In God’s Hands
In God’s Hands
Living Through Illness with Faith
Maureen A. Cummings
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Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. — Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. — Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
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Copyright © 2018 by Maureen A. Cummings. Published 2018.
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Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
200 Noll Plaza
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ISBN: 978-1-68192-185-3 (Inventory No. T1894)
eISBN: 978-1-68192-189-1
LCCN: 2018935817
Cover and interior design: Amanda Falk
Cover art: Shutterstock
Interior art: Photo of Maureen A. Cummings courtesy of the author.
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About the Author
Maureen Cummings is a cradle Catholic, wife and mother of six, and a Secular Franciscan. A homeschooling parent for over 25 years, she now writes from Janesville, Wisconsin. In God’s Hands is Maureen’s first book.
To all those who sufferand to those who helpthem in their time of need.
“My destiny is in your hands;rescue me from my enemies,from the hands of my pursuers.” — PSALM 31:16
Upon receiving news of a serious medical diagnosis, you may feel alone, you may feel overwhelmed, you may feel hopeless. I know I did. But I believe that with God’s help, whether you are a patient, a friend, or a family member, you will find strength and peace in God’s hands.
Table of Contents
Chapter Two: Look for the Good
Chapter Seven: Tracks of Trust
Chapter Eleven: A Pilgrimage of Joy and Thanksgiving
Chapter One
Why Not Me?
For I know well the plans I have in mind for you — oracle of the LORD — plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.
— JEREMIAH 29:11
February in the Midwest is invariably cold and gray. Snow can be a pretty blessing (and sometimes a curse), but it also turns gray and tarnished. It is too far from Christmas and too long until spring. I have often been glad that it has the fewest days of any month.
In the midst of a cold and dreary February day, when I thought I had discovered a breast infection, it was just one more thing. I was still nursing my sixth child and had never had an infection, so I just figured it was my turn. After a few days, I went to the doctor, whom I knew well, and joked that at least it was not cancer. The joke was on me. I was forty-two years old, with an eight-month-old nursing baby plus five other children, when I was told that I had stage III breast cancer.
Just Breathe
The shock of a major medical diagnosis is one that many, if not most of us, will someday face. It affects not only the patients but also all those around them, from friends and family to neighbors and coworkers. No matter what the diagnosis — cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, or kidney failure —
