“I was 29, engaged, and teaching second grade when I found a lump. I didn’t think it was anything. I didn’t have any family history, I was young and healthy. But God nudged me through a conversation with a parent. That was the first diagnosis. I had chemo, a mastectomy, radiation—the works. I recovered, built a beautiful life with my husband, Adam, had our son Jackson… and then nine years later, it came back. Stage 4. I found it by accident—reading a book to Jackson on the couch. I touched my collarbone and felt a swollen lymph node. A few scans later, I got the results: metastatic breast cancer. It’s hard to explain what that does to your heart. It’s treatable, but not curable. This is what I will die from. But I’m learning to hold both truths: this is hard, and God is still good.”

“Even before my first diagnosis, God had been preparing me. I came to real faith in my mid-twenties and was baptized in 2012. So when cancer hit, I had an anchor.

After diagnosis, my husband and I planned our wedding in 13 days. I wanted to be married before I lost my hair. And God provided—venue, catering, cake, flowers, makeup—everything came together. People just showed up for us.

When I found out the cancer was back, the very day before I got my scan results, my pastor preached on Luke 22: “Lord, take this cup… yet not my will, but yours be done.” He didn’t know my story. But it was like God was preparing my heart—He didn’t take the cup, but He stayed with me through it.”

Habakkuk 3:17–19  “Habakkuk has been my lifeline. I even rewrote it in my own words: Though I may not marry, though I may never carry a child… yet I will rejoice in the Lord. 

Psalm 40:3 Psalm 40 is Jackson’s life verse: ‘He put a new song in my mouth…’ We chose it before my recurrence, but it’s even more meaningful now. He is still a new song. The story God is writing is still good—even though this is part of it.”

“I’m a routine girl. I get up before my son and write five things I’m grateful for every morning. Even on scan days. Especially on scan days. Gratitude is how I shift my mindset.

I journal. I pray through a list. I read the Bible in a year. And I do a devotional—right now I love Fighting Words by Ellie Holcomb.

The biggest mindset shift for me has been realizing this: Life is not a to-do list. We are intentional now. Time is precious. I want to spend it with people I love, doing things that matter, and teaching Jackson about Jesus.”

“If you’re facing recurrence or stage 4 cancer:

• Find community. Even just one person who understands. Someone a little ahead of you on the path.

• Let yourself grieve. But don’t live in the outcome. Stay in today.

• Don’t try to peer around the corner. One friend told me, God gives provision for today. That’s what I cling to. I used to wonder, how do I live with this? Now I know: I will be in treatment the rest of my life. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I don’t live in what I’ve lost. I live in what I’ve been given today.”