The Fight

    

     This might be the pain-of-our-situation talking but I'm going to be a bit feisty for a minute.  Mark and I are in the fight of our lives.  Some have suggested that we have 'given up the fight'.  I want to say a couple of things about that.

 

    Mark and I are deep thinkers, and bold action takers!  We are not just sitting around waiting for cancer to steal our hope, our time, our future.  We've been presented with lots and lots of medical, spiritual, and holistic options.  We study these carefully, and have  experienced many of them.  I recently shared the following with someone who didn't think we were in the fight:

 

     "I love and appreciate your advice. Please know that we've investigated a number of holistic methods of healing (and have used several), Mark is a master at self-mastery techniques, he is a spiritual leader in our community, he is a teacher of energy channeling for over 15 years. We've studied nutrition and the best ways to strengthen his immune system. He has had cancer for almost 3 years now. Mark is stage 4, has 14 tumors in four areas of his body. We have consulted with Sarcoma experts across the nation. We are making our choices based on EVERYTHING we've studied and tried. It is our choice, and I promise you, every day it gets harder. We exercise faith, we know that the Lord's plan for us is a collection of events, some yet to be discovered."

 

      I also want to say something about time and about survival.  The Victors of cancer are NOT just the ones who outlive treatment.  The warriors, the heros, and the victors are the ones who live each day as a gift.  While life is very precious, each of us is only given a certain about of time, and it is how we choose to spend that time that ultimately matters the most.

 

      In the bible it reads, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

 

     I love how Mark is living his life.  He has found a moderate balance of work, rest, play, reflection, teaching, silliness, loving, study, healing and service. 

 

Mark and our children on Bear Lake this summer

     There is something beautiful about acceptance.  There is something incredible about understanding that we are not in control.   The real fight is doing our best with what we have been given.  We've been given a lot.