen Holton in 2012 and to get to know your kind and generous spirit. Thank you for all the times you visited me in various stages of my treatment. You have done the Lord’s work well and long. I pray for peace as you rest, reflect and prepare. You are joy personified. Thank you.
I have enjoyed reading about Sister Sue. I wish I could have known her. I pray for her as well. What a blessing to those that she touched. I pray today for all that are being challenged with cancer and any illness. Thank you for writing about her as I would not have known about her.