In His Hands: A Faith Journey Through Cancer

By Denise Seavey

Diagnosed with cancer and about to embark on the greatest trial of my life, I quickly came to the conclusion that my desire through it all was to honor God. This journey, including email and journal entries, touches on many points, ranging from fear and depression to trusting and rejoicing in the Lord.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973615163

Denise Seavey

Denise Seavey, a native New Mexican, has been blessed with pursuing creative outlets throughout her life. She sang on a worship team for many years, worked with Christian women transitioning out of prison, and recently became a published fiber artist. She holds a Masters Degree in Learning and Behavioral Disorders and has taught special education in two states. Her greatest joy is celebrating the Lord with family.

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Copyright © 2018 Denise Seavey.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-1517-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-1516-3 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 1/17/2018

This book is

dedicated to Summer, our first grandchild. I pray that as she grows she will come to know and to love the Lord with her whole heart, mind and soul, living each day in His strength. May she always know how much her Mimi loves her!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The idea of this book came from a few people.

Many thanks to Dr. Finkelstein, my gynecologic oncologist who ignited a flame in me to write down my faith journey as she asked women in her practice if they’d be willing to share how they coped with cancer.

Many friends asked me what I was learning through this journey. At the time, my chemo brain was too jumbled to think; yet I knew that I wanted to make sense of it all. Another friend commented that if she ever had to go through this, she was going to call me for help! These remarks got me to thinking about my legacy to family and friends. What greater gift can I give than to share the Lord and His strength through the toughest journey of my life.

I was blessed to work with my beautiful daughter, Erin, throughout this book process. She served as my editor and early e-mail publicist. Thank you, sweet one.

Much love and thanks to my dear husband and family for their continual support and encouragement in all my endeavors.

Above all, I thank you, Lord Jesus, for being the author and perfecter of my faith.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1   Diagnosis

Chapter 2   Testimony

Chapter 3   God’s Timing

Chapter 4   Fear of Chemo

Chapter 5   Rejoicing

Chapter 6   God’s in Control

Chapter 7   God’s Faithfulness

Chapter 8   Praising the Lord

Chapter 9   Hope

Epilogue

1

Diagnosis

So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Words remembered from my gynecologic oncologist:

I’m worried, it’s going to be rough.

Dismay and shock are the first words that come to mind when thinking back on my cancer diagnosis of June 28, 2016. Black storm clouds of fear rolled in as quickly as the aggressive cancer was growing in my ovary. I had always joked