Christmas with C


For many years, the first week of December was my quarterly cancer screening. It was a cluster of different appointments on a single day to accommodate my travel to Seattle. I’d walk from the ferry, passing storefronts festooned with lights, expertly wrapped boxes that looked like huge presents, and smiling mannequins wearing the holiday finest. Westlake Center had a huge Christmas tree glittering with thousands of lights. 


I kept walking. The cancer center was not that far, and once inside the huge building, it had its own bright holiday decorations. It might seem odd to celebrate Christmas with cancer. But that’s the optimism that prevailed there. The caregivers wouldn’t have it any other way. 


Cancer during Christmas could be a journey you’ve either taken or have walked alongside with someone you love. 



While doctor visits and chemo treatments happen, life seems blissfully normal for everyone else. Other folks are Christmas shopping and planning parties, while you’re making your way through crowded streets heading to another medical appointment. 


Cancer brings an awareness that life is both precious and fragile.


So, before this special season gets further along, may I pray for those with cancer?


    Heavenly Father, I thank you for all the advancements in cancer care, but You also provide the strength, courage, and endurance our loved ones need. Help them know that you are there, taking every step of this cancer journey with them. May you also deliver a daily dose of hope, and a full measure of joy for depleted spirits. I ask that you would bring healing.


    And Lord, for the rest of us in the rush that this season brings, will you help us slow down and remember that you came to be with us. You promised to never leave us, wherever we may be—in cancer treatments, or as we walk alongside those who are. Amen


The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he delivers those who are discouraged. Psalm 34:18

 

Popular posts from this blog

Dreaming the Dream

Image
Dreaming big dreams about the future is easy for kids. The only thing standing in the way is time.  Kid’s dreams are not about skills, or opportunities, or even practicality. Those things come much later.  My grandson hopes to be professional soccer player when he grows up. This week, a small piece of his dream came true when his Boys and Girls Club was invited to participate in pre-game activities with the Seattle Sounders Football Club.  He got to suit up in a real jersey and walk on the field with a real pro player. Imagine a young soccer player looking up to who he hopes to be one day. If you haven’t taken the time to talk to a child about their future dreams—you should.  They believe. As we get older we sometimes forget that dreams fuel our hopes—and that's something we all need. So, do you still dream? Or have you left those childhood thoughts behind?  S pending time with children will  inspire you to believe agai
Read more

Wild or Tame? Which One Are You?

Image
Finally! Research that explains why I act the way I do. Columbia University’s Motivational Science Center studied people’s activities and what brought them the most happiness. Even more telling were how those activities changed as they aged. Twenty-somethings tend to equate happiness with high-energy activities. Words like excited and ecstatic are usually attached to spontaneous things—even risky things—and living life full throttle.  Researchers labeled this Promotion Motivation —the urge to take chances, including career moves that may not work out. Happiness comes from happenings—the more happenings, the more happiness. By age forty, adults associate happiness with things running smoothly at work and home. It’s also about feeling secure in relationships. Keeping healthy matters more too. This behavior is called Prevention Motivation —and people are more concerned with preserving and maintaining the things they value. It appears that time ofte
Read more

The Quiet Dad

Image
After my granddaughter’s gymnastics, she’d always ask to go to the park next door—even in the winter. When you’re a high energy child, cold is relative. Our routine seemed to overlap with a dad and his son. I’d watch them as I watched my granddaughter go through her favorite activities—crossbar, swings, spinner, and the curly slide.  But the dad was not doing the same. He’d go hand-in-hand with his boy—pointing to trees, clouds, and the texture of the grass. I could see they were in a different place—one of sights, smells, and feels.   His son didn’t speak, so the father spoke into the silence around them. Since it was winter, the park was quiet—just the four of us—an energetic girl, and a boy who experienced the park in a way I never had.   We were at the same place, but in different worlds.    I saw a father’s love for his son expressed in quiet words of exploration. Never once did his son use the swing or try the crossbars. His world was spent touching tree bark and looking a
Read more