Michele Cushatt - Strength

I’d like to blame it on my radio business exposure, 11 years as the Office Coordinator at ESPN Radio, but I know that would be a lie. The fact and the truth is that I was quick to judge.  I was quick to judge someone based solely on hearing her speak.

About two weeks ago, I got into my car and heard the end of a radio interview.  The woman speaking did not have a “radio voice” - it was full of wisps and slurred words.  I was interested in the topic, fostering three children with special needs, but I had to admit, I had a hard time getting past her speaking flaws.  After all my time at ESPN, I had grown accustomed to voices like the smooth baritone of Dan “The Duke” Davis and the lilted and easy cadence of Mike (Greenberg) and Mike (Golic).  When the interview ended and her name was given, I wrote it down - Michele Cushatt.

Michele Cushatt, as I came to discover, is a three-time head and neck cancer survivor.  At the age of 39 she had her tongue removed and reconstructed with muscle and skin from her left arm. She then had muscle and skin from her left leg removed to reconstruct her left arm.

As I read her amazing biography, I felt deeply ashamed.  Ashamed that I was so quick to judge without knowing all the facts.  This woman had a thriving career as a speaker, author and frequent guest on "Focus on the Family" (where I heard her speak) both before and after her cancer.

Why was I so quick to judge her without knowing a thing about her?  I’m better than that. Aren’t I?  I thought so, I certainly hope so. But I wasn’t.  Not this time, and if I am honest, truly honest, not in the many other times in my past. How many times was I quick to judge people because they weren’t like the others?

But as so often the case, by the grace of God, this was a teachable moment.  I read more about her struggle and I learned of her amazing strength, courage and determination.  I thought my lesson was not to judge so quickly.  Got it, lesson learned.  

Wait a minute, not so fast.  As so often the case, I had more to learn from a gentle God who always, always, always knows what I need and when I need it.

As I listened to two of her books on audio in my studio,  “Undone: A Story of Making Peace with an Unexpected Life, and “Relentless: The Unshakeable Presence of a God Who Never Leaves” I found my real lesson.  I found the real reason why I heard the interview in my car that day. 

Michele Cushatt is not a quitter.  She never ever gave up. Oh, no doubt, she felt like giving up a hundred thousand times.  She cried and doubted and questioned, but she stayed the course. She kept her eye on the final prize and carried on.  Carried on through surgery after surgery, challenges with three foster children, and the diagnosis and death of her father during her recovery.  Her strength amazed me.  And her strength strengthened me.  

This was the lesson.  This is what I needed to hear.  As I was going through my own rough time, I needed to learn about strength.  I needed to learn about determination and patience. I needed to learn about staying the course and doing the right thing, even when it was so very hard.

 Her words gave me strength.  I hope, if you are in need, they give you strength too.

 “Where is my faith? In myself, more often than not. Which is why an unexpected squall — every last one of them over the span of two years — unraveled me. A boat anchored to itself is not anchored at all.”

“There is strength in empty. Not the kind of strength we wish for. We want polished strength, the kind that wears a cape and leaps tall buildings with a single bound. I couldn’t leap or fly or save anyone from catastrophe. In fact, I could barely show up. But I did. Show up. And that ended up being a strength all of its own.”

― Michele Cushatt, Undone: A Story of Making Peace With an Unexpected Life

https://michelecushatt.com/