Our principal Mrs. Helen Villanueva was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer in late January. In such challenging times, events seemed to take a turn for the worse when the key leader of MGCNLCA was was diagnosed with cancer. Nearly the entire school community was overwhelmed with fear and worry for what will happen to their principal and for the school. Especially amidst a pandemic and application for IB, during the initial release of Mrs. Villanueva’s condition, there came panic from the staff that relied on her guidance and the students who were still under her class. Despite the uncertainty brought by the abrupt events and absence, Mrs. Villanueva remained strong and trusted the Lord on the fate of her health and the school - changing her story from one of pity and despair to inspiration.
Being diagnosed with cancer is a terrifying experience that we rarely fathom may happen to us; those who are often respond with denial, fear, anger, and sadness. This is completely understandable as this simple statement on a piece of paper could completely alter our future and force us to disregard all our plans. In a time where we were plagued by a pandemic that brought the world to its knees, we may begin to wonder why God would do this to our beloved leader; however, this was not how Mrs. Villanueva felt. While understandably filled with a certain level of fear and apprehension, she never once asked God, “why?” She already understood that everything in her life was completely in God’s hands, and this situation was no different.
Humans are limited flawed creatures that tend to think they have a far larger amount of control over their own life than they actually do. God has a plan for all of us - all interconnected for the sole purpose of reflecting His glory. Every circumstance we have encountered in our lives was placed there by God with an underlying reason, and every situation He will give us in the future will also be created with a purpose, although we often will never see or fully understand this divine intention within our lifetimes here on Earth.
With God’s plan, we can only choose to strive for excellence and trust in the Lord as despite our lives being in God’s complete control and mercy, we must remember that we are also stewards and so must do our part as well to bring glory to His name. Mrs. Villanueva did exactly that through not throwing herself a pity party, and instead, choosing to continue to endure and to glorify God in her actions and courage. Cancer is meant to be a death sentence, one that strikes fear and despair into the heart, yet we see her story as one of life and hope.
Cancer is one of the countless challenges one can face, it knows no boundaries nor limits, yet it is a reminder that whatever lies ahead of us is unknown and our plans for tomorrow can change in a blink of an eye. Despite the ever-changing world being beyond our control, we must entrust our lives to God. As Mrs. Villanueva said in her Prayer Rally, when we ask “why me?”, we must correct it to “why not me?” Mrs. Villanueva has devoted decades to molding Christ-like students and families. Now, it is our turn to intercede for her recovery.
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