I went to pilates class today and the regular three were there, along with my favourite instructor. As usual, she had the whole room chatting and sharing our particular views on various matters. Usually the guy who is 70- something makes us laugh with his opinions on sport teams or gives us inspiration to travel to one of the many incredible places he has been to.
Today was different. His words centred around a sombre matter. A routine 5-year gastroscopy found a stage 1 tumour. ” Same cancer as the Pope!”, he declared. He was bracing himself for weeks of chemo either side of an operation. He had been building up his strength after beating cancer before. Now his words were sadly familiar.
” You might not be seeing me so often anymore”, he declared, as his voice quivered and my eyes filled with tears. I will never forget my own father making goodbye phonecalls to colleagues who simply knew he was taking time off for illness. I hate Cancer. I hate how it chops down people in their prime- people who are living with purpose.
I could see the fear in this man’s eyes. Usually the conversationalist- this time the wind had gone out of his sails. He didn’t want to be a lazy man on a couch. He wanted to live.
I pray he will pull through- that they have found the cancer early and that it doesn’t spread. If I see him again I must tell him how much I appreciated his dedication to pilates, week in, week out, and his interesting stories.
Fear of the unknown is real. The only real hope I have when facing my own mortality is Jesus. He promises that eternal life with Him far outweighs any earthly trouble we may go through.
2 Corinthians 4:17 “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
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