By: INTO THE LIGHT Journal
Penned on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 14:57PM CDT
PHILIPPIANS 1:9-12 ~ "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."
My friend Tim always has wisdom to share with me. He knows that young men have to have older and more godly wise men to tell them. As such: who to trust, how to care for others, how to live a meaningful life. How to live life to the fullest.
Not too long ago, Tim lost his wife Vicky over cancer. For the last seven years she fought against such debilitating illness. But in the end, her illness had the final word.
With a peaceful look on his face, Tim took out a folded piece of paper from his wallet. He told me, he had found it, when he tidied up some drawers at home. It was a love letter Vicky had written sometime ago. The letter looks like a school girl's squiggles about her dream guy. The only thing that was missing was a drawing of a heart with the names Tim and Vicky written in it. But the diminutive letter was penned by a woman who had had nine children, a woman who was fighting for her life, and who only had a few months left to live.
Short as it was, it was also a beautiful recipe for how to keep a marriage intact.
Vicky's portraits of her husband begins consequently: "Loved me unconditionally" ... "Concerned about me" ... "Took care of me."
Although Tim may always had a ready answer, however he never gagged about cancer. There were instances where he came home in the evening to find Vicky in the midst of one of those depressions cancer patients so often go through. In no time he got her into the car and drove her to her favorite cafe.
He demonstrated an immeasurable amount of love, kindness, respect, and consideration for her, and she knew it. You cannot hide something from someone who knows you best.
"Helped me when I was sick," so the next line reads. Conceivably, Vicky penned this while she was at the height of cancer's atrocious and astonishing respite. Where all is almost—as it used to be, before the onset of cancer, where it doesn’t hurt to hope that everything is over. Perhaps forever.
She penned more …
"Forgave me a lot." … "Stood by my side" … "Understands always."
Generous enough to give a piece of good advice to anyone who looks on giving constructive criticism as a kind of revered duty: "Always encouraging ... uplifting!"
"Always made sure I had everything I needed," Vicky goes on to write—then she has turned over the paper and added: "Loving. Unselfish. Respectful. Warmth. Humor. Compassion. Gentleness. Kindness. Thoughtfulness." And then she went on about the husband she has lived with and loved the most of her life: "Always there for me when I needed you."
The final words Vicky penned abridge all the rest. I can picture her for me when she put in unselfishly: "Good friend."
I am looking at Tim across the coffee table, and cannot even pretend to know how it feels to lose someone who is as close to me as Vicky was to him. I need to hear what he has to say much more than he needs to talk.
So I ask, "Tim, how do you stay together with someone for 40 years—not to mention the illness?" "How do I know if I can bear to stand by my wife’s side if she becomes sick someday?"
Then he gently utters, "You can." ... "Because you love her enough."
Penned on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 14:57PM CDT
PHILIPPIANS 1:9-12 ~ "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."
My friend Tim always has wisdom to share with me. He knows that young men have to have older and more godly wise men to tell them. As such: who to trust, how to care for others, how to live a meaningful life. How to live life to the fullest.
Not too long ago, Tim lost his wife Vicky over cancer. For the last seven years she fought against such debilitating illness. But in the end, her illness had the final word.
With a peaceful look on his face, Tim took out a folded piece of paper from his wallet. He told me, he had found it, when he tidied up some drawers at home. It was a love letter Vicky had written sometime ago. The letter looks like a school girl's squiggles about her dream guy. The only thing that was missing was a drawing of a heart with the names Tim and Vicky written in it. But the diminutive letter was penned by a woman who had had nine children, a woman who was fighting for her life, and who only had a few months left to live.
Short as it was, it was also a beautiful recipe for how to keep a marriage intact.
Vicky's portraits of her husband begins consequently: "Loved me unconditionally" ... "Concerned about me" ... "Took care of me."
Although Tim may always had a ready answer, however he never gagged about cancer. There were instances where he came home in the evening to find Vicky in the midst of one of those depressions cancer patients so often go through. In no time he got her into the car and drove her to her favorite cafe.
He demonstrated an immeasurable amount of love, kindness, respect, and consideration for her, and she knew it. You cannot hide something from someone who knows you best.
"Helped me when I was sick," so the next line reads. Conceivably, Vicky penned this while she was at the height of cancer's atrocious and astonishing respite. Where all is almost—as it used to be, before the onset of cancer, where it doesn’t hurt to hope that everything is over. Perhaps forever.
She penned more …
"Forgave me a lot." … "Stood by my side" … "Understands always."
Generous enough to give a piece of good advice to anyone who looks on giving constructive criticism as a kind of revered duty: "Always encouraging ... uplifting!"
"Always made sure I had everything I needed," Vicky goes on to write—then she has turned over the paper and added: "Loving. Unselfish. Respectful. Warmth. Humor. Compassion. Gentleness. Kindness. Thoughtfulness." And then she went on about the husband she has lived with and loved the most of her life: "Always there for me when I needed you."
The final words Vicky penned abridge all the rest. I can picture her for me when she put in unselfishly: "Good friend."
I am looking at Tim across the coffee table, and cannot even pretend to know how it feels to lose someone who is as close to me as Vicky was to him. I need to hear what he has to say much more than he needs to talk.
So I ask, "Tim, how do you stay together with someone for 40 years—not to mention the illness?" "How do I know if I can bear to stand by my wife’s side if she becomes sick someday?"
Then he gently utters, "You can." ... "Because you love her enough."
💓💓💓
1 Corinthians 13:13
"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
