Towels

I guess because I have cancer I seem to be keenly aware of others around me who have it. One of my nurse friends was just diagnosed last week with leukemia, and the treatment for it is a brutal one. I ache for her and her family. My pastor's mother is struggling with recurrent cancer, as is another pastor we met during Richard's treatment. In their web posts about their struggles, both the newly diagnosed and the chronic, they all mention words of battle, fighting, not giving up, not "throwing in the towel".  I didn't know that life was a picnic until something Job-like happens to you and then suddenly it is a boxing ring. I prefer to think of it like the Olympics commercials pictured it. You start as a child, learning from the loving adults that are placed in your life to encourage, teach and motivate you. You begin to understand the world, yourself, what gifts lie within you. You begin to lean into those gifts, lean into the world, surround yourself with more people who inspire and believe in you until you are able to stand on your own, supported and loved by family, friends and God. Oh, yes, there are towels handed to you to wipe the sweat off your brow, or wipe up the messes that are sometimes made, but there are not yours. They are offered to you. And when life here is done, we all get to the podium together, hand in hand, raised toward heaven in victory. I have no towel to throw in, only one to hand you if you need it. Thanks for sharing yours with me today, I feel better already.