The Hardest Post
Guideposts|October 2020
After my cancer diagnosis, I needed all the support and prayer I could get. So why was I having trouble asking for it?
SHARON MANGAS
The Hardest Post

4/9/2016, 11:21 a.m.

Dear friends, family and acquaintances, I got some news this week that threw my world out of orbit. I stopped and stared at the computer screen. Since being diagnosed with Stage I invasive ductal breast cancer a few days before, I’d been fretting about how to tell people outside my immediate family. Was Facebook really the best way to share the news? There wasn’t time for lots of phone calls. I’d considered e-mailing, but it was frustrating trying to compile all the addresses. With Facebook, I could reach more than a thousand friends at once, some I hadn’t spoken within years. I tapped at the keyboard: So send all your good thoughts, encouragement, prayers, jokes, meditations, favorite Bible verses, good karma and funny stories my way.

Wait, what if I got inundated with pity? That was the last thing I wanted. Once I posted my news, I’d have no control over people’s reactions to it and how those might make me feel. I just couldn’t bring myself to hit enter.

This story is from the October 2020 edition of Guideposts.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 2020 edition of Guideposts.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM GUIDEPOSTSView All
What prayer can do
Guideposts

What prayer can do

POWER IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES

time-read
1 min  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Rejoice in All Things
Guideposts

Rejoice in All Things

My husband and I had an annual tradition of celebrating the high points of the year. This time, he wanted to try something different

time-read
2 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Special Delivery
Guideposts

Special Delivery

A month after my wife died and my life felt so empty, the only thing I had to look forward to was Amazon

time-read
5 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
A Prayer for Cullen
Guideposts

A Prayer for Cullen

Even in a family crisis, I had trouble quieting my mind enough to listen for God

time-read
4 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Blackie & Rosebud
Guideposts

Blackie & Rosebud

What would happen to my friend's cats now that she was gone?

time-read
2 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
The Kids Are Alright
Guideposts

The Kids Are Alright

My twin boys and I had always been close. I thought they needed me. Now I wasn't so sure

time-read
5 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Kindred Spirits
Guideposts

Kindred Spirits

I thought the nose ring gave it away—she was just another teenager. I couldn't imagine how she could help me

time-read
5 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
A Boy Named Sue
Guideposts

A Boy Named Sue

In 1969, Johnny Cash and his wife, June, threw a party at their house in Hendersonville, Tennessee, a “guitar pull,” where guests passed around a guitar and tried out new songs.

time-read
1 min  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Active Duty
Guideposts

Active Duty

I'd tried everything for my knee - physical therapy, gel injections, a cumbersome brace. Everything except prayer

time-read
7 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Living an Abundant Life
Guideposts

Living an Abundant Life

A conversation with spirituality and health researcher Harold G. Koenig, M.D., on what makes people truly happy

time-read
8 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024