I’ve thought it, haven’t you? When you hear about someone
with a terrible diagnosis, it’s natural to think, “Oh how sad! Unless they have
a miracle, they’re dying.”
If the sick person is a friend or acquaintance, you may say
something to them like, “I’m praying God’s will be done.” Or you talk to
someone else about that person and say, “If it’s God’s will for them to get
well….” If the person who is sick is a good friend, sometimes entirely by
accident you might use an if-then statement, “If you get well, then… .” When
the person is a family member, you may lay on the “if”, such as, “IF you
get well, then… .”
Sometimes you think it’s your duty to make sure the person
realizes they have a mortal illness.
But guess what? Most likely that person knows. They’ve had
time to think about it even if they haven’t had much time. The positivity and
hope you see in the person is not denial, it’s a hope born of strength beyond,
and is a result of crawling through a very dark, claustrophobic tunnel and
coming through the other side. Does that mean the diagnosis has changed? Not
necessarily. The person has changed.
Let’s get personal. Many people have told me that I’m
strong. The strength any of you may attribute to me is not from within me
naturally. I’ve spent my times in lamentation and desperation, in intense agony
for my children and my husband. God gives me strength, knowing that people are
praying for me gives me strength, and each of you who help carry our load and
let me rest—that gives me strength.
The fact is that when I die, I no longer struggle, but my
family will hurt living life without me. I’ve mourned a potential future for my
family without their wife and mommy. I’ve mourned the carefree innocence my
children have lost. Jamie and I have had to face the reality of our mortality
at an age when most people are still focused on competing for success. I have surrendered my life and my family to
God. He does not change, His strength is given to me in my weakness, and I have
confidence that He will take care of my family even if I don’t get to anymore. He
IS love. Knowing that gives me strength to face the future. Even
more, it helps me to not worry about the future, but to live today. Today I am
alive! Today I’m so very grateful to be with my family! Today is a gift from
God, and truly, that’s all you have, too.
So you see, I have to live. I can’t let my family go through
that hurt. That’s not denial, that’s reason.
Romans 5:3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
