being thankful {day 4}

So here's a heavy one for a Sunday:

Today, I am thankful for lessons learned from cancer.

I am not thankful for the disease.

I am not thankful for people getting the disease.

I am truly thankful for the things I have learned because of this disease.

Because of cancer, I have learned:

Love.  The love of family, of friends, of community.  Of the way people will band together to help someone who's sick, to take care of those left behind by the illness, to help heal the pain left when those we love are taken from us before they should be taken.

Family.  Some ties are stronger than blood.  Sometimes people you think of as just friends suddenly become an inseparable piece of your life, until they're more your family than those who share DNA ever were.  

Faith.  Being raised outside of a belief system, I have no core belief in the Christian God, or any other god for that matter.  But I have learned that someone must have a greater plan for us, even when things seem to happen for no reason.

Take this:

A friend who I've bowled with for nearly 6 years now was diagnosed with cancer last spring.

Her and her husband explained that this past summer was the best they've ever had in their 20 some years together.  Why?  Her diagnosis opened up both of their eyes to the gaps they'd been leaving in their relationship (with each other and their kids).  They'd been focused elsewhere, and hadn't spent enough time just being with each other, taking time to know and love each other, taking time to do fun things instead of just being tied up in working so much.

Remember to never take someone for granted, because you never know how long or short your time with them may be.

       

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