We were never promised an easy, carefree life. Part of being human is facing challenges, winning some and losing others. I recall how “The Wide World of Sports” broadcast always began with “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” I’m reminded of the lyrics to a 1971 song: “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine, there’s gotta be a little rain some time”. That’s where I find myself today, tasting the victory alongside the defeat.
The victory is in the God given skills of the surgeon who operated on my husband, successfully removing the upper section of his lung. Yes, he has lung cancer. However, the prognosis is good despite the lengthy treatment and recovery time we are about to embark on. We were afraid he might lose his entire right lung. We were afraid the cancer had spread to other parts of his body. We are lucky that neither of these things happened. I don’t want to say we are blessed because I believe God gives us the strength to deal with the problems that befall us; but that He doesn’t necessarily keep us from experiencing the problems and the outcome isn’t always ideal in our eyes. The blessing is in the grace and strength He provides whatever the outcome. I think about the battle my mother lost to breast cancer at only 57 years old. Countless others have fought this battle and lost at even younger ages. Even in the midst of that dark time, I felt God’s grace and strength in me. The same is true now.
In the coming months, I believe we as a nation will continue to experience hardships as this virus infects more people, political unrests expands, and financial distress engulfs us all. Like the surgeon, we need to put to use the tools and skills at our disposal to fight the good fight on all these fronts. We’re going to have to insist that we and those around us wear masks, practice social distancing, wash our hands, and clean surfaces. We’re going to have to ensure that the people we know have the means to drop off their ballots or make it to the polls to vote in person. For the moment, protest marchers need to put aside their sneakers to volunteer at the polls in place of older folks who have bowed out this year. Those of us who are able, need to give more generously to food banks and other relief efforts as the needy among us grows. We need to continue to insist on social justice, lending our creative talents and intelligent voices to the cause. We need to get serious about pushing government and corporate leaders to switch to renewable energy to ward off life-threatening climate change. And finally, we need to be forceful in our opposition to the few white supremacist who are aching to start a civil war.
Trouble is all around us. Indeed, these are turbulent times with many life-threatening challenges. But like the surgeon who operated on my husband, we have the tools and the ability at our fingertips to face them. The question is do we have the collective wisdom to use what we have or will we simply go down without a fight. Whether we win or lose, I know God will be gracious in our sorrow.