CRESTVIEW — For four of First Presbyterian Church’s 12-member Relay For Life team, walking the track has a special meaning.
Dianne Love, Jamie Machmiller, Shelia Russell and Pat Thalacker are cancer survivors. As they make their journeys, the women find strength in each other, but especially in their faith.
“We get together on Sunday mornings and talk about what we’ve done and what comes next. We’re all in what you’d call a period of transition,” Thalacker said. “We’re all where we want to be, but we’re waiting to see what comes next.”
The uncertainty of “what comes next” is where their special bond with God and each other is especially important, the women say.
“You have an idea of what they’re going through, too,” Russell said. “You can cope and get through another day.”
‘OH, I DID THAT'
“You find out who’s doing good and who’s having a bad week,” Thalacker said. “We’ve all had them but we just keep going. If one of us has a bad week, the other says, ‘oh, I did that.’ We just compare notes, and then you don’t feel so bad.”
Love has conquered non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Russell defeated breast and pancreatic cancer, and Machmiller and Thalacker are breast cancer survivors.
“Having a church group to lean on makes it better because you’re pulling your support from the same pool,” Thalacker said. “We’re all going to the well for the same water. You talk the same language.”
“It’s reassuring,” Russell said. “We all share the same faith and we know that God is involved in everything. We pray for each other and the whole church prays for us.”
IT’S WHAT CHRISTIANS DO
The women’s pastor, the Rev. Mark Broadhead, said providing such support for one another is what Christians automatically do.
“The Bible says that we laugh with those who laugh and we weep with those who weep, and I would include that to mean we are all part of each other’s lives,” Broadhead said. “When you’re part of the body of Christ, you are part of a support team and are there for each other.”
That “team” has raised more than $3,000 for the American Cancer Society through the Relay for Life, making it one of the top five Crestview teams. At least 39 teams walked Crestview High School’s track for 12 hours Friday through Saturday to remember the longest night for a cancer patient: when he or see receives the diagnosis.
“Our minister is so supportive,” Russell said. “He said, ‘God will get your through this,’ and he has.”
WHAT: Crestview Relay for Life
WHEN: 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., April 22-23
WHERE: Crestview High School, 1250 Ferdon Blvd. N.
Notes: 39 teams with 303 participants will walk the high school track in the annual American Cancer Society fundraiser. Visit http://bit.ly/1Ve5Z2B for information on volunteering, walking or donating.
WANT TO GO?
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview cancer survivors find strength in God, each other