I was a cheerleader in high school. I was physically coordinated enough, and had the right ‘look’, I suppose. I really enjoyed it, but now looking back, I don’t think I really had a clue about the true essence of what a cheerleader is supposed to be.
The way I see it now, a cheerleader is supposed to CHEER up. Encourage. Exhort. Lift up. Inspire.
Back then, cheerleading amounted to things more like: Looking cute. Wearing a cute outfit. Being popular. Performing a dance. Entertaining the crowd.
Did we really cheer up the team? Did we really cheer up the fans and spectators? Was I even really trying to do these things?
Just days before I got my diagnosis for breast cancer, I happened to re-connect with my BFF from high school. She also was a cheerleader with me.
She had two sisters who were diagnosed with breast cancer. And a friend. She went through this process before as a support person for them. And I am so thankful to have had her input and opinions. I was too overwhelmed to do much research on the topics myself, so it was so great to just be able to listen to what she had learned through helping these ladies in her life.
She ended up being a huge blessing by being a great breast cancer cheerleader to me, right at the right moment. I knew practically nothing about breast cancer or breast cancer treatment. It was SO great to be able to hear from someone I knew and trusted what the breast cancer experience is like, just as I was facing it myself.
I was blessed by my cheerleader.
May you receive a cheerleader. May he or she or they appear just when you need the encouragement. May you receive all the encouragement you need, whether you get it from a real live friend, from God and the spirit realm, from online, from books, from articles, from blogs, or a combination of many sources. May you be full of cheer.
Go! Fight! WIN!
