Thoughts on Survival

Well, I’m home from work today nursing a sick girl. Poor Paige has picked up this crud that has been going around. She was home yesterday too, but today was my turn to stay home with her. I hate it when the kids are sick. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for my cousin and her family right now. You can read about her story on the caringbridge link below on the left hand side- it says “Emma”. Emma is my cousin’s little girl who was diagnosed with a brain tumor last week, she is just a few weeks younger than Kyla. Things like this make me realize how much I take for granted. It was also just a year ago that our old neighbors were in a tragic car accident that took the life of their five year old son. Our Pastor is currently fighting lung cancer, and I am posting the following excerpt from one of his recent posts about survival. He uses the word cancer, but this entry touched me because it doesn’t necessarily have to be cancer that you’re battling- it can be anything;
“I want to deal with another word this evening. It's survival. To be in survival mode means that you will do your best not to be defeated by the cancer and you will show that attitude in everything you do. That doesn't mean that you won't be angry or bitter. You just need a way to express that anger in a healthy non-destructive way. So much has been taken from you. So much has changed. But express that anger to God, not your spouse or your loved ones. It’s easy to forget, but they are affected by your diagnosis as much if not more than you are. Once you understand that God is big enough to take your anger, and then you can get on with the business of surviving. Once you get rid of your anger, you can begin to approach your life with a positive attitude, and know the most important thing about survival: it's not about you; it's about God working through you. It's not about giving up, it's about letting go, and see where the journey takes us. Again, the words are not only for cancer survivors, it's for all of us who survive every day.”

His thoughts touched me because I have fought many battles in my life, and I think daily about the battles close loved ones of mine are currently fighting- and not just cancer. I haven’t posted my favorite quotes again yet- but one that comes to mind is this one by Eleanor Roosevelt;

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
US diplomat & reformer (1884 - 1962)

I have learned much in my life through struggle- and if it were not for people that lifted me up and sat side by side with me, pushing me on through the battle, I might have just given up and succumbed to the anger and continued to live in a destructive way.
I realize that some of you reading this may not have the same faith as me, and I respect all faiths, but for me, when I have done all I can do, I have learned to give the rest to God, and he has lead the way.


Here are the girls at a somber statue at the Holocaust Memorial in Miami last winter when we took a tour through South Beach on our way back from our cruise. You can't see the whole quote behind them, but it reads; "Then in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."- Anne Frank