I was running down the side of a mountain at a breakneck speed. If I looked down, my head ached dizzily as the slope of the rock jumped up at my eyes. Glancing back up, I focused my eyes on following her.
How was she moving so quickly?
I’m pretty sure my friend Margaret is at least half faun. Inside of those size six tennis shoes certainly had to be the nimble hoofs of a mountain goat.
But I knew why she was moving so quickly. It was hot and we had been hiking the wrong route. We were out of water and unsure where the trail would land us once we actually arrived at the mountain base. Her face looked panicked as she shoved her phone into my hands, asking me to call her husband because she was a little too flustered to speak in the heat and exhaustion of the moment.
It was a path I’ll never forget. Thankfully, we wound our way to the car where a blast of air conditioning lowered her body temp and the color returned to her cheeks. I sunk into the backseat relieved but still a little fearful for her.
My friend Margaret was in the fight of her life. Mere days prior to our little hiking excursion gone awry, she had completed her first round of chemotherapy to combat a rare cancer. Yet she enthusiastically remained committed to the leadership experience I was attending in Bar Harbor, Maine. Every single person signed up for that trip would have completely understood if she bowed out and stayed home to take care of her body and soul. But she showed up with her floppy sunhat, her well-worn Bible, and her ever encouraging spirit, ready to hike, to teach, pour into the lives of others, and to eat more lobster than I’ve ever seen a tiny person consume.
I could already tell that she wasn’t your average patient (or your average anything for that matter). Her battle, just taking shape in those early days, would be marked by the courage and prayer soaked experience of crying out to God like so many other brave men and women I knew who endured the ugly beast whose name is cancer. Yet, there was something different in her fight that I sensed but couldn’t quite quantify.
I know now that Margaret’s battle plan could be spelled out with three small letters – J – O – Y.
“More than whimsy, joy is a weapon we use to fight life’s battles.” Margaret pens these words in her newest release Fight Back With Joy: Celebrate More. Regret Less. Stare Down Your Greatest Fears.
When the troubles of this world darken our days – depression, disease, financial dearth – the ancient temptation “to curse God and die” wells deep within us. Vulnerably, Margaret puts skin on the fears and voices questions most of us are too terrified to even speak out loud. However, her beautiful honest struggle isn’t the primary focus of this work. Rather, Feinberg recounts her personal choice to combat overwhelmingly bleak circumstances with the brightest expression of joy. Don’t think of this as a happy-clappy naive approach to having her life ripped away, but rather a difficult and conscience decision to encounter the darkness with light, deep sorrow with deep, lasting joy. No matter your personal fight, your life will be changed through the reading of this hope-filled book. I know mine was.
The morning after the now legendary harrowed hike (each person in our group had their own variation of the aching experience), I got up before the birds, strapped on my running shoes and jogged to the seashore to watch the sun rise over a craggy ocean shore. Breathing in the spectacular view, I sat in silence pondering the next step in my journey. I turned back down the path and there Margaret was again. We spent the next hour marveling at the beautiful little town. She held my shoes so I could stick my toes in the ocean. We laughed about our favorite TV shows. She told me her hair had begun to fall out the evening before and that more than likely she would shave it off in the next two days. Both paths had their own thorns. Both led to great joy, even if accompanied by muscle spasms and an ache of the soul.
In so many ways, she stood at the beginning of a very long journey – an epic battle that she planned to fight with the sturdy weapon of joy. I can’t wait for you to read what happens next.
Fight Back with Joy Book and 6 Week Bible Study offers you the help and hope you need no matter your own unique battle. Check it out. Now. (P.S. you might be able to read this very story from Margaret’s perspective in the book :)).
Sometimes you have to poke holes in the darkness until it bleeds light. #fightbackwithjoy (Click to Tweet).
Fight Back With Joy 6-Session DVD Bible Study Promo Video from Margaret Feinberg on Vimeo.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
Dear Cherie, recounting these memories with you brought a huge smile to my face today. Thank you so much sweet friend. So grateful for you.
You’re the tops friend. So excited to see how many lives this new book impacts.