Facing the Hardest Realities


This has not been an easy week for some special people in my world. In life’s roulette, they or people they love are dealing with cancer. It makes me want to scream, “How many more need to suffer?” Being face to face with a debilitating disease ranks near the top for bad news. A test result changes life irrevocably.

When someone close to us suffers, it challenges us too. Medical battles are fought and we celebrate the wins. We regroup and pray harder with the disappointments. Answered prayers mean we’ve been granted more time.

Whether cancer or car accidents, life is evaluated differently within hospital corridors. As we gaze into the eyes of loved ones, we look at time differently. It has become an altered world with a clock whose hands don’t move normally. Waiting room couches don’t offer comfort, nor do the chairs pulled close to bedsides.

We want things the way they used to be. But truly, even without cancer, life is never the same as we journey forward. Life changes things. Certainly our choices factor in, but anyone who loves someone faces the chance of losing them.
Often we can’t change the diagnosis, but long ago I decided to place my faith in the One who can. I have looked at the alternatives to Jesus and none of them gave me any hope.

Since there isn’t an earthly utopia without needles and chemotherapy, I believe in Heaven. Even in my cynical 50’s, it is making more sense now to read my Bible and believe. I pray—and I really mean pray, for the healing of each friend’s cancer. I see them as veterans in life’s war. For them, cancer has reset their clock. Time has become a true treasure. Each day has added value. Their suffering reminds me of something I dare not forget, the clock is ticking. Today will soon be over and I want to make it count.

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