My life
drastically changed on September 18, 2014. I
woke up that Thursday morning, what felt like a normal “almost Friday” to
me, having no idea my mother, Robin Dotson, would walk into a doctor’s office
to be sat down and told she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two days later,
mom and dad visited me in Knoxville, TN, to break the news in person. All I
remember of this conversation was sitting down on the couch and dad saying,
“Rebecca we need to talk. Your mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.” Many
details and statistics followed but those 7 words are all I remember, even now.
Several weeks passed and Robin underwent surgery that was successful in making
her a Breast Cancer Survivor.
Following surgery, she began chemotherapy.
The day of her first treatment, I
forwarded mom a devotional by She Reads
Truth, LLC (an online daily devotional based out of Nashville, TN). The
current series they were sharing was about giving
thanks – and that specific day was titled Giving Thanks in Suffering. A couple hours later mom called me and
said, “Bec – I’ve found my verse! Friends have sent me cards, called me and
emailed me with verses that have been a wonderful encouragement but I haven’t
felt like God had given me my verse for
my journey yet. And it is Romans
8:18; it was at the top of She Reads
Truth today.”
“For I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with
the glory that is to be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18, ESV)
This verse
is something the whole family started clinging onto as the nausea, fatigue and
other side effects of chemotherapy began to settle in. What we didn’t know at
the time was how it would eventually become the cornerstone Scripture for a
ministry God was calling me to launch. About a week later I woke up in the
middle of the night and realized something that still gives me chill bumps. God
was so gracious and faithful to give mom the verse Romans 8:18 at the top of a devotional about suffering on her first
day of chemotherapy. In addition to that, September 18th was also
the day she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The number eighteen now has a significant meaning to our family.
When mom
came home from her first treatment and talked it over with me that evening she
told me about an elderly woman that was at the treatment center taking
chemotherapy. She was alone the entire time and she was there when mom arrived
and she was there when she left. For several days following this conversation,
I could not get this elderly lady out of my head or my heart.
What is her story? Does she know the
Lord as her Savior? Does she have a support system surrounding her?
And if there
was one elderly lady in mom’s treatment center who did not have a support
system and may not know Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior, how many others are
there in our world today?
A week or
two later, I began crocheting hats to prepare mom for when she might experience
hair loss as she continued chemotherapy. This is when the Lord began to give me
a vision for what would become 818 Ministries. The hats did not take long to
make and were very simple.
Apart from
hats, another avenue for encouragement for mom was handwritten letters friends
and family would send her in the mail.
All along, I
could not stop thinking about the elderly lady alone in the treatment center. Does she have a support system sending her 8
or 9 cards a day and a daughter to crochet her hats to keep her head warm?
Maybe, but maybe not.
After much
prayer and consideration, I got to work. I began designing a website and social
media handlers. I gathered advice from friends and family. After three months
of planning and preparation, I made the decision to launch 818 Ministries as a
two-fold women’s ministry. One, to make hats (and teach others how) and pair
them with handwritten letters to give to patients in need of encouragement who
were facing serious illnesses. And, two, begin a devotional blog alongside women
I do ministry with. I prayed for weeks about who would rise up as contributors
and write devotionals on a monthly topic chosen by me and my Creative Director
(otherwise known as my college roommate). I wanted to have an impact on not
only the patients touched by a handmade 818 item but I also want to encourage
the growing community of people who get involved and give to 818 Ministries.
The
following quote by Charles Spurgeon puts words to my heart for ministry during
and after mom’s sickness very well –
“…if it shall come to pass that for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s you shall endure suffering in any shape, shrink not, but rejoice in the honour thus conferred upon you, that you are counted worthy to suffer with your Lord; and joy also in this – that your sufferings, your losses, and persecutions shall make you a platform, from which the more vigorously and with greater power you shall witness for Christ Jesus.”
Author Bio:
She is
an upper east TN native and resides in Knoxville, TN - the home of the
Tennessee Volunteers. She believes in full belly laughs. Hope in the midst of a
storm. The power of prayer and the grace and unconditional love of her
everlasting, all-knowing, ever-present Savior. And that maybe long distance
running is the cure-all for everything. Her mother's breast cancer diagnosis on
September 18, 2014, sparked a longing and a conviction in her heart to make a
bold difference for the Kingdom. She is passionate about women's ministry and
feels strongly that God prepared her for her "such a time as this" to share her
family's story to encourage others in their walk with the Lord. Her three
biggest priorities in life are faith, family and fitness - in this order. And
her life mission statement and hope is to leave others better than when she
found them.
I am amazed how God used this awful diagnosis for His glory through your new ministry. How beautiful!
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