My husband is recovering from a final surgery in his medical plan. The surgery was relatively simple compared to all that he’s already endured so graciously. He only stayed in the hospital one day and was walking through the neighborhood the day after he returned home. He is already back to work (at least part-time) and manages with supernatural grace and strength. I am celebrating my husband’s life and know that God will continue to give him the power to endure.
Today my heart aches for the wife of another man who just lost his battle with colon cancer. It is surreal and sobering since this man’s diagnosis came less than a year before my husband’s. I don’t know the details of his case. Treatments were ineffective. They also have 3 children. I’ve never met this woman, yet I feel that I know deeply a part of her heart that is now broken and deeply grieving. I am sure that it is the kind of grief that finds you gasping for air, filled with exhaustion but not able to rest. She has a to-do list that feels insurmountable. She will endure many days, weeks and years finding a new normal and looking for ways to fill a void that will never be filled until we all meet again in heaven. Praise God that this woman and her husband trusted Christ as their Savior.
I’ve watched the grief of loved ones who have lost their spouses; it’s deep and long lasting. C. S. Lewis wrote about his grief following the death of his wife in A Grief Observed. I read that book a few years ago. As I ache and pray for this woman, I can’t help but feel undeservedly blessed, almost guilty. My husband is winning his battle and recovering. Life is fragile and can be taken at any moment in many ways. Every minute we share with loved ones on earth is a gift from above. So while I’m here with my husband on earth, I want to be the wife that helps him be all that God intends. I want God to use my husband and me to serve His eternal purpose for as long as He chooses to keep us on earth. As I pray for this grieving wife, I’m also praying for Christ’s return more fervently than ever.
