As I mentioned yesterday I’m working in San Antonio for a few months and today was my first day on the bus. I took the bus from the airport, dropped off the rental car, to work. Along the way a guy got on and started speaking with this woman sitting beside me. As the conversation progressed it was clear they knew each other, in fact they were husband and wife.
They had each been staying in different shelters in the city so they hadn’t been together. She in 7 days had found G-d and was being saved, while he was staying sober trying to work on his anger issues. As I listened to their conversation, couldn’t avoid it, I realized that whatever caused strife in their lives had derailed them so severely that it hindered their relationship.
Did your diagnosis derail you? I know for many hearing an illness diagnosis from the doctor put them into the stratosphere. It definitely impacts every aspect of their lives and their life becomes their illness. It’s obvious that certain events in our lives knock us off our feet and cause us to re-evaluate almost everything in our lives.
I felt sadness listening to this couple because they had reached a point of surrender with each other. Maybe they were each other’s disease, I’m not sure, but each had reached a point of resolution within themselves to lead their lives differently.
I believe the same is true for those with a chronic or life-threatening illness. There comes a point where you may re-evaluate your priorities and even consider putting yourself on the list as a priority. What do you need to re-evaluate? What if anything do you need to surrender to? It means you’ll have to stop digging in your heals and leave yourself open to the realm of possibility.
Having a health challenge is serious business, but everyone has something in their life that’s serious business. These days more and more people are losing their homes, people in the Unites States, the richest country on the planet, are going to bed hungry. It’s all about perspective.
It’s important that you utilize all resources available to you because the goal is to reduce the amount of trouble and stress to promote health and healing.
Pilgrim Pathway/Surviving Strong 