I was working on a very different post when the phone rang. It was my friend's husband with an update on her health. Things aren't looking good. I get the impression that he thinks she won't be able to hold out much longer.
She has cancer.
She has had 2 operations on her brain to remove tumors (in the same spot) and it appears to be growing back. She also has a "spot" on her lung and one on her liver.
He wants me to come see her later this week.
I told him I would get in the car as soon as he called me.
Each of us handles a crisis like this differently. I've always believed that, since God gave us free choice, that my own thoughts and behaviors would impact the way I handle a problem.
I was the training manager at an Atlantic City casino hotel when the uncle who had been a second father to me passed away. I was heartbroken. Most of the people who knew how close we were couldn't believe I came to work the day after he died. But I had to. Working was -- for me -- the best way to keep myself together. It allowed me to think of other things besides how much I'd miss him. And he had such a love of life that getting on with mine was really a better tribute to him.
So I share this with you only to ask that as those around you struggle with loss, with fear, with the hundreds of emotions that can absorb us...that you not judge them. That you allow them to own their feelings and deal with them as best as they can. But don't ignore them or what's happened. Just let them know that you're there to help and support them in whatever way they need you to.
And pray for them. And for my dear friend, Stephanie.
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