Loving Him More Through Darkest Valleys: Sisters Challenge Cancer in Two-Part Harmony

By Rebecca Kordatzky

Some of life’s obstacles turn out to be annoying speed bumps, but others become treks through treacherous mountains.

In Loving Him More through Darkest Valleys, two sisters, Nancy and Becky, share their journey climbing Mount Cancer. Along the way, Nancy refused to let cancer be more powerful than love, friendship, and faith. Her personal notes reveal how she refused to give in to fear and confidently held on to hope. For her part, Becky challenges us to think differently about cancer. Her too-friendly body, it seems, has been a welcoming host to cancer cells. But Becky’s quarrels with the disease have spawned unexpected opportunities for understanding, compassion, peace, and happiness. As the sisters challenged cancer, their faith provided stability and hope; cancer could not extinguish their love and joy.

This personal narrative follows two sisters as they face cancer and deny its power to spread despair, anger, chaos, and panic, instead embracing perspective and hope through faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973691365

Rebecca Kordatzky

Rebecca Kordatzky spent her last nineteen years of teaching with eighth graders, a job she never expected to love so deeply. No longer teaching full time, she loves tutoring. She and her husband, John, live in Milton, Wisconsin, with their parakeets, Chitter and Chatter. She enjoys reading, gardening, quilting, and sharing good food with family and friends. Their family includes three adult children, their spouses, and seven brilliant grandchildren.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-9135-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9134-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9136-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020908525

WestBow Press rev. date: 5/29/2020

CONTENTS

Never Ready

Prologue

Loving Him More

Through Darkest Valleys

Because I Forget So Easily

To my older sister, Nancy King,

who led the way for me.

With deep appreciation to Byron King and Beth Strange for their permission and encouragement to share Nancy’s meditations if her story helps even one person.

NEVER READY

The wisest has said, "There is a time for

… everything … under the sun."

Benjamin Franklin has said, "A place for everything

and everything in its place."

The mathematician proclaims the orderliness of number.

The philosopher praises clear, compelling logic.

But

when the heart has been punctured by sorrow

and is wounded by that loss,

logic and orderliness have no voice.

The sun cannot shine into that void.

We are never ready for the blackout.

Only God’s love, shown through His Son, can bring warmth

and, eventually, light.

May your night be softened with the tender glow

of ministering hands,

others who know the solitude of midnight.

May the joy of dawn include healing memories

of the one who is gone but never truly departed.

PROLOGUE

The Big C

The ringing broke my dishwashing reverie. Pulled from the January snow globe picture outside my kitchen window, I hurried to the phone. Answering, I heard my doctor ask, Are you sitting down? My immediate reaction? I sat down, thankful that the hand-crafted telephone bench was strong and sturdy. He continued, The biopsy shows that you have uterine cancer. We need to schedule surgery as soon as possible.

It was January 1995 when that electrifying jolt left me speechless. Quickly, surgery was scheduled for two weeks later. Thus began my personal journey with The Big C.

I was grateful that many details needed to be arranged; they gave me something productive to focus on instead of the uncertainty roused by fear of the known and the unknown. Notifying family and friends was very hard. They needed to know, but telling them was upsetting. Besides, talking about it made the situation even more real and uncertain. Fortunately, there were many other details on my list, so I chipped away—pre-op appointments to make and keep, lesson plans for the long-term substitute, parent-teacher conferences to complete, being up to date on laundry and cleaning …

On the day of surgery, I was grateful that my surgeon excelled at P&D (perseverance and details). After removing the tumor, he patiently and diligently checked the lymph nodes around the area, one by one, to see if the cancer had spread beyond the uterus. Each was cancer-free—until number seventeen, the last one. Examining that node, he found cancer cells waving and hollering, Look at us! We’re here! A more accurate diagnosis: stage 4.

It was a long week in the hospital with tubes seemingly everywhere. My mind may have made up a few details, but I remember lying flat for several days and lots of ice chips. It seemed forever before I could begin taking even clear liquids. I appreciated friends who came to visit, often reporting, You are looking great. (I’m not sure of their assessment.)

After a week in the hospital, I came home to recuperate. Immediately, friends, neighbors, and family demonstrated their support. It was amazing and affirming. The magic meal fairy was on duty for at least six weeks. I can still recite many details of who brought what. Larry and Joy brought tasty chicken wings; Wilma brought her nourishing homemade chicken noodle soup; Beverly introduced us to the best Italian dressing. And Marsha, a friend with four children and an already very full plate of responsibilities, accepted no arguments from me and came every morning for two weeks to tend to my needs and support my family. I truly felt so loved!

A month later, radiation treatments began—five days a week for three weeks. They went fairly well. More of my care army showed up; Caryn drove me every Thursday, and Kelly was my chauffeur on Tuesday. Some days I could even drive myself. At least once a