Earlier this week I was waiting to get some routine blood work done at the lab in a local hospital. Because Monday had been a holiday, the third floor waiting room was crammed with people. People sitting. People standing. People staring down at their phones. People staring at other people. People grumbling at the protracted wait time. People settling in as if they had no pressing obligations that day.
A woman and her husband quickly claimed the two chairs next to me which had just been vacated. The woman leaned in and asked how I was doing. I offered a polite response. Then asked a similar question in return.
She told me she was sick. I felt myself lean away hoping I had not been exposed to another strain of Covid. Then she offered an explanation. “I have stage 4 lung cancer and I’m very sick but God is good.”
She went on to share that up until recently, she’d been cancer-free for ten years. The first diagnosis had resulted in losing her job and a weeklong hospital stay. She recounted how depressed she was laying in that hospital bed. But then she said, “God asked me, Why are you depressed? Don’t you know that I’m right here with you?” That reassurance carried her through that battle.
She explained that last year the cancer had returned and invaded her lungs. At 52, she was given six months to live. “The devil will get you and drag you away when you get to feeling depressed,” she said. “But God is good.”
I agreed and continued to listen as she showed me pictures on her infant granddaughter. She told me that every two weeks her husband drives four hours round trip to the hospital so she can receive her infusions. “But God is good,” she continued to say.
When my name was called, I asked her if I could have her name so I could be praying for her. “Geneva,” she said. I hugged her and told her that God used her to encourage me.
When I saw this quote, I was reminded that I must always be available for God’s use. Like my new friend, Geneva, it’s not about some notable ministry opportunity, but it’s about being available to encourage others with the encouragement He’s given me. To share God’s goodness with every opportunity.
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