My Voice, Your Voice

By: Ms. Elsa Satparam

December 5, 2004

Being diagnosed to have a cancer, breast cancer, taught me so many things in life. One, making my life meaningful each day. Two, preparing my life on what to do each passing day. Three, gathering friends and relatives amending woes and sorrows. Four, making the most of preparation for the family I love most. Five, and last but not the least, preparation for myself.

The past days have not been so good to me. The pain that I am feeling and have felt lost my sense of focus. But, I am holding on. Maybe, some of you felt the same way I feel. Oftentimes, I looked up in the sky surrendering my pain to our Creator. “Lord, teach me to bear the pain the same as you borne the pain to save our souls in purgatory.” Several times, I kept my tears only to fall down without trying. Trying to stay the way I was before this affliction. Keeping strong for my loved ones. You know what? I hate seeing my mother so sad because of my ordeal. That’s why I staying fit the best that I could. Is this pretension? No! It isn’t. It’s FAITH. It’s my faith that taught me to fight this over.

Sometimes when we least expect it a door closes in our lives. Things like this change our dreams and plan for tomorrow changes. When we’re in this situation, sometimes it’s hard to accept that this is part of God’s plan. Often, it is through the most difficult days of our lives that we come to know ourselves and what is truly most important to us. But we must remember that life has its cycles just like the seasons and that within every ending is a new beginning.

Fellow survivors, achieving our greatest dreams and highest ideals sometimes may call upon us to sacrifice ourselves. Weigh our sacrifices carefully, whatever it would be never regret the efforts we made in our dream to sustain life. Get the most you can out of life. Let us all enjoy the blessings of each day. Pray that we be prepared for whatever life hands us or whatever we’re going through. Have faith because with faith we can an answer to every doubt, every fear, and every question that we have in ourselves. It is the only thing that assures us that we can and we will. And hope for it shines brighter than the darkest nights.

Since this affliction I had learned to release my problems to God, something I had to do often most especially in this difficult times. I prayed and pray for miracles. Miracles can and do happen. They can come at any time. Believing in the impossible, even when the obvious is staring you in the face, produces extraordinary results. God knows when the inevitable is just about to get you down, that’s when He gives us the miracle we’ve been looking for.

Standing before you, makes me feel so proud for I am not alone. I have you, my family, friends and my doctors to see through. I’m so blessed that I have so many around me to give me comfort, joy and assurances that I’ll never be alone in this battle. Thank you so much for giving me the courage to face each new day with a smile that whatever sorrow or pain I’m having right now I have you securely in my heart. And I thank God for watching over me and for assuring me that I’ll never walk alone.

Merry Christmas to all of us.