D-- cancer

[Lloyd Smale]

Just took my best friend at 60. My sister had it last year as did another close friend AND his wife, all three are still fighting it. two other friends have die in the last 2 years of it. Scares the hockey sticks out of me.

[georgerkahn]

I can very easily understand your worries -- but, you may wish to ask yourself if there is ANYTHING you might do re your own future health -- specifically cancer avoidance? I like to close my eyes and actually see great times and memories I have had the privilege of sharing with loved ones lost. And, sad as it may be, if I was given the choice of either NOT ever knowing the passed person, OR, having the privilege of knowing them -- including the loss -- it would take less than a milli-second for me to choose the latter. Regardless, it reinforces how very fragile, indeed, our life -- the very short stay we have on planer Earth is.
Prayer often helps, too...
geo

[Char-Gar]

If death, your own or others, scares you it is time to build a faith that takes away that fear. We started to die the moment we were born and you cannot have lived a full life without dying. It is part of God's plan and there for a good thing. The day you die will be the best day of your life, as you will start a wonderful journey into God's presence.

[jmort]

I am amazed at how many ways satan has devised to kill us. Cancer, over 100 known forms
Plus a multitude of other diseases around 2,200
Disease/cancer is not God's plan
How idiotic to think it is part of God's plan
God will make it right in the end
Have faith

[Tom W.]

A lot of us have cancer. I've had two surgeries to remove over half of my colon, some of my small intestine, and a whole bunch of lymph nodes. Now I have a constant case of the "green apple quick step." I have to avoid milk and a few other things that I like, but I'm still kicking. My wife has survived breast cancer. a friend of mine died with throat cancer.

The initial diagnosis was somewhat of a shock, but as a Christian it didn't scare me. I took the tests, went through surgeries and even had experimental chemo. I now have neuropathy and can't feel much, and have to wear flip-flops or shoes so I can walk steadily. I'm slowly selling off or trading my firearms so I can shoot things that aren't overpowering, altho I can't part w/ my .44 SRH. I have gone down to 9mm pistols for the most part. I can still shoot my rifles and shotguns, but I don't hunt anymore, just kill paper targets, and if I go to a state sponsored range I need to be aware of my diet for maybe two days before. It's an adjustment, but not frightening...

[Char-Gar]

A lot of us have cancer. I've had two surgeries to remove over half of my colon, some of my small intestine, and a whole bunch of lymph nodes. Now I have a constant case of the "green apple quick step." I have to avoid milk and a few other things that I like, but I'm still kicking. My wife has survived breast cancer. a friend of mine died with throat cancer.

The initial diagnosis was somewhat of a shock, but as a Christian it didn't scare me. I took the tests, went through surgeries and even had experimental chemo. I now have neuropathy and can't feel much, and have to wear flip-flops or shoes so I can walk steadily. I'm slowly selling off or trading my firearms so I can shoot things that aren't overpowering, altho I can't part w/ my .44 SRH. I have gone down to 9mm pistols for the most part. I can still shoot my rifles and shotguns, but I don't hunt anymore, just kill paper targets, and if I go to a state sponsored range I need to be aware of my diet for maybe two days before. It's an adjustment, but not frightening...

Yes, I have Multiple Myeloma and Chronic Kidney Disease and my kidneys are rolling snake eyes pretty quick. I am in the short rows of life and take things one day at a time. As you said, it is an adjustment but not frightening at all.

In 37 years as a Pastor, I walked with over 400 people to the gates of heaven and then stayed behind with the families to help them. I would never be so cruel and hurtful as to tell them Satan killed their loved ones. We are all going to die of something and Satan has no hand in it. This is just part of the natural cycle of life. It is nothing to be feared for Christ has "swallowed up death". In life and in death we are in the hands of a loving God. Satan is a defeated enemy and has no dominion over us.

Paul wrote in 1st. Corinthians 15:

"Now if the rising of Christ from the dead is the very heart of our message, how can some of you deny that there is any resurrection? For if there is no such thing as the resurrection of the dead, then Christ was never raised. And if Christ was not raised then neither our preaching nor your faith has any meaning at all. Further it would mean that we are lying in our witness for God, for we have given our solemn testimony that he did raise up Christ—and that is utterly false if it should be true that the dead do not, in fact, rise again! For if the dead do not rise neither did Christ rise, and if Christ did not rise your faith is futile and your sins have never been forgiven. Moreover those who have died believing in Christ are utterly dead and gone. Truly, if our hope in Christ were limited to this life only we should, of all mankind be the most to be pitied!"

[threett1]

I am the only one of 4 siblings thaat hasn't been down that road. 63 next month. It killed most of Mom's side. Dad's side were iron horses. Dad died young at 85. It is what it is. I eat healthier than most. Joints are worn out so I move slow. Have lived a better life than some and worse than others. After seeing Jesus one of these days I look forward to being together with a lot of my family again.

[GhostHawk]

Lose the stress, relax, enjoy what you have. Laughter is the best medicine for cancer.

Stress, pressure, worry are killers long term.

Relax, laugh, enjoy life. Any of us might not wake up tomorrow. Any of us.
But you can't worry about it. Sensible planning and preparation but don't let it stop you from enjoying life.

The one thing we can count on is change. People come into our lives. We grow to care for them, come to love them. And they move, die, and are gone.

Love them while they are here, be man enough, and mature enough to tell them we love them, often. Miss them when they are gone. It is all we can do.

[bangerjim]

It can and CANNOT be hereditary. I know people without a trace of cancer in thier family that have various forms of cancer. My wife’s side of the family seems to have it more than normal. My side is cancer free for as far back as we have traced (10 generations).

God’s blessing and guidance to those that have it. But fearing death is not the way to face it. We are all fellow travelers to the grave and some of us just take shorter paths.

Rely on God’s healing and bolster your faith in Him if you have to face the demon “C”.

[buckwheatpaul]

If death, your own or others, scares you it is time to build a faith that takes away that fear. We started to die the moment we were born and you cannot have lived a full life without dying. It is part of God's plan and there for a good thing. The day you die will be the best day of your life, as you will start a wonderful journey into God's presence.

I could not have said it better! I battle skin cancer and has already had a melanoma. Pasty white Irish skin and a love for the outside is a dangerous combination. It has claimed some of my family. Just get your checkups and do what you can to protect yourself....A good relationship with the Holy Trinity will remove much of the fear of death. Paul

[glockfan]

i'm getting some lessons of life in this thread; some of you guys are courageous beyond beliefs.

i've got the **** scared out of me for a whole year recently ; my rear end was spitting blood to the point where i've passed every tests possible to see what was happening: coloscopy, gastroscopy, blood tests, radiography, echography.....been all throught it all to discover i'm plagued with diverticua ; they bleed from time to time,but nothing serious. got to change some things in my intake,no milk with lactose,no more hot sauce (lol)...such things that may triggers cramps and the bleedings.

during this year of investigation, i reflected a lot.......it changed my point of view on my life. left the driver seat of my trucking enterprise to my son,i retired completely .

at 55 i decided to enjoy what i've built over the last 3 decades and the perspective of getting hit by cancer changed my mindset for the better...much better.

the fear of having to live on a countdown got me. i realize that at one point, i had to stop running like a headless torso to enjoy the amount of time left ahead. i'm now more oriented towards my people. i try to be nice all the time, i try to be a better person for the people who really count for me....in the end, my family is what really count .

since my retirement, me and my wife decided to spend our time between our little chalet in vermont and my canadian homebase. i couldn't be happier,life has never tasted that good.

[sghart3578]

Lloyd, I feel for you. A few years ago I lost my favorite brother. Before that a sister.

Then last year my beautiful wife of 32 years was diagnosed with cancer. She has had 1 round of chemo and miraculously the cancer is in remission. All through this time her good cheer has never waivered.

She is a devout Catholic and trusts in the Lord's judgement.

But I'm afraid my faith is much less strong. I know your fear because I share it.


Steve in N CA

[mold maker]

Life is a terminal disease. Even Christ had to die. Spend the time you have left in support of those who are afflicted. The flip side of all this is that death isn't the end, but the reward for the past.
Mom died at 92 from undiagnosed cancer that reached stage 4 without treatment. She survived over 40 years with type 1 diabetes and MS. She survived previous cancer and never gave in.
My wife survived uterine and breast cancer with the faith and patience of Jobe.
Know your body and investigate any change. Finding cancer EARLY is the answer. Don't depend on Drs. when they don't follow up on complaints.
Tomorrow may be my turn, but it won't be the end. I know the outcome regardless of the results.

[Char-Gar]

I have learned allot about death and dying from 37 years as a Pastor. I have seen the fear of death drive a few folks literally crazy. They were so fearful, they could not function with the life they have left. I have seen folks try every kind of quack cure and mental gymnastics they could find to avoid dying.

In my last church I knew a woman, who was a Yoga Guru and even wrote books on the subject. At age 80, she was so limber she could coil on a couch almost like a snake. She was a member but did not attend and she told me that yoga gave her all the spiritual peace she needed. Then one day she got cancer and all that yoga BS went out the window and turned into a tearful, fearful woman.

A mature faith, a faith that will support you through all the trials of life including dying, does not come in an instant. It takes time to build. I liken it to putting money away, for a rainy day. If we are not making regular deposits in our faith account, when we need to make a withdrawal there is nothing there.

We are all mortal and we shall all surely die. The sooner we own that and start to build our faith, the better off we will be when the Dr. hands us the black spot. There is very little you can do, or can be done for you, if cancer catches us with out faith pants down.

[Lloyd Smale]

Death really doesn't scare me. I realize its comes to everyone. Its the suffering that comes with cancer that does. I will say a prayer for you. I know we haven't allways agreed or got along but I hate to see anyone have to go through the mental and physical strain cancer brings.
If death, your own or others, scares you it is time to build a faith that takes away that fear. We started to die the moment we were born and you cannot have lived a full life without dying. It is part of God's plan and there for a good thing. The day you die will be the best day of your life, as you will start a wonderful journey into God's presence.

[Piedmont]

If anyone is willing to put some effort into learning and more effort into following through, read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. It is curious to me almost no one wants to take any personal responsibility for anything. They would rather get cut on and chemo'd till there hair falls out than learn or do.

[Goatwhiskers]

Well, I'll say that when I got diagnosed with melanoma on my ear, it was scary for a short time, then I gave it all to God and the fear was gone. I did wind up minus my right ear and the chemo left me a serious case of neuropathy, got a lot of trouble walking but I don't let it hold me back. Figure God's purpose has not been fulfilled in my life yet. Sometimes life ain't a lot of fun, I've seen hexx twice in my life, the latest being the loss of my wife, but He is in control and can help you with all your problems if you just ask. GW

[Rick N Bama]

I could not have said it better! I battle skin cancer and has already had a melanoma. Pasty white Irish skin and a love for the outside is a dangerous combination. It has claimed some of my family. Just get your checkups and do what you can to protect yourself....A good relationship with the Holy Trinity will remove much of the fear of death. Paul

I literally feel your pain. A lifetime of working & playing outdoors has left me with a Melanoma plus 3 Squamous Skin Cancer surgeries. Every visit I make to the Skin Doc leaves me looking as if I have Aids, at least for a couple weeks. My last visit the Doc sprayed 21 places.

[opos]

On the day that I die

On the day I die a lot will happen.
A lot will change.
The world will be busy.
On the day I die, all the important appointments I made will be left unattended.
The many plans I had yet to complete will remain forever undone.
The bills I always insisted be paid on time can be late now and I won't know it.
The things I wanted but didn't buy because I might need the money..won't ever be mine.
The calendar that ruled so many of my days will now be irrelevant to me.
All the material things I so chased and guarded and treasured will be left in the hands of others to care for or to discard.
The words of my critics which so burdened me will cease to sting or capture anymore. They will be unable to touch me.
The arguments I believed I’d won here will not serve me or bring me any satisfaction or solace.
All my noisy incoming notifications and texts and calls will go unanswered. Their great urgency will be quieted.
My many nagging regrets will all be resigned to the past, where they should have always been anyway.
Every superficial worry about my body that I ever labored over; about my waistline or hairline or frown lines, will fade away.
My carefully crafted image, the one I worked so hard to shape for others here, will be left to them to complete anyway.
My memories of the past will merge into the present and simply fade away.
All the small and large anxieties that stole sleep from me each night will be rendered powerless.
The deep and towering mysteries about life and death that so consumed my mind will finally be clarified in a way that they could never be before while I lived.
These things will certainly all be true on the day that I die.


Yet for as much as will happen on that day, one more thing that will happen.
On the day I die, the few people who really know and truly love me will grieve deeply.
They will feel a void.
They will feel cheated.
They will not feel ready.
They will feel as though a part of them has died as well.
And on that day, more than anything in the world they will want more time with me.
I know this from those I love and grieve over.
And so knowing this, while I am still alive I’ll try to remember that my time with them is finite and fleeting and so very precious—and I’ll do my best not to waste a second of it.
I’ll try not to squander a priceless moment worrying about all the other things that will happen on the day I die, because many of those things are either not my concern or beyond my control.
Friends, those other things have an insidious way of keeping you from living even as you live; vying for your attention, competing for your affections.
They rob you of the joy of this unrepeatable, uncontainable, ever-evaporating Now with those who love you and want only to share it with you.
Don’t miss the chance to dance with them while you can.

It’s easy to waste so much daylight in the days before you die.
Don’t let your life be stolen every day by all that you’ve been led to believe matters, because on the day you die, the fact is that much of it simply won’t.
Yes, you and I will die one day.
But before that day comes: let us live.

[GaryN]

Pancreatic cancer just took my nephew yesterday. He was a fun person to be around. He was very close to his father (my brother). It will be hard to deal with the loss.

[Lloyd Smale]

if your suggesting the eat right stay healthy solution well ill say this. MANY people get and die from cancer that lead healthy lives. Your odds might increase slightly if you don't, but if Gods plan has you getting and dieing from cancer, eating all the kelp and veggies in the world isn't going to change it and neither is running every morning. Heck joggers die from heart attacks and get melanoma from exposure to all that health sunshine. Bottom line is if science could pin right down what actually triggers cancer to start in a body we wouldn't have cancer. Just about everything we do in our lives can be a cause of cancer. Breathing the smoke from your casting pot. Using about any chemical we use day to day from cleaning products to shampoo. Staying outside in the healthy sunshine. Ask goatwhiskers about that one. Driving down the highway and breathing pollutants from your car and the one next to you. Eating just about anything that comes in a package. So unless your only food is food from a garden grew with no chemicals or fertilizer your a hypocrite for lecturing others. ANY food bought in a store contains either chemicals or is grown with fertilizers or has preservatives or in the case of meat has hormones. If you raise your own meat and veggys (even then just plain red meat has been linked to cancer) you might fair better but how many people in this country today can realistically do this. How many today can eliminate everything out of your life that causes cancer?? Remember it only takes one. If God says its time its time. I know people that are in there 80s who smoked non filter cigerettes from the time they were 12 and I know people in there 30s that have died from lung cancer and never smoked a single cigarette.
If anyone is willing to put some effort into learning and more effort into following through, read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. It is curious to me almost no one wants to take any personal responsibility for anything. They would rather get cut on and chemo'd till there hair falls out than learn or do.

[Lloyd Smale]

I'm 62. I smoked since I was 12 up till about 6 months ago. I quit not because I though id get cancer because quiting this late isn't going to help that. I quit because it was hard to breath. I drank half my life, did drugs the first 1/3. Worked on ships and powerplants exposed to LOTS of asbestos. Worked on cars and other mechanical things all my life and cleaned my hands with about every bad chemical that's been made, Ive ate just what ive though tasted good for 60 of those 62 years, Have worked on farms where planes sprayed insecticides while we stood and watched. drank water out of lead pipes, breathed fumes off lead pots for over 30 years. Worked out in the sun all my life and never used a sun block. Handled probably thousands of chemicaly treated power poles and ate my lunch right up on them. Was exposed to all kinds of high voltage lines. Again ate my lunch up in it (probably a twinky or two in it) Ive ate beef at least 3 times a week all my life, I don't think ive at 3 salads in my life unless you count taco salad or tuna salad. Yup theres only one thing left and that's prayer. If God wants me and wants me to get cancer then it will happen. Nothing I change in my life today is going to prevent it. Way to late for that nonsense and even if it were I look at it like this. I'm 62. I have (if I'm very lucky) 15-20 more years. If someone told me Lloyd you have a choice. Continue as you are and die at 75 or eat only rabbit food and go running every day and become completely paranoid about everything around me that can cause me to die and live till 80 that decision would be a no brainer if there ever was one. No thanks. Give me a t bone a baked tater with lots of butter some good biscuits with butter and for health sake maybe a can of corn. Cook it on one of those unhealthy out door barbque grills and give me a bottle of bud while I'm cooking (out in the sun getting melanoma and breathing the freshly applied weed and feed on my lawn. Maybe later ill crank up my polluting pickup and go to dairy queen for a blizzard!.
I can very easily understand your worries -- but, you may wish to ask yourself if there is ANYTHING you might do re your own future health -- specifically cancer avoidance? I like to close my eyes and actually see great times and memories I have had the privilege of sharing with loved ones lost. And, sad as it may be, if I was given the choice of either NOT ever knowing the passed person, OR, having the privilege of knowing them -- including the loss -- it would take less than a milli-second for me to choose the latter. Regardless, it reinforces how very fragile, indeed, our life -- the very short stay we have on planer Earth is.
Prayer often helps, too...
geo

[jmort]

^^^ we are similar in age
Everything you say is true in my opinion
You want to live a long life, it is the genetic lottery

Try this and see how it goes for you with the wrong genetics

217019

Four bottles of red wine a day. Antonio Docampo García, who died last week at the grand old age of 107, attributed his longevity to his drinking habits - four bottles of red wine a day, and no water. Mr Docampo liked to have two bottles of wine with lunch, and another two with dinner, his family told reporters.Feb 12, 2016
This 107-year-old's secret to a long life? Four bottles of red wine a day ...
https://www.google.com/search?q=four+bottles+of+wine+a+day&oq=four+bottles+of+wine+&aqs=chrome.0.35i39j69i57j0l2.9930j1j7&client=tablet-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

[mold maker]

OPOS
Thanks for putting it all in perspective.

[Handloader109]

Not to be a casual or flippant response, but No One gets out alive... We all are going to die of something.

Genetics is main factor, but not all by any means. My mother turned 90 in Oct. She was oldest of 4, and is last left. Youngest brother, AIDS related 12 yrs ago, Oldest brother, smoked, dies of lung cancer 8 yrs ago. Sister, various ailments, clogged carotid arteries did her in about 6 yrs ago at 79. BTW, neither she nor mom drank a drop of alcohol in their lives, Oldest brother did, Youngest who knows? Sister was health nut over her last 15 or so years. Supplements for everything and a lot of herbs. Didn't seem to help a bit.

[Bazoo]

My family knows of cancer. Mom has bladder cancer. Lost an uncle (by marriage) to liver cancer recently. Several others have had various types, Grandpa dies of colon cancer I think. I never gave it any thought until Mom got it. Might be part of the reason she started going to church with me. She's makin her peace with God, which im thankful for.

[lefty o]

just my thoughts, but if your god chooses for you to die an agonizing painful death from cancer, i believe you have been worshiping the wrong god!

[Reverend Al]

Yes, cancer is such an insidious disease. I just lost a very good old friend and shooting partner this last Saturday to cancer of the liver and gall bladder. He'd been feeling poorly lately so he went in for a few tests. They diagnosed him as terminal and told him he had about 6 months to live (give or take a little bit). In fact, he went downhill very quickly and was gone in about 2 1/2 weeks. He was 84 years old (would have been 85 next month) and he had a very interesting and satisfying life, but its still a real shame to loose such a good friend so quickly and having to watch them deteriorate daily. He was generous enough to gift me a couple of his favorite handguns as keepsakes, and I will be selling several of his other remaining guns at his request and will be donating the generated funds to our local Hospice in his name.

[Lon246]

I'm currently taking chemo for my 6th and 7th cancers.
At age 37 in 1977, they removed 1/2 my large intestine, appendix and 18 lymph nodes followed by a year of chemo. Then, they removed polyps, if found, every five years. The chemo reduced my kidneys to 50% normal function.
The next four were nothings ... skin spots on my bald head, only one required a scalpel, the rest were burnt off.
The last two are now in the small intestine and liver. I'm 78. Surgery is not the best treatment. They then think they can they can put the cancers in a latent stage with chemo.
My 2 cents of advice? If you notice your body slowly changeing and it is a steady thing and not getting better, hammer on the medical folks untill they find the cause. Early detection is very important.
I'm a retired Marine with more than 310 combat missions in 'Nam and I will not go gently.

[Pressman]

I just lost a friend to cancer. Gary died Tuesday night. He cancer, the VA took good care of him,, cured thee first round. 77 months later it was back in his pancreas and lungs.
He left no close family, as he was an eccentric batchlor.
I am the executor of the will. I see that as an honor and a crises. He left a house full of reloading tools and supplies. His garage is full tools. He had no debt.
Looks like my summer is planned for me.
Cancer is a terrible way to go. He was doing OK up till the final three weeks. Then pain started taking over his life. Hospice refused to help as he had guns in the house, their words.
Life is tough enough, dying should not be that difficult.

[375supermag]

Hi...

Know all too well what you all are talking about.

Cousin died of cancer back in the 1960s...he was about 7-8 years old. Grandmother died of pancreatic cancer in the early 1960s. My father died of lung cancer in the late 1960s.

I had lymphoma(non-Hodgkin's) in 1977. Was cancer free until 2012. Had a case of salivary gland cancer that had metastasized to my lymph glands.
2016 had a case of Burkitt's-like lymphoma that metastasized to my lungs, stomach, brain and a few lymph glands in my abdomen. Now in remission.

I have had at least 7 major surgeries, 70 radiation treatments and a 6 month regimen of chemotherapy. Have been declared terminal two times. I have been blind in my right eye for about 4 months because of the brain tumor(thankfully restored by chemotherapy), I have greatly reduced saliva and a damaged sense of taste. I am no longer capable of curling 90lbs with one arm as I once could...I am actually quite weak, have limited energy and struggle with a lack of stamina.

After 14 months of disability, I returned to work full time last August. People at work say I am a tough old bastard that just refuses to give in and die.

I am now 63 years old and plan to retire after the first of June this year.

It is time to live out the balance of my life in well-deserved retirement doing what I wish.
I have been acquiring new firearms and plan to spend a great deal of time investigating the accuracy potential of each at my gun club as often as I have the strength and energy to do so.
I went on a few one day hunting trips last fall and winter and fully intend to do so for as long as I have the strength, stamina and am healthy enough to do so.

For those suffering from this disease, all I can say is fight back, refuse to yield. Face the situation with good humor and resolve to win the fight.
You can defeat this enemy.

I am living proof.

[GoodOlBoy]

Most that know me here know that I was diagnosed with testicular cancer more than three years ago. Had emergency surgery because the doctors all agreed they had never seen a tumor grow faster or more aggressively. Quite literally the tumor more than doubled in size in the week between the first scan and the second that sent me to surgery. My case is still be studied because even the day of my emergency surgery I had ZERO blood markers for cancer. To this day I've never fully recovered from the surgery. Most also know my wife is still fighting two forms of cancer, and thank the Good Lord she is currently winning on that front.

God has blessed us thus far, and I will walk this earth and breathe this air until I don't. I know where I'm bound once I leave this old world, but don't think for an instant I'm in a hurry to get there. We get one chance to stomp the mud down here before living with Him in glory, and I'm gonna stomp it every chance I can get that I can get these tired old bones up enough to do it. If I can't stomp the mud, well I'll listen to the birds sing, the crickets cry, and the distant thunder long as He will allow that. Good Lord willin' maybe I'll get a few more chances to drown an earthworm or two before it's all said and done. I'm cantankerous, and I mean more than a little. I'll scratch and claw with tooth and nail to stay here, and give me half a chance I'll bite the tree bark and hold on like an old loggerhead while they try to drag me away. The Lord give me one go around, and I've wasted too much of it as it is. Be danged if anybody but Him cuts it short for me, myself included.

God Bless, and One Love.

GoodOlBoy

[toallmy]

I cleared a big long post I typed , all I can say is God bless ,

[fatnhappy]

Pancreatic cancer took my father. My mother survived breast cancer and uterine cancer but pancreatic cancer took her in the end. My wife's little brother was taken by testicular cancer at 21.

All at the same time.

I feel for everyone that suffers the scourge.

[Blackwater]

My sister in law was a paranoid schizophrenic, clinically diagnosed. When she learned she had cancer, the doc basically told her to go home and wait for the inevitable, and not to buy any green bananas. This sent her into a long bout of continued hysterics. But then, I think she simply got tired of the hysterics, and couldn't sustain them, and she began looking about for something she could "take with her." And the search was really in earnest this time, which may well have been a first for her. She turned to religion, and I suspect, had her first real experience with Christ. And it was amazing how this affected her! For the first time, she started questioning and fighting her impulses and the voices, and you can't believe how much this changed her behavior!!! It was truly inspiring to see how much real, true faith really CAN change our lives, and bring us to a VERY much better place in life than we'd ever known prior to that experience. Finally, she reconciled herself to her mortality, and said, literally, "I'm just going to enjoy whatever time I have left, and let the Lord take care of the rest." I have never seen such a transformation before in my life! No better example could, I think, be observed in this life than my sister in law's example. It's really not about how many years we have, but what we put INTO those years, that really matters.

We humans tend to be pretty lazy, at least much of the time, and whenever we have the liberty and opportunity to be so. Facing one's own mortality is a very strong motivator, if we'll simply let it be. It tends to focus us on what's REALLY important in this life, and what's just chaff and pomp. What greater blessing could we have than to focus on what's really important and eternal?

Also, death is a release from this world, and a pathway into the next, eternal realm. As such, it's not a "punishment" to be dreaded, but a mere change in form, just as a butterfly emerges from its crysalis. Of all those who've had a near death experience, and been actually dead for a time, and then returned, none who are faithful ever feared death again! I think this ought to put death in a better perspective than we typically regard it.

Many regard life as simply an opportunity to "party" and have "fun." But it's a lot more serious and consequential than that. Always has been. Always will be. And death is not something to be dreaded. Do you think the caterpillar is afraid to form its crysalis? Why should we, then, dread passing from one realm into the next? Once one commits to the Lord, our previous sins, of whatever type they might be, are cast "as far as the east is from the west," and will never be credited to us thereafter. It's a true transformation, if we'll just allow it to be, and if we're sincere in our commitment.

God knew what he was doing when He created death. We typically look at everything we've been given in this realm through such a limited and erroneous set of values and assumptions, that it's a true blessing to be forced to sit and ponder our own demise. If we have faith, we can smile, and though we hate leaving our loved ones behind, we can be satisfied and complacent that Christ will take care of them as He has for us.

Cancer can be painful, and that, of course, to be dreaded. But how can we expect a life so full and rich with blessings, that outnumber the stars in the sky, to NOT have some pain and dread in it to balance things out, and keep us focused where our focus ought to be? Like I said, God really knew what He was doing when He made this world, including the advent of death. If I had my druthers, I'd stay here forever, probably, but my body just won't hold out that long, and when the body wears out, or is disabled, or racked with excruciating pain incessantly, death can be a true deliverer.

Our knee-jerk reaction to our mortality shows how shallowly we typically regard our existence, and our disposition in eternity. Lots of folks have made a real commitment ONLY after finding they were not to be long for this world. What greater blessing could they have received than that?

It's our attitude toward our mortality that is typically off kilter, NOT the reality of the specre of death. It seems God truly loves us enough to do His dead level best to give us ALL, all the motivation we should require to come to faith and belief. He's not like us. He KNOWS our weaknesses and pains and concerns. If we let Him, he can deal with all of it - every jot and tittle of it. But we have to allow it. Thank God for the opportunity to do so!