Broadcaster and journalist Kate Nicholas has revealed how “a second cancer journey” brought her right into a deeper relationship with God.
Kate, who was formerly global communications director for Christian charity World Vision, has told how becoming “desperately in poor health” enabled her to experience God in a more profound way.
Describing her recent book, ‘To the Ocean Floor’Â (Authentic), she says: “When I used to be first diagnosed with breast cancer, God promised me that I ‘is not going to die, but live and declare the works of the Lord.’ When I survived, I dedicated my life to this mission.
“But seven years later the cancer returned with a vengeance. Desperately in poor health, I sank beneath the waves of consciousness to the ocean floor where I experienced a profound encounter with God that transcended words or imagination.”
Kate, who presented a TV series on Christian channel TBN on ‘Living a Transformed Life,’ lived in remission from breast cancer and wrote and spoke widely at church events about her first experience of cancer. But when the condition returned, she needed to reassess her lifestyle and faith.
She explains, “Cancer is certainly one of the good levellers in life. No wealth, privilege or private healthcare policy can protect you from its ravages. Nearly all of us know someone who’s currently being treated for, has recovered from, or has sadly died because of this of this malignancy.”
In ‘To the Ocean Floor,’ Kate Nicholas sets out the shock of the return of her cancer, and details the resulting treatment that she needed to undergo.
She recalls, “When I used to be first diagnosed with cancer, I used to be mockingly given time to reflect that I had often denied myself with my relentlessly energetic life. Looking back, I started to see for the primary time how God had at all times been there as a presence in my life.”
But within the years of remission, Kate had once more plunged herself right into a hectic lifestyle of broadcasting, writing and speaking.
When tests showed that the cancer had returned, Kate was once more forced to rest, and to present herself over to a spread of treatments. She said: “For most of my life I’ve definitely been a little bit of a ‘Martha’ from the New Testament’s Luke 10 – at all times busy with tasks, each secular and spiritual.
“But what God now appears to be showing me through this cancer experience is that the time has come to be more like Martha’s sister, Mary, to learn how you can simply be within the moment, taking time to easily exist.”
With that in mind, she has been drawn to Christian meditation and other reflective exercises.
Kate’s cancer journey has also highlighted for her the importance of Holy Communion. She explains, “The Lord’s Table is the place to which we’re drawn, the place where we encounter God and are equipped to live life in all its fulness.
“It’s where we take part in the drama of Christ’s death. Through the bread and wine, the sacrament of the Eucharist symbolizes the mysterious cycle of death and resurrection.”
Although Kate is currently once more – following prolonged treatment – in remission from cancer, she admits she doesn’t know what the longer term might hold for her. In a recent blog post, she wrote, “As I progress through the autumn of my life, I’m going to be sure that I enjoy every moment – jumping puddles, kicking leaves, and gathering conkers while I’ll!”
She highlights the words of Jesus in John 10:10, where he declares that he has come so “that we may need life in all its fulness”. That, says Kate, “means, for me, that a full life is one which embraces all of its seasons and the wealthy tapestry of existence that now we have been granted.”
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
