Remembering What Shouldn’t be Forgotten

GCD Newsletter – Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Article publishers and book publishers have a difficult time predicting which articles will get the most reads. So do authors.

I don’t know how many pageviews a recent article from Courtney Yantes will get. But I hope it’s a ton.

Yantes has written for GCD several times. She’s a gifted writer. This spring, however, she was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer which has made everything in her life hard, including writing.

I’ve followed some of her journey through an occasional email she’s sent me. But I was not ready for such a thoughtful, searching, honest, and faithful essay from her about all that she has been through and all that God is teaching her. While her brain cancer continues to make remembering difficult, she’s committed to remembering what matters. She closes her piece with this prayer, “God, help me—help us—to remember what needs to be remembered and help me to forget what needs to be forgotten.” I think every Christian, but especially those with a health challenge, will find blessings in her words.

This last week we also had thoughtful posts from Daniel Seabaugh about rest and Sabbath, and Amy Simon, a new author for us, wrote about how journaling helps her submit her heart to what the Lord is doing in her life, even when that can be difficult to discern.

Thanks for reading,

Benjamin Vrbicek
Managing Editor
Gospel-Centered Discipleship

Last Week at GCDiscipleship.com

3 Spiritual Practices to Foster Rest
By Daniel Seabaugh

Serving Jesus well—the real Jesus, not the taskmaster we often imagine him to be—will lead most Christians to more rest, not less. 

What a Rare Brain Cancer Is Teaching Me
about the Art of Remembering and Forgetting
By Courtney Yantes

“In February of this year, I was diagnosed with a rare type of brain cancer. I am, quite literally, one in a million. A seizure brought me to my knees and was the catalyst for the discovery. A brain biopsy and a craniotomy followed in the days and months after. I went from being independent and in the prime of my life, just on the cusp of turning forty, to being dependent, unable to drive, living with family, and staring down the face of a life-altering diagnosis that is presently incurable. My tumor, well over two inches wide, sits in the right frontal lobe of my brain near the motor control strip, impairing most of the movement on the left side of my body. When I woke up from the craniotomy in April, I could not so much as wiggle my left toes or lift my left hand off the hospital bed. Even two months later, I didn’t have the strength to open a Ziploc baggie or the motor control to type with both hands.”

How Journaling Below the Surfaces Grows Our Faith
By Amy Simon

“Have you ever found yourself stuck in a cycle of unintentional sin? Sometimes we have default reactions to situations that come out of our mouths before we’ve had a chance to pause and pray. As soon as we react, we wince, knowing it wasn’t a godly response. We confess to God, apologize to anyone we’ve wronged, and ask God to help us not repeat it. And yet, the next time that situation arises, we react the same way.”