A Little Farther

a little farther copy

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed. Matthew 26:39

I’ve been thinking a lot about a little farther.

When Jesus was preparing for his death, he took his close friends with him to Gethsemane to pray. Three of those friends he took with him further into the garden. But even those three couldn’t go as far as Jesus needed to go.

Where he was heading, he had to go alone.

I am definitely not Jesus, and my circumstances are a bit less consequential.

But I am beginning to understand a little farther.

I haven’t slept well for months. Early on because of the fear of the unknowns. More recently because of the physical discomfort that comes with the breast reconstruction process and the anxiousness that comes with not knowing whether or not chemo is in your future.

When it’s 2 a.m. and I’m on my recliner in my dark living room, frustrated about cancer and trying to get comfortable enough to sleep, I am a little farther.

I have some close friends who have walked with me into the garden. We group text on an almost daily basis. We have laughed, cried and prayed together through little blips of conversations on our phones. Some days they have been my lifeline. But they can’t do 2 a.m. with me.

There is a dear soul to whom I can shoot the craziest texts or call at any time knowing she gets me. Even when I’m completely out of my mind she gets me. But she can’t do 2 a.m. with me.

And then there is Corey. Who sees me at my worst and is still crazy enough to love me. Who puts me first always. Who tells me I’m beautiful with my scars when I look in the mirror and see ugly.

But though he would let me stay back and go a little farther for me if he could, he can’t. He would take my fears, my frustrations, my stress, my pain, my sleeplessness upon himself if it was possible. But it’s not.

So here I am. 2 a.m. A little farther.

I try to be like Jesus, who pleaded with the father to take the cup from him, but followed his plea with “Thy will be done.”

I get stuck at “Take this cup.”

I want to say “Thy will be done.” But quite honestly, in this moment, I can’t.

What I do instead is barter for my own will. I promise I will…if you will just…

I know that’s not how it works.

I want to let go and I want to trust. I just can’t.

But I will.

Just not this night. Not at 2 a.m.

My comfort in those middle-of-the-night moments is in knowing that even when I can’t pry my hands from my own will, God doesn’t bow out. He knows how hard this is for me. He knows I don’t want my flesh to defeat my spirit. He sees my battle, and he doesn’t leave me. He waits.

And when eventually the sun comes up, and the world looks different, and I am able to at last say “your will be done,” he doesn’t punish me for my delayed trust.

Instead when I open my Bible he speaks to me with something like this.

“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he. I am he who will sustain you. I am he who made you and I will carry you. I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (Isaiah 46:4)

And that makes a little farther beautiful.

(BTW – Though I will be on a drug called Tomoxifen for 10 years, I do not need chemo. Hallelujah!)

 

By KimHarms

Kim Harms is an author, speaker, and part-time library assistant with two decades of freelance writing experience. She has a degree in English from Iowa State University. She and her husband Corey have three super-awesome sons and one crazy dog. A two-time breast cancer survivor, her first book, Life Reconstructed: Navigating the World of Mastectomies and Breast Reconstruction (Familius), is a guide for women walking the breast cancer road. She is currently working on her second book, a devotional for women going through breast cancer.

10 comments

  1. Best BTW ever.

    I am not sure you can see yet how much strength you have earned in this. Several times I have noticed it. I know we joked about you having superpowers, but it’s actually real, Kim. Whether you see it or not, He is making you pretty dang fierce.

  2. The Lord has given you a lot of strength. Your messages and journaling touches many people. It’s amazing how many challenges people go through in life. Prayers help. We continue to pray for all that struggle with disease. Keep on sharing to help others.

  3. Congrats on the last day of chemo. I found that scary. Suddenly I felt I wasn’t fighting this horrible disease. Then I realised – I hadn’t been fighting it all along. God had. And He wasn’t about to stop! All the best for your future HEALTHY life!
    Shirley writing at http://www.riseandsoar.com

  4. Beautifully written Kim. Ahh yes, how well I remember those 2 am times. And of course that was before Whatsapp and friends at the other side of the world!

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