Strength Through Surrender

There are moments in life that completely shift your world in an instant. One phone call, one diagnosis, one conversation can suddenly divide your life into a “before” and “after.”

In this episode of Becoming the Oak, I sat down with Jane Mack as she vulnerably shared the story of walking through her daughter Marybeth’s cancer diagnosis and the faith that carried their family through one of the hardest seasons of their lives.

As I listened to Jane speak, I was reminded again that suffering is something we all experience. While our circumstances may look different, the emotions are often the same — fear, uncertainty, helplessness, grief, and the desperate desire to hold onto hope.

But I was also reminded that God never leaves us unsupported in our trials.

In this episode:

• The emotional journey of walking through her daughter’s stage four cancer diagnosis at just eleven years old.

• How faith, prayer, and staying spiritually grounded helped her family navigate fear and uncertainty.

• The tender mercies and miracles that strengthened their family during one of life’s hardest seasons.

• What it truly means to surrender your will to God and trust Him with the people you love most.

• A powerful reminder that peace and strength are found through Jesus Christ, even in suffering.

One of the things that deeply stood out to me during our conversation was how spiritually prepared Jane already was before this trial ever happened.

She talked about growing up in the gospel and developing a testimony from a young age. When her father passed away from cancer while she was still in eighth grade, it became a foundational experience that shaped her understanding of faith, loss, and eternal perspective.

At the time, she may not have realized how much that experience would strengthen her for future challenges, but looking back, she could clearly see how God had been preparing her heart long before Marybeth’s diagnosis.

I think this is something many of us overlook.

The quiet moments of scripture study, prayer, temple worship, and seeking the Spirit may not always feel dramatic in the moment, but they are building spiritual roots underneath the surface. Then when life shakes us, those roots become the very thing that keeps us standing.

When Jane discovered that her daughter Marybeth had malignant melanoma at only eleven years old, her entire world changed.

As a mother, I cannot even imagine the weight of hearing those words spoken over your child.

Jane described the fear of watching doctors continue to discover deeper layers of cancer, the uncertainty surrounding treatments, and the emotional pain of seeing her daughter suffer physically and emotionally.

And yet through every step, she continued moving forward in faith.

What impacted me most was her honesty. She didn’t pretend she always felt peace or certainty. She didn’t claim she knew exactly how things would turn out.

Instead, she described simply continuing to trust God one step at a time.

Sometimes faith does not look like confidence in the outcome.

Sometimes faith looks like waking up the next morning and continuing to walk with God even when you are terrified.

Throughout Jane’s story, there were countless moments where she could see God’s hand guiding their family.

From finding a doctor in her own neighborhood who could perform a specialized lymph node biopsy, to receiving priesthood blessings, to having neighbors consistently show up with meals and support, she saw evidence that God was aware of them.

I loved something Jane said during our conversation:

“When you try to stay close to the Spirit, the Lord lets you see tender mercies more vividly.”

That statement stayed with me.

Because I think sometimes the miracles are not always found in the removal of the trial itself. Sometimes the miracles are found in the strength to endure it, the people God sends to help us, or the quiet reassurance that we are not alone.

One of the most powerful parts of this conversation was when Jane shared how intentional their family became about staying spiritually grounded during this season.

She and her husband gathered their children together and explained that even though life had become incredibly difficult, they could not afford to pull away from the very things that would anchor them spiritually.

They continued family scripture study.

They continued worship.
They continued seeking God daily.

I think this is such an important reminder because when life becomes overwhelming, it is easy to disconnect spiritually. We convince ourselves we are too exhausted, too discouraged, too distracted, or too emotionally drained.

But often the very things we are tempted to pull away from are the exact things that will sustain us.

Remaining rooted in Christ does not remove the storm, but it gives us stability inside of it.

One of the deepest moments in our conversation came when Jane described sitting in the temple and reflecting on the law of consecration.

As she thought about fully surrendering everything to God, she realized that surrender might also mean being willing to place Marybeth in His hands.

As a mother, that thought felt unbearable.

But she reached a moment where she honestly asked herself:

“Am I willing?”

That level of surrender is not easy.

It is one thing to trust God when life feels manageable. It is another thing entirely to trust Him with the people we love most.

And yet I believe true peace often begins when we stop trying to control every outcome and instead place our trust fully in Jesus Christ.

Not because we stop caring.
Not because it stops hurting.
But because we recognize that God sees what we cannot.

Something Jane said near the end of our conversation deeply resonated with me:

“The only thing that carried me through was the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”

I think there are experiences in life that eventually bring us to the realization that we truly cannot carry ourselves.

We can only be carried by Him.

There are seasons where survival itself becomes evidence of God’s grace.

As Jane reflected back on that difficult season, she described how she now sees the Lord carrying her family through moments she could not have survived on her own strength.

I think many of us can relate to that feeling.

Sometimes we do not recognize God’s sustaining power until we look backward and realize there is no way we could have endured everything alone.

One of the final things I shared during this episode is something I have personally learned through my own trials:

God does not give us challenges because He wants to punish us.

He allows growth because He sees who we are capable of becoming.

There have been moments in my life where I have had to stop and say:

“Heavenly Father, if You believe I can do this, then I will trust that You will strengthen me enough to endure it.”

That perspective has changed everything for me.

Not because trials suddenly become easy, but because I no longer see myself as abandoned inside of them.

I see myself walking through them with Christ beside me.

And maybe that is what faith really is.

Not the absence of fear.
Not perfect certainty.
But the willingness to keep walking forward while trusting that God is still holding us.

If you are currently walking through a difficult season, I hope this conversation reminds you that you are not alone.

God sees you.
He is near to you.
And even when life feels uncertain, He is still strengthening you in ways you may not yet fully recognize.

Peace and joy are not found in perfect circumstances.

They are found when our hearts remain rooted in Jesus Christ.