“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
Spring time, a time when the cold snow from winter has subsided and buds return to trees and bushes. Also spring offers a time in which flowers make their way out of the dirt and open while reaching for the sun. Spring time is a time of renewal.
Yet, this spring has been bitter and as hard as those cold snowy winter days. Sickness came to a family member and the whole family was sick. Not just any sickness, the flu or sinus infection would have been much more preferred. No this was worse, much worse. Cancer.
Allison a person who lived life on her own terms (which is admirable in it’s own right) fell victim to the nastiest of diseases. Good days came and went faster than the seasons change, which can be a harsh reality of cancer.
As the family grieved at the start of the diagnoses there was also hope. Hope in God, hope in medicine, hope in doctors and nurses. Hope in a miracle that in the end did not come. But, hope in and of itself is a healthy and good thing to grab hold of.
I can not imagine the round the clock care Allison needed as the days grew shorter. Her husband and child, could only watch and help knowing time was cruelly slipping away.
Cancer does not play by the rules. Sometimes it beats prayers and chemotherapy. We know that life is not fair, but this feels like a different level of unfairness because it directly affects the family and the person who you love.
Soon spring will give way to the hot days of summer. I will remember Allison and her awesome red hair, smile, laughter and witty humor, when spring time rolls around from now on, I will not remember and mourn a fallen family member. Instead I will remember that the winter has past and spring offers new hope.
This is a legacy that Allison has given us. Dying in the renewal season was her gift.
