I have a friend from college who is probably the strongest person I know, and not just physically. His sense of self is strong, his compassion and care for others is strong, his passion for life is above and beyond strong. This young man always gives THE BEST HUGS ever (and I've had lots of hugs). Even if you were not a touchy-feely person, when he offered a hug, you embraced it. When I say he is full of life, boy, do I mean it. Everything he did in school was brimming with life whether it be studying for tests (which I saw him do!), working out in the gym, or enjoying a cold one on a Friday afternoon. He always was willing to speak honestly, lend a hand, and love. He was the one who showed me how to properly lift weights (Apparently how I was doing it was very, very bad.) His smile could light up even the darkest of days and if that didn't work, he most often had a joke to share. This guy was a friend to so many and did not discriminate. White, black, Christian, Jew, gay, straight, drinker, not - he didn't care.
This friend who lives his life so boldly is losing it to lymphoma. The first words I think of are: it sucks. Then lots of other thoughts follow: he's so young, he's so full of life, it's not fair - and on and on. I have many friends who feel just about the same regarding the situation as well. It's been an on-going topic in my prayer journal. It weighs down on my heart.
I keep thinking of 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, which I of course learned in a song, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed".
This verse reminds me that even when we feel the sadness, the anger, the burdens closing in around us, there's a way out. We aren't alone in this miserable feeling - our God does not abandon us. I like the use of "perplexed" too - such a great word that doesn't get used as often as it should. This life here on earth is "confusing" and "full of difficulty and complications". It's easy to feel the despair with that.
But we don't. We say our prayers, we help each other, and we love and care for one another as Christ would. It's hard work. It sucks at times. But in Him comes the new life, the rebirth, the peace and joy. My prayer today is made up of a Mother Teresa quote that reminds me of how my friend lived, truly loving others.
Jesus, would you teach us to love our neighbors, especially those who don't seem so lovable, the way that you have chosen to love us? Teach us to see you in others, especially those who don't have the time, the means, or the interest, to make themselves out to be all that attractive. Teach us to recognize our brothers and sisters everywhere we go - in church, at school, when we are shopping at the grocery store, but especially in those places like the streets, where we are least likely to gain anything in the material from them. Teach us to do unto the least of our brothers and sisters as though we were doing it unto You! ~Mother Teresa
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