On May 31st, 2024, I was diagnosed with breast cancer - specifically Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Stage 2, Triple Positive. I was shocked, and for a while in denial that this was really happening to me.

A week later, on June 7th, I lay inside the MRI machine with tears streaming down my face, feeling completely alone. In that moment, I asked God to give me absolute assurance that He was with me, holding my hand. Then, through my headset, two songs played: Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham and Confidence by Sanctus Real.

All I could hear was: "For when I fight, I'll fight on my knees, with my hands lifted high, oh God, the battle belongs to You". And then, "Give me faith like Daniel in the lion's den, give me hope like Moses in the wilderness, give me a heart like David Lord be my defense, so I can face this giant with confidence".

In that moment, my perspective shifted. I stopped seeing cancer as just an obstacle to overcome. Yes, cancer is awful, and my journey felt like an endless string of setbacks, each one testing me more than the last. But instead of focusing on minimizing my pain, I began focusing on maximizing God's sovereignty over it. I told myself that if God allowed me to carry this so that even one less person had to, then I'm grateful He chose me.