Strength Through Struggle

The cool breeze blew threw my thin hair, making me shiver and causing goose bumps. As I neared the Grand River where Richard Morse’s “Stick-to-it-ive-ness” pieces were displayed, more goose bumps surfaced for a different reason. I had read Morse’s profile the previous evening, and with tears running down my cheeks, I understood his path, that he is an artist, and a cancer survivor. On that October afternoon, I came face to face with what he created, nine graceful horses made out of fallen but sound branches, galloping through the waters of the Grand River. I gasped at the beauty and elegance of the animals, but I also took in the struggle that they were enduring. This took me back to a place marked with pain and confusion in my life, back to years ago when all I knew to be true would be threatened.

My Aunt Sue was diagnosed with breast cancer on September 11, 2003. On the day she and my Uncle Jim announced the news to the family, I can just remember being in a state of shock. I became paralyzed, and completely zoned out. The room around me started to spin; the walls caved in, and I awoke to my mom rocking me, telling me it would be alright. From that moment, through the next two years my aunt battled through her cancer.

“Losing every hair that was on my head,” she said, “was the most humiliating thing I have ever gone through, let alone the constant pain that broadcasted my helpless position.” When the day finally arrived where she could say that she was cancer free, I was beside myself. Everyday I thank the Lord for my Aunt Sue, and for the blessing of life God gives us.

As I breathed in the atmosphere of the River Horses, I couldn’t help but smile, remembering my aunt’s victory over cancer. Morse’s message is clear: Don’t ever quit. No matter what battle you have to fight in, or what unknown you have to step into that’s under the water’s surface, raise your head high, and see it through to the end.