Former Saturday Night Live star Victoria Jackson knows about prayer. She grew up in a Christian home, sent her kids to Christian school and is known for being outspoken about her faith. But that didn’t stop the zany comedian’s shock when a Starbucks employee with, as she says, “tattoos about Jesus on his arms” leaned out of the drive-thru window to ask if he could pray for her.
The words of his prayer shocked her even more.
Jackson, known for her impromptu handstands (her dad was a gymnastics coach) and ukulele playing as well as her zany humor, had just moved to the Nashville area from her home in Miami before her Starbucks encounter, she tells host Marti Pieper on the “Hope Through Cancer” series on Charisma News. The night before, Jackson asked God, “Am I doing the right thing? … Do you like how I’m living for you?”
The drive-thru prayer was nothing short of prophetic. “[The Starbucks employee] said, ‘You have been faithful in your relationships, and your family is in a season of rest. Opportunities will come that were put on hold because of circumstances.'”
Jackson adds, “I had put my career on hold for 20 years so my husband could do his job in Miami as a police helicopter pilot … As I was driving away from the Starbucks, I kept thinking … Those are the same things you said last night.“
Today, she wonders if the “season of rest” was part of God preparing her for the breast cancer she would face two years later. Now two years post-surgery and treatment, Jackson still takes time to perform standup—and to encourage other cancer patients. Her devotional, Lavender Hair: 21 Devotions for Women With Breast Cancer points women to the same foundation of faith that, Jackson says, “got me through.”
Listen to the podcast for more of Jackson’s inspiring (and humorous) story!
Janet Perez Eckles 
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