My dad is my hero. He always has been. And as a little girl I looked up to him, admired him, and developed a relationship with him. Not a fake 'I only come to you when I need advice or money' kind of relationship. But one of depth. Value. Honor. And respect.
My dad is fighting terminal cancer. He is a living, breathing, and moving testimony even as I type this. The doctors said he wouldn't make it to Thanksgiving a couple years ago, and yet he's still here in the flesh among us. Some days are hard for him, like today. Yesterday he felt good and overdid it a little. Today, his body pays the consequences for all the activity from the previous day. And I watch him. His attitude. The way he talks and references what he is going through. Yesterday he said to me, "I really am okay, Christine. I'm not some fragile piece of glass that's going to break. I'm here. I'm living. And I'm going to keeping living as if I'm going to live."
He hasn't given up the fight. Every day he makes a choice to live life to its fullest. To press through the pain. To deny the cancer any power over his will or emotions. He approaches each day with a new grace. He's not angry. And if you talk to him for even a minute, you'll know he is not relying on his own strength, but a Divine strength that comes in waves and breathes a freshness over him.
My dad's approach to life reminds me that we all have the opportunity to take life day by day, and to accept the grace that has been given to us. Too often, I look far ahead. I worry about my job, Glenn's job, balancing life and the baby, paying off the bills, saving up money, moving out of the shack, being in a better place, a better season in life. But what if I chose to live in the moment? To enjoy the fullness of one day without worrying about what tomorrow holds. Isn't that what we are called to do? To not worry about tomorrow, but to let tomorrow worry about itself?
My dad said, "Christine, I don't want to live like I'm dying like in that Tim McGraw song. I want to live like I am living. Like I'm going to live." What an impact! I need to live like I am living!
What does that look like? It means not allowing the stresses of life to rob me of the many joys that I have. It means taking time to fully enjoy my daughter. To invest in my relationship with my husband. It means enjoying the time that I have been given with my father. To enjoy the students that I am teaching this year. To take a moment to rest. To go outside and breathe in the fresh, horse manure, country air. It means appreciating the gift of another day to be here, to invest in this life time. Because only God knows how long we will be here. And that's the truth, whether you are walking in full wholeness and or believing God to fully restore health to your body and heal your wounds.
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