My sons are going to face a difficult day. One of the 1he boys in son one’s year (he shifted schools last year) has died in a road crash. He then inadvertantly quoted Donne.
No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Yesterday I telephoned the other child… and found that the son-in-law is now walking 50 feet post major surgery, but (God be praised) they think they got his cancer out. We literally cannot control our lives. So paradoxically, we should not try. Micromanaging or five yeare plans… at least in my life, have hit a wall called children, difficulties. Plans change
25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34″So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Today will have enough to worry about. We are not supposed to be able to manage the future. Instead, we need to manage the present. So let us, today, do good.
I pray your son-in-law has a speedy, thorough recovery.
Concerning worry, I find sometimes the best thing to do is the cliched “let go and let God”. I’m not sure what my future holds. I’ve made plans, but I also trust God to guide me when they steer off course.
Yes, it is easy to say let go… but it is hard in practice. Son in law is facing chemo and then a reconstruction of his bowel as he currently has a colostomy. As his father said… he was just tired before, but now he is an invalid.
I apologize, I didn’t intend for my previous comment to sound heartless, or dismissive.
I guess what I meant to say was, it isn’t healthy to worry about every potential complication or worse-case scenario. Optimism is better than worry.
As his father said… he was just tired before, but now he is an invalid
But once he heals from the surgery/cancer treatment/receives physical therapy/gets that stomach bag-thing[?], he won’t be anymore. Cancer survivors can live long, productive fulfilling lives.
You can’t make a rainbow without a little rain…?
I’m sorry, it’s hard to be optimistic and not sound dismissive….
Actually, I have the same attitude.
If he gets through this and there is no recurrence in the next few years… normal life expectancy. The plan is to visit him next month,
(Sed Deus vult, (if God is willing: my Latin is rusty) of course)