I was eighteen years old when my mother passed away. She had been overcome by stage 4 breast cancer that spread to her brain. The experience was no less than tragic and traumatic for me, my younger sister and even for my pastor dad.

It made no sense why God would allow such a tragedy to befall a woman like my mom. Being a pastor's wife and a school director, she was a blessing to virtually everyone she knew and helped so many people. The things that have transpired ever since her passing seven years ago are just too much to pack in one article, but I do want to share four lessons that have become real to me through my experience of the treacherous sickness that is cancer.

The world we live in is broken

The first thought that I automatically had after the funeral was just how terribly crooked this world is. It may sound emotional, but it's the truth. Sin and selfishness have ruined the world that God meant to be perfect and free from sickness and death. This of course is not God's fault, but the fault of man.

Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We are sinful beyond measure. But the good news is that God is gracious beyond measure and made a way for us to be free from sin both in this age and in the age to come through Jesus Christ.

This is not our final destination

In the midst of loss and death, we can be reminded that our hope will never fail us even though our bodies will. The reality is that we will all face death whether we live for a hundred, eighty, fifty, forty, twenty or ten years, but the much bigger reality is that through Christ we can live much longer than that if we put our faith and hope in Him.

We may experience pain and suffering, things like cancer, in this world, but the day will come that we will have perfect bodies free of all sickness and disease and when that time comes, there will be no more sadness, no more suffering and no more cancer. Jesus will defeat cancer once and for all.

Life is valuable

Though until today it saddens me that my mother never got to live long enough to watch me get my first job, be at my wedding and hold my daughter in her arms, I am still thankful for the eighteen valuable and fruitful years that I got to share with her. Life is valuable no matter how long, short or hard it is.

We are not in control

We are creatures who are addicted to control, but no matter how hooked we are to it, we just don't have a lot of it. We are not in control of our fate, our time, our fortune and sometimes even our health. But the most important thing is that God is and we know that He is a constant companion through every trial and makes all things work for our good (Romans 8:28).