Cancer

My friend has cancer. The BAD kind (if there is such a thing as a good kind). Having been down this road with Russ's Mom and Dad, and with others, I hurt for Barb. She is only 50. She was doing everything right in her life. Yes, I know, Life isn't fair! The good news is she has hope in the Lord for her strength and His grace has really provided that peace she has needed. But still, we are human and with humanity their are fears and their is suffering. No matter how spiritual a person is, they are also real, and they feel. I hurt for her.

Since my gift is words, I have give her a card every time I visit, and I send cards with others when I know they are stopping by. Today, we brought a crate filled with gifts from our Sunday School class. We told her she could open one a day, or if she was having a really bad day, she could open two. I also had a card for her, but it wasn't that big a deal, I thought, compared to the gifts, so just held it behind my back and talked with her. Before long she said, "I see you have another card for me!" And she had a look of anticipation in her eyes. She was having an especially hard day today, and I had no idea what those cards meant to her. She looked like a little kid looking forward to a piece of candy or something.

Some days I write something silly and lighthearted because Barb likes to laugh. Some days I write something inspirational or serious. I hope whatever I write shows compassion and empathy. I want to be sensitive to what is best for her. Words are healing. But words can hurt when they aren't in the right timing.

So now, I guess I have a new ministry-a card ministry with Barb. I wrote my Uncle Bill about 3 times a month when he battled cancer. I wrote Russ's Mom as well. She saved every card and I found them when we went to her deathbed. In fact, Mom Willis showed me she had saved one note in her Bible. It was a note I wrote when she said she bet God hated her crying all the time. I told her God knew her tears were precious, and He saved all of them in a bottle. I showed her the Bible verse, and commented on how I interpreted it. It meant a lot to her.

Words really CAN be healing-if not the physical, the emotional-and that is half the battle!