Openhanded When You’re Losing Your Grip

For 2014 alumna Ali (Stein) Christian, she had a carefully thought out plan in mind when she graduated from Cedarville University. But in just a few short years, Ali has learned the value of holding your hopes and dreams with open hands.

In 2019, Ali was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma. It was a shock for Ali and her husband, 2014 alumnus Ben, as there was no history of cancer in her family. But in April 2019, she began chemo. In August 2020, she received a stem cell transplant. 

And although she had to be away from her husband and best friend, and her two precious little girls, Willow, 3, and Ali, 5, the Lord met her during three difficult months of recovery. Her mom and she lived in an apartment in Atlanta, not far from the hospital, and during that time she wrote notes to her husband and the girls, and to other friends and family. The Lord spoke peace to her heart, reminding her that even though she could not be with her family, He was with them.

Back home, she has seen Jesus redeem her ongoing experience through her podcast, “The Whether Channel.” On her podcast, she talks with others who have undergone a wide array of suffering, from serious illness, to eating disorders, sexual abuse, and other types of loss.

“Even if He doesn’t deliver me from cancer, or even if He doesn’t make COVID go away as quickly as I would like, I don’t need to choose an idol of comfort or fear or self-medicating or eating or anything that we can be tempted to cling onto when we are living in uncertain times,” she said in the Cedarville Stories podcast. “We don’t need to choose those things because He’s always there, and He’s always offering joy and peace, and He’s truly where the joy and peace are.”
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To hear Ali’s podcast, “The Whether Channel,” download from Apple podcast or Spotify.