In 2007, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and had to endure chemotherapy and radiation. In 2012, she learned she was ill with myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disease, and almost died during a drastic bone marrow transplant (her sister Sally-Ann,, a TV anchor in New Orleans, was her bone marrow donor.) And also in 2012, her mother died, shortly before Robin's bone marrow transplant. Robin's Mom always referred to her children as the loves of her life, and she and Robin had published a memoir "My Story, My Song."
So much tragedy and sorrow for one life! Yet Robin leans on the Lord. And she has taken to heart her mother's sayings "Honey, everybody's got something," and "Make your mess your message." She has decided to share her life and all its traumas with everyone, openly, and honestly, as well as share her devout faith that supports her and gives her an exuberant enthusiasm and verve for life: "This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long."
Realizing that "everybody's got something" can be a major step forward in dealing with traumas and tragedies in our lives. How can we let ourselves drown in self-pity when we're surrounded by people bravely doggie-paddling through the same flood? And if we take the mess of our lives and share our pain with others so they know that they're not alone, we've transformed our tragedy into a priceless gift, and we've woven meaning out of what seemed meaningless, aimless suffering.
Robin was unsure at first whether to share with others that she had cancer, but then decided to make it public so that people would know that anyone can get cancer. She even went bald in public - famously while wearing a gorgeous red gown during Isaac Mizrahi's show during New York Fashion Week when she doffed her wig before modeling. For her, that gesture of being completely herself was freeing.
She approaches her life as a learning experience, saying "Life provides losses and heartbreak. But the greatest tragedy is to have the experience and miss the meaning." What has she learned so far? That she's stronger than she thought she was. That optimism is a muscle that you can strengthen through use. That she now understands very well that "This too shall pass."
Robin says about her family "We're very spiritual, and I truly believe everything happens for a reason and a purpose." Perhaps one of the purposes for our trials is to deepen our gratitude for the gifts of God in our lives, especially the people who surround us and hold us together with love when our lives are falling apart.
Robin's faith sustained her through her illnesses, and she discovered with gratitude the depth of her audience's affection for her. She still has fans telling her that they prayed for her and are praying for her, and she has been sustained by their prayers. The people around her have been gifts of God: her family, fans, co-workers like Diane Sawyer, who made phone calls around the world to find her a good Doctor, her surgeons, especially the one she watched moving his lips in prayer before surgery.
Robin has wonderful advice for all of us as we walk through the darkness and light of our lives: "If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you're anxious, you're living in the future. If you are at peace, you're living in the present." Our God is the God of Now, of the Present. If we keep our hearts stayed on Him, then no matter what we are facing we can be at peace because He is always, always with us. Jesus tells us "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you....I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you." (John 14.)
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