Carly Roberts

To the left

"On August 20, 2012, my mother was diagnosed with stage four Brain Cancer. When I heard the news, all I could do was cry. It was scary and different and this was just the beginning. I had to take up more responsibility around the house. I was beginning to drive by myself, which was also a little scary. I also was going into my junior year of High School, which is known to be the hardest. Life was changing. I was not sure I was going to be okay with it all. 

After finding out my mother was going to have brain surgery, everyone that loved our family came to our side and was right there with us the whole time. My friends, family, and even people I had not seen in a long time came with love and support. It felt everyone was there, except one person, God. I felt lost. I was angry and upset. I tried to stay positive, but with everything that was happening, it was difficult. I started spending more time with my boyfriend and not spending much time with my family. I was rarely home on the weekends and to them it felt like I was always gone. 

Being at home began to stress me out, so I tried to avoid it. It was not fair that my mom had cancer, and it was not fair that things had to change. I felt that my life was spinning out of control. 

After the surgery, all I can remember is how I had to feed my mother ice chips as she was lying in the hospital bed with bandages around her head. Seeing the condition my mother was in made me more upset with God. I felt that God did not have to do what he did to my mom. Our family didn’t deserve that! I was just so frustrated. 

To take all my stress out, I started staying out later than curfew, not listening to my parents and tried to stay away from home as much as possible. My mom even put my sister and I into therapy. The therapy sessions did help, but I was still frustrated at the situation.

Months went by, and my home life was falling apart. I wasn’t talking with my family. I was trying to avoid them as much as possible. Then, the breakdown happened. We all had a family meeting, and things got serious, we talked about my mom’s life’s span, and how much longer we might have with her. This was probably the hardest part. This I when I realized that it was not that God was not beside me; it was that I was pushing him away. I could have lost my mom, but God gave us a second chance at becoming a family. 

My home life soared. My mom and I grew closer. My sister and I grew closer, and yes we still fight all the time, but I love her to death. God can do incredible things; he turned my family upside down so we could grow closer. 

God is going to change our lives, and even though we may not agree to these changes, we would not be who we are without the experiences we have gone through.

To this day, my mom is a healthy, beautiful, fifty-four year old woman. She is the inspiration that our family needed. If God had not stepped in, my parents would probably have divorced and I would have to choose whom to spend Christmas with. I thank God for what he did. 

God not only made our family relationship stronger, He brought me closer to Him, and His love. God surprises us with life challenges that are going to be difficult, but He is doing it for a reason, we can’t forget that as Christians. God doesn’t give up on our lives, He steps in. We have to live everyday with love in our hearts, and we cannot go to bed mad. In times of trouble, go to God, He has the answers, and His word is the key. Friends are going to come and go, but family is forever. Don’t wish the day away; make the absolute most of it. Give thanks to God for blessing you with another day of life. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring so don’t let a day pass by without telling your family you love them."  

I would like to end with a very simple bible verse. “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Age: 17 years old
Attends: Episcopal Collegiate School
Maumelle, Arkansas

---