Superhuman Superhero

So, it's common comic book lore--excuse me "graphic novel" lore--that superheroes often don't discover their super powers until they are put in situations of extreme danger or come into contact with a toxic chemical ... for example, a large vat of nuclear waste. Then, suddenly an amazing ability shows itself and an ordinary person becomes superhuman. A superhero.

Someone reminded me of this little factoid this summer when I started chemo and we had a good hearty laugh. With toxins coursing through my veins, what would my superability turn out to be?

It wasn't veins as strong as bungee cords--they were blowing left and right by round three and I have phlebitis to remind me of this for days to come. It wasn't a stomach of steel. That revealed itself quickly.

As a matter of fact it wasn't anything of steel. Not nerves of steel--we have a full heart work-up at the hospital to reassure us that, no, I don't have heart problems, just anxiety disorder that shoots my heart rate sky high at any given time of nervousness. And it wasn't an immune system of steel, as I'm still battling a mini-list of minor afflictions.

But perhaps the single physical manifestation of my superhuman strength can be found in an unlikely place. My toes. You see, my hair thinned or fell out completely from my head, arms and legs, but unfortunately I still have the toes of of Hobbit, just as I have since I was 8 years old. (Rest assured, I have been shaving them since I was old enough to use a razor.)

It was these hairy toes that fascinated me this past week while giving myself a pedicure. I mean really, how could my toes be so completely unaffected by chemotherapy, while the rest of me is falling apart?

They are Hobbit toes, of course. That's the answer, in a nut shell. Superhuman Hobbit Toes.

Then, Superhuman Hobbit Toes aside (which will hardly save my life or yours the next time a super villain attacks), was there any spiritual strength revealed by my exposure to toxins? I would like to say that my sense of peace remains intact, but my anxiety and impatience reveals that at times it wavered. My sense of hope, however, did weather the storm.

My hope is that God knows what He is doing with my life. No matter what. And most of the time the peace is there too, just to back it up. And I know that's superhuman, because it's supernatural and it's a gift God has chosen to bless me with in the face of adversity.

Will it help me kill the black widows on the back patio, save me from bad haircuts or make me the star of my own comic book series? Probably not. But it got me through cancer, and action figure or no action figure, that's good enough for me.

(P.S. Pictured above is "Hoth Girl," my superhero alter ego created on line at the beginning of the year. That same day Maddie created her alter ego: "Mrs. Money." Don't ask why. These things just happen at our house.)