“You who dwell in the garden with friends in attendance let Me hear your voice.”
Song of Songs 8:13pm
We would be hard-pressed to find someone in our circle or a new acquaintance perhaps who has not experienced tragedy, catastrophic illness or loss. Life can be difficult and challenging as we all know but somehow we cope and find ourselves relying on whatever and whoever we can to ease our suffering, yes, and even offer us a plausible explanation why this terrible thing has entered our lives. Many of us turn to God, Jesus, our clergy, certainly family and oftentimes to friends for that special interaction that provides us with a moment of peace and a brief calm that helps us come to terms, even if for a moment, with the difficult experiences we are encountering.
Recently, our family is faced with a tragedy that we never expected. It is not the first, but it is one that has shaken us to our innermost fears of losing a family member. Our son-in-law Mike is 49 years old and a veteran of Operation Desert Storm having served two years in Iraq as a member of the Air Force Military Police. He has stage 4 liver cancer. There is clear evidence his illness is linked to burn pit exposure. Various types of cancers have been identified as associated with this exposure. The only treatment option he has is intensive chemotherapy. If it is successful, it may arrest the spread for up to a year. If not, it will be only a matter of months.
This biography is important to share because it is about a person who people at my church do not know personally but they care because they know me. To a person, they embraced me and rallied around me with their sincere feelings for my family’s situation. They have reached out and enveloped me with their prayers, their positivity and support. It cannot be expressed in words how much this means to have friends who are there when I need them most. Their caring will be with me for the rest of my life and it will sustain my love for my church and the people who attend there. I can only say “thank you” for being the wonderful people you all are. They are part of the Prince of Peace legacy.
“I get by with a little help from my friends.” The Beatles
By D. A. Higgins
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