When mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the full impact of her prognosis sunk in, our world shifted into nightmare status fast.
The night-terror-while-you're-awake, can't breathe, heart-hemorhaging kind of horrible...
It is not a place where Christian platitudes or superficial niceties make a dent. The grieving and pain were physical and did not make for charitable company. Honestly, we were wrecks...just trying to find a foothold for the next step, all the while feeling the bottom dropping out under us.
And so, it is amazing, really, to look back on mom's journey and realize how the nightmare transformed somewhere along the way into moments of radiance.
A Life well lived, of Love showered abundantly, and a Hope shared with confidence. Cancer definitely shaped and molded these last months with mom, but in some indiscernible way cancer helped refine our lives for the better.
Fran Drescher shared some great insights in a recent interview. She is probably best known for her role on The Nanny. What many may not know is that she is a survivor of uterine cancer. When she was asked what's your best piece of advice for cancer survivors, this was her reply...
"Become something better than you were before, whether it is how you relate to your family, or how compassionate you are as a human being. I always say that turning pain into purpose is very healing."
That advice hits home on so many levels, and not just for cancer survivors. I believe that's exactly what mom was working through on her cancer journey... she took the pain of her diagnosis, the utter nightmare of a prognosis and turned it into a passionate purpose.
Something better than she was before. Refined into gentle beauty, touching each of us with grace whispered, and turning the night-terrors into dreams of hope fulfilled, eternal and perfect...
Challenged anew to Become Something Better...no matter what the journey holds,
Graced Always in His Love this night,
Jane
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