Mara and Mike had big plans for their future and for their children. They moved from the inner city and bought a small townhouse in the suburbs of Virginia. Mike secured a solid-paying job, the family found a loving church community, and the kids were happy in their new school.

Life was good.

But one day, Mike started having trouble keeping food down. He dismissed it as indigestion and eventually went to the doctor, who prescribed medication.

After a few weeks, though, Mike still wasn’t feeling better. Mara was supposed to go on a business trip, but felt that something was drastically wrong. She cancelled the trip and took Mike to the emergency room. The doctors found an obstruction in his small bowel and performed life-saving surgery at 3 a.m.

A few days after the procedure, Mike was ready to go home. The doctor walked in, and again, Mara sensed that something was terribly wrong. The obstruction was a cancerous tumor that had spread to the lining of his intestines. Mike had stage 4 cancer and needed another surgery to remove any potential spread of disease.

“Time stopped,” recalls Mara. “How did my husband go from being a healthy, strong man to having stage 4 cancer? I couldn’t comprehend it. The world started spinning, and we began to cry. We were devastated.

“I was terrified,” Mara continues. “I was always the strong one in the family, so I had to keep it together. But it was difficult, stressful and hard for me to keep everything going. My prayers to God were heart cries for help.”

Mike had a second surgery, then 12 rounds of chemo that left him weak, sick, depressed and anxious. But he got through it with prayer, love and support. After the treatments ended, Mara and Mike felt the worst was over.

But Mike developed a hernia that needed to be surgically repaired. Mike faced a third major surgery, but the doctors didn’t anticipate any problems.

During the operation, though, the surgeon came out, and Mara knew the news wasn’t good. Multiple tumors had attached themselves to the lining of his stomach.

Mike would need another 12 rounds of chemo. At this news, Mara’s world unraveled. “This was the hardest thing to hear,” says Mara. “I felt the world stop all over again. Here we were back to the beginning. We thought this was over, but we were back where we started. I was afraid my husband was going to die.”

Although Mara questioned why, she never got angry with God. In fact, she leaned on him even more. “This whole situation caused me to dig deeper into the Word and take comfort in the Scriptures. God’s Word is the No. 1 thing that helped me--and continues to help me--get through this.”

Mara encourages other people who may be going through similar trials to “pray, pray, pray and take comfort in the Word of God.”

She also encourages them to talk to a spiritual mother or father. “Don’t keep your feelings locked inside,” she urges. “Don’t try to handleit alone. Let somebody know what’s going on so they can help you.”

Above all, she advises, rely on God and develop a deeper relationship with him. “In the past, I relied on myself to fix things and get them done,” she says. “But this whole situation taught me that I’m totally helpless.”

Mara is thankful for God’s grace and is encouraged that Mike--now undergoing his tenth chemo treatment--is showing progress.

When contemplating the future, Mara places herself and her family in the Lord’s hands. “God is in control. We are going to trust in him.”