Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Perspective

by Cheri Chesley


photo courtesy of billarnold.typepad.com

I'm going to type this up while my eyes are still raw with tears, and the pain is still fresh.

I've spent a great deal of the last several weeks wrapped in my writing world. If I'm not writing, I'm editing, or typing up blog posts about writing, or reading for reviews, or learning about writing. I just finished the final edits on my ebook, and turned right around after posting it online to start edit corrections for my next print book.

Sounds like I'm living the life, right?

It only takes a second to put it all in perspective.

Tonight, after finally taking my twins on their birthday dinner trip to Ruby River, I got home and logged into Facebook to catch up on the things I've missed while running around. As I scrolled through the funny and sometimes silly posts, a friend's caught my eye. She typed: I have breast cancer.

She's exactly my age. And even though I've only known her for a year, she's one of those people who just instantly fits in your life. She's an amazing and talented lady, and a good friend. And now it's my turn to be a friend to her.

As I'm processing, I imagine the terror she's experiencing, the fear for her children, the worry for the future. How bad is it? What if the treatments don't work? etc.

I thank God she has the gospel in her life. That she knows the eternal perspective in all this, and that she (and we) have the tools of prayer and fasting at our disposal.

But I'm still scared.

Even with all the strides science and medicine have made fighting and winning battles with breast cancer, there's always the lingering thought that it might not work this time. There's always the chance that, despite what we may want or feel is right, her time on this earth may be nearing an end.

My hands are shaking.

The point of this post is simple: perspective. We may feel we know what our place is, and what our goals are, but it's important to keep the right goals in our sights. It's important not to lose our perspective on what's really, truly important.

1 comment:

Betsy said...

"Eternal Perspective" That should be the chant of all of God's children. It would sure make the earth a more bearable place. And most important we'd remember we are all His children. Thanks for the great post, Cheri.