Grabbing Life by the Nards

This evening, I sat and joined in a discussion with a few people I know who have dealt with different feelings of grief, loss, and sickness. One person was a friend of mine who lost a baby boy days after his birth because of a abnormal chromosomal condition. Another was a man who had been diagnosed with cancer of the liver and was undergoing treatment. We spoke about grief, and recovery, and the shock of discovering that you're horribly sick, and the necessity of living with gratitude for each day that we're here on Earth.

It was a vulnerable, honest, and sobering conversation, and filled me with love for these two people who are experiencing such different difficult things, but who are facing it so courageously.

Another friend of ours has recently started chemo and is unabashedly pouring out his heart for all to read on Facebook - another courageous thing to do in the face of something so daunting. He recently posted a vine (if you haven't heard of Vine, you're missing out! Click here.) in which he took some time in nature. There was a simple shot of his hand touching a tree trunk. It was moving, to say the least, to see him drawing strength from this old, deeply rooted tree, this small piece of a vast creation.

These things leave me pondering. I'm a processor to the core. I listen, and I go away and ponder for a while, putting the pieces together in my mind and trying to make sense of what I've heard and what I think of it. The amazing thing about all three of these people is this.

They are living life in the raw, and in the now.

My friend spoke of needing to allow herself to pass through grief. She isn't living in the past, or trying to rush through or away from the pain. She lives today, and is learning to allow herself to feel what she feels.

The man spoke of being in a place of peace. In the midst of his body fighting against a slow growing cancer, he feels a deep calm and gratitude for each day as it comes and goes.

The third friend speaks of the love and care that he receives from those who pour out their support on his Facebook feed. He speaks of his experience changing each day, as some days he feels better than others, but that he's determined to deal with this thing and win.

I myself have never had cancer. I have never lost a child. I have never experienced the pain of divorce, or mental illness, or loss of a loved one. Sometimes I feel as though I've had an easy life.

But the thing is, from walking through these times alongside friends, witnessing and validating their pain and sorrow, and opening my heart to hear what I can from God in the moments of pondering, I glean a little bit of a gift from these people. I hear the messages that are being whispered through each situation. The messages aren't being whispered in only these difficult situations, but in every situation that I encounter.

Life is meant to be lived. Right now.

I mean, this is it, isn't it? And isn't it so easy to get caught up in what's going to happen tomorrow? Isn't it easy to dwell on the past?

I have to jog myself some days and shout out, "LAURA! THIS IS LIFE, RIGHT NOW! STOP IMAGINING WHAT YOU'LL DO WHEN YOU HAVE MORE TIME, OR MORE MONEY, OR WHEN THE KIDS ARE OLDER! THIS IS IT! DO THINGS RIGHT TODAY! ENJOY THE GIFT THAT IS TODAY! LIVE IN THE PEACE AND JOY OF THIS MOMENT!"

And so, in light of that, I'm going to post this, get up, leave the computer, and go sit with Ryan for the remainder of the evening. Then I'm going to go to sleep, and get up, and head out on an adventure with my little family for the weekend.

Have a wonderful, peaceful, in-the-moment kind of weekend.