Kaleidoscope

If you were given a unexpected burden, what would you do with it?

If I were burdened with what my sister-in-Christ Donna is facing, I fear I would carry the weight of it in my pocket, in my purse, over my shoulders as a yoke; trying to set it down but never finding a place to lay it, trying to give it to God but keeping at least a remnant of it with me at all times. I'm afraid I would too easily fall into worry and self-pity.

Then there's Donna.

Donna is given the weight of an illness--cancer, her third bout with it. And Donna, as a testament to God's grace, takes the weight of her burden and turns it into the mere ounces and delicacy of a kaleidoscope.

I'm sure you remember the wonder of kaleidoscopes. When I was a child, they were cardboard and light as a feather. Large or small, you could tuck one in your backpack and not feel the weight of it as you went about your day.

Who but Donna, with a faith as strong as hers, could take a battle with cancer and turn it into a kaleidoscope of color, an ever-changing image reflecting the beauty of Christ?

I read her blog regularly. There's sometimes uncertainty in her course of treatment. In response, Donna twists the kaleidoscope, holds it to the Light, and finds artistry in the shape of hope. She suffers pain. Donna twists the kaleidoscope again, holds it to the Light, and praises God for the delicate pattern of ease from pain, however slight the ease. Fatigue, weariness. Donna holds the kaleidoscope, twists, turns it to the Light and finds that each bead is a friend praying, delivering meals, sending cards, or offering support. Donna sees glory in the pattern of it, held against the Light, and praises God.

The weight of my burden, I fear, would be an ugly anvil. Donna's burden is filled with colorful beads of beauty, with mirrors that reflect the gripping love of God and her awe-inspiring faith. Donna knows none of it works without dependence on the Light.

Donna will not give herself any credit. She gives it all to God.

I step out and admire her for not allowing the burden to become an overwhelming weight, but allowing it to continue to reflect God's beautiful faithfulness. I admire her trust in reaching into her pocket or her purse and expecting that the burden will still be a kaleidoscope and not an anvil.

Because of her trust, Donna reaches in faith and finds the kaleidoscope, holds it to the Light, and twists, and twists and twists in the face of difficulty.

I suspect she sometimes sets it down, the tube vertical on her nightstand while she wrestles with pain in difficult moments. Faith is not broken in setting it down to cover your face and weep, however. Faith is only broken when you begin to believe that God won't continue to show you His glorious presence in everything, even in the midst of cancer.

Donna believes in God's faithfulness. The kaleidoscope is close at hand. God does not fail or disappoint, but continues to allow Donna, and all who are privileged to know her, to see His power revealed in surprisingly delicate patterns--ever-changing, but ever lovely.

Take a peek through Donna's kaleidoscope today. You will be blessed by her vision of God. You will see His glory reflected in that which should be a burden but, because of an incredible woman of faith, is a tapestry of color, beauty, and Light.

Donna's blog can be found here: http://www.sdreharvey.blogspot.com/