Articles
Are You Ready?
How would you react to the news: “You have cancer, and you need to start treatment as soon as possible”? Someone may say, “Don’t ask me that; I don’t even want to think about it.” Another replies, “I don’t know how I would react. I would hope I would accept it with faith and courage, but I won’t know until it actually happens.”
In my own case, my father heard these words 45 years ago and died within about two months. My sister heard those words and succumbed to it after a 16 month battle. My mother heard those words two different times and survived radical surgeries to eradicate the cancer. And now a friend of both ours and the Dixons has heard them, a Christian brother in his mid-40s with a wife and two daughters who depend on him.
Many of us share similar experiences. Our loved ones have heard the “C” word, or perhaps other equally-terrifying prognoses. Or, as we have announced in recent weeks, families are decimated in a car accident or darkened by suicide (as Amy Willis and her family are now experiencing).
This article is not intended to be morbid or depressing. Rather, it is to help us explore whether we are truly ready for possibility of bad news. Most people deal with worst case scenarios by some degree of repression. We just don’t consciously think 24/7 about death and disaster. This is normal.
To do otherwise is to become obsessed with things that may never happen and probably worried into paralysis.
So, we must learn to find a balance point between mentally preparing for future possibilities and acceptance of present reality. True, no one can say for certain what he or she would do in a certain circumstance, but prudence demands that we at least consider what may occur (and what we see occurring to others around us) and formulate an ideal reaction of faith. (Even unenlightened people do this – first responders, schools, the military, etc.)
Several questions may help us frame our thoughts:
1) Is my present relationship with God strong and close enough that my instinctive reaction would be to reach out for Him? If we are not as intimate with God as we should be, we might feel ashamed and thus reluctant to come to Him in a time of dire need. We must see past the illusion of self-sufficiency and realize our total dependency upon Him each day.
2) Do I trust in God to place my life and total well-being entirely in His hands? Faith solely in the medical establishment is misplaced. There are wonderful medical researchers and practitioners who may be able to help us, but the honest doctor admits his limitations. Outcomes are not always within the normal parameters of health and wellness. Some who should live die; others who seem terminal survive (cf. Ecc 9:11-12). Our ultimate trust must be in the One who providentially holds our lives in His hands (2 Cor 1:9).
3) Will I have the courage to fight through the fear and pain? This is where others can inspire us. Humans have far greater capacities than we imagine, and we have all seen loved ones bravely endure what we all dread. God will help us in our darkest hours.
4) Will I have the courage to set an example for others? Facing tragedy or potential disaster is an ultimate teaching moment. It is a reason outside of ourselves to reach for something higher, to show others what we really believe about God and earthly things and heaven beyond. This is one of the greatest gifts we can leave behind, a legacy of courage, faith and peace in the midst of the storm that will strengthen our loved ones when their moment of trial comes.
