Week 230: Marriages and Breast Cancer

-

Please join us this week in praying for marriages dealing with the tragedy of breast cancer. Although cancer of any kind can create stressful situations for marriages, breast cancer does so uniquely. It strikes the wife at the heart of her self-image and worth. Many sufferers experience an emotional roller coaster that can cause their spouse to receive conflicting signals. One moment a wife may long to be held and touched yet at another moment, or maybe even at the same moment, withdraw from physical contact. The husband, on the other hand, who does not understand this dynamic, can become confused when his touch is rebuffed or his reserve is interpreted as uncaring.

As with other cancers, the physical battle of fighting breast cancer is draining and demanding, on the patient particularly but also on the spouse. Almost without fail, the physical stresses of enduring radical treatments and of caring for the patient create emotional stresses and these emotional stresses make enduring the physical challenges even more difficult. This vicious cycle is extremely hard on even the best marriages and can be devastating to those marriages that are already unstable.

Add all this to the challenges breast cancer brings to a couple’s physical intimacy and it is no wonder some number of marriages facing this disease don’t survive.

Please pray that couples facing this disease will
  • Experience the deep and abiding peace of God
  • Love each other and cling to each other as never before
  • Seek to understand the complex physical and emotion dynamic of this disease
  • (For the patient) Help her spouse understand her ups and downs and forgive him when he doesn’t
  • (For the caregiver) Rise to the level of selfless caring his wife needs
  • (For the caregiver) Express frequently his endless love and unchanging desire for his wife
  • (For the caregiver) Overflow with compassion, long-suffering and tenderness
  • Embrace each other, physically, emotionally and spiritually
  • Seek help and support from those who have experience with this disease

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 329: Marriages and a Workaholic Spouse

-
Please join us this week in praying for marriages dealing with the workaholic tendencies of a spouse. A workaholic is often defined as one who works compulsively. When a workaholic is in a marriage, his/her compulsive tendencies can create serious difficulties. Examples of issues brought about by a workaholic spouse are a low degree of spousal interaction, limited emotional connection, an absence of sexual intimacy and insufficient opportunities to enjoy common interests, all of which can lead to loneliness and isolation. It is no wonder the spouse of a workaholic can become convinced he/she is not cherished or valued by the work-driven spouse. All needs, interests and dreams take second place to the workaholic’s job. When children are involved, stresses increase even more as the workaholic habitually misses significant events and family functions, leaving the spouse to be the children’s sole support and forcing the spouse to explain away the workaholic’...
Read more
-
Well, I have learned a little about Blogger page building, enough to be mostly satisfied with the design. I hopw to start posting again Monday. Thank you for following and mostly for praying for the marriages of the world.
Read more
-
There will be a short, I hope, hiatus in my Praying for Marriages blogs. Blogger has changed quite a bit, and thus I have lost the auto-formatting I have used for years. As soon I figure out how to use this new version of Blogger, I will continue the Praying for Marriages blogs. Thank you for praying for marriages. Just because my blog is taking a break, it does not mean you must take a break. Marriages in all situations need your intercession for them.
Read more