If you have been on a cancer journey for more than a week, you already know what I am talking about.
The what-if questions.
They show up uninvited, usually late at night. What if the treatment does not work? What if it gets worse? What if this is just the beginning of something much worse?
Cancer anxiety and what-if questions go hand in hand for almost every person I have met on this journey. And when I heard Edison's story, I recognized every single one of those questions immediately. Because I have asked them myself. And I know you have too.
EDISON'S DIAGNOSIS
In July 2025, Edison was diagnosed with leukemia. He was shocked. He had always thought of himself as a healthy person — someone who did not expect to receive this kind of news. And yet there it was, the diagnosis that changes everything and sends your mind racing in a hundred directions at once.
With the diagnosis came the bigger questions. Not just the medical ones, but the spiritual ones. The ones that feel almost too big to say out loud.
Why does God allow suffering?
How can a loving God let this happen?
These are not small questions. They are the questions that strike at the very foundation of faith. And they are questions that I believe almost every person on a cancer journey has wrestled with, whether they admit it or not. Edison was honest enough to admit it. And that honesty is exactly what makes his story so powerful.
WHAT A SERMON CHANGED
At some point in his journey, Edison heard a sermon from Dave at Timberlake Church that began to shift something inside him. The message was simple but profound: God is in control. We have to trust his timing. And suffering is not a sign that our faith is weak — it is actually the very thing through which our faith can be strengthened.
That last part is worth sitting with for a moment. Suffering is not evidence of weak faith. It is an opportunity for faith to grow stronger. That is a completely different way of looking at what you are going through.
But even with that seed planted, Edison was not there yet. He had heard the word surrender many times. He even thought he understood it. When he looked honestly at his situation, however, he realized he had not truly surrendered anything. He was still carrying every worry, every what-if, every fear — all by himself.
WHEN THE COMMUNITY SHOWED UP
One of the most moving parts of Edison's story is what happened when he reached out for help. He asked for prayer from the Timberlake community. He joined our Never Alone cancer support group on Zoom. And what greeted him was not just words of encouragement — the group sent him welcome messages, cards, and a warm blanket with Proverbs 3:5-6 embroidered on it.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
That blanket and that verse became a physical reminder of what Edison was working toward. And the community around him became part of how God was showing up in his journey — long before Edison fully recognized it.
THE BREAKING POINT
But the cancer anxiety and what-if questions kept building. Even with prayer, even with community, even with the seed of surrender taking root — Edison's mind kept drifting back to the what-if scenarios. What if this does not work? What if I do not get remission?
Then his doctor gave him a piece of advice that cut right through all of it: take it day by day.
In that moment, something clicked for Edison. He could not carry tomorrow. He was not supposed to carry tomorrow. The only thing he could do — the only thing any of us can do — is give it to God. All of it. Today.
That was the moment Edison truly surrendered.
He will be the first to tell you it is not an easy thing to do. Removing the what-if scenarios from your mind is not a one-time decision. It is something you choose again and again. But when he made that choice — when he finally gave God the full weight of what he was carrying — the anxiety began to lift.
THE MIRACLE THAT FOLLOWED
The morning before his bone marrow biopsy, Edison prayed. He told God: you are in control, I trust your timing, and if remission does not come from this treatment, then I will wait for your right timing.
That is surrender in its purest form. Not demanding a specific outcome. Not bargaining. Simply trusting.
And then the doctor told him he had achieved remission from the chemotherapy.
Edison described it as a miracle — and I believe he is right. Not just the medical result, but the entire sequence of events. The community that surrounded him. The blanket with the verse. The sermon that planted the seed. The doctor's advice to take it day by day. God was present in every single one of those moments, working on Edison long before Edison recognized it.
WHAT EDISON WANTS YOU TO KNOW
At the end of his story, Edison summarized everything he had learned in three simple sentences.
God is in control.
Trust his timing.
Surrender to him.
That is it. And I know how simple it sounds. But I also know how hard it is to actually live — especially when the cancer anxiety and what-if questions are at their loudest and your mind will not quiet down.
If you are there right now — if the what-if thoughts are consuming you and you cannot find your way to peace — I want you to hear what Edison's story is really saying. You do not have to have all the answers. You do not have to know how the story ends. You just have to give it to the one who does.
And when you do, you are not giving up. You are finally giving it to the right person.
You are never alone in this. Jesus is with you right now — the same God who showed up for Edison in a waiting room, in a Zoom group, in a blanket with a Bible verse. He is with you in exactly the place you are sitting right now.
All you have to do is ask him in.
If Edison's story resonated with you, I invite you to listen to the full episode on the Never Alone Faith Over Cancer podcast. Edison shares his story in his own words — the questions, the anxiety, the surrender, and the miracle that followed.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST...Edison's Story of Surrender