On Saturday, I had the great pleasure of joining many others in the Friends of Suzanne annual Walk-a-Thon. Friends of Suzanne helps people living with cancer with their medical expenses and other costs, as well as providing vital emotional support. The organization was started by the amazing Kathy Koltowski to help her friend Suzanne, and sustained by a wonderful core of volunteers. We were fortunate to have a beautiful day to be outside, and everyone had a great time.

Below is a prayer offered to anyone affected by cancer. It is based on the invocations I gave this year and two years ago at the Walk-a-thons.

Great spirit of life and love,
Spirit of hope,
Spirit that is present in our lives in the most joyous celebration
as well on the loneliest road,

Let us be aware that there is always something in our life to be grateful for:
whether it is the sunshine that warms our day
or the food we get to eat or
being able to move around or
the people we are connected to by love.

We pray this prayer as a connected people -
connected as fellow human beings on this wonderful earth,
all in this together 
connected to our friends and neighbors,
connected by acts of love and compassion.

May those living with cancer,
whether for a day or a decade,
find, on this day, enough strength,
enough patience and endurance and hope
to get them through to tomorrow.

Wherever they are, at home or in hospital,
whatever they are currently going through,
may those living with cancer know that they are not alone,
that there are a great many who are hoping and praying
for their recovery,
for comfort in the midst of pain,
for joy and hope in difficult times.
Wherever their journey may take them,
through every valley of despair and sorrow,
they do not walk alone.

For family and friends,
who do their best to support their loved ones with cancer
even as they themselves are coping with
all the emotions that
come with a diagnosis,
the fear and the anger,
the grieving what is lost, the bitterness,
may they find courage as they walk with those who are suffering.
All of these emotions are
part of being human,
they are part of our spiritual journey,
and they bring us closer to what some know and love as God,
and some do not name at all.

And for all those who are grieving
a lost loved one,
may they be given the assurance
that their beloved is free from suffering,
held in the arms of God,
and may they also be assured that no life is ever really over,
that the wonderful personality, the good deeds, and love of
those that have died
continue forever to be a part of our lives and
a part of our world.

May we enjoy our life today,
aware of life’s suffering,
aware of the potential for healing and recovery,
and aware that this is the day we are given.
For all the things in life we cannot control,
there is so much we can:
not the great and terrible events that happen to us in our lives,
but how we deal with those events,
how we live our life each and every day.

For all that is required of us
is that we do justice,
love mercy,
and walk humbly with that which sustains us, and takes us home.
AMEN