R.A.D.I.C.A.L. Thoughts

“This diagnosis (cancer) is a reminder that this is the life you’ve got. And you’re not getting another one.” ~Elizabeth Edwards

Sort of like that ad featuring Sally Fields and Boniva: “This is my one life.” That’s the same thought that Elizabeth Edwards is trying to get across. The difference is that the life Elizabeth Edwards has is not a life someone would choose. She got cancer. We got divorce. Something we didn’t want. A situation we probably didn’t deserve. A circumstance that we can’t change. In fact, oftentimes cancer can be cured. Sometimes it can't. Divorce can never be "cured." We will always be divorced from that person. I hate to admit this, but as much as I tried to sympathize with Elizabeth Edwards and everyone else who has cancer, I remember actually thinking that I personally could have handled cancer easier than divorce because I would have had my husband with me for support. And cancer isn’t a choice anyone makes. My then-husband made the conscious choice to leave me. It seemed that any natural or unnatural disaster that anyone brought up seemed easier to handle than such personal rejection of everything I was about. That's beside the point now, but whether we have cancer, or we lose our house in a tornado (or a divorce), or our child is making bad choices or we can't get a job … we’ve all got the life we’ve got. So, I guess the question is now, “What do we do with the life we’ve got?” We can become life-long whiners and complainers. We can be bitter and angry and miserable to be around. Or we can take this one life we’ve got and make the best of it. Cherish it. Celebrate it. Use it up with goodness and grace. Elizabeth Edwards goes on to say, “Whatever has happened, you have to take this life and treasure and protect it.” Whatever it is, this is your one life. What are you going to do with it?

“Everyone has to die once and then face the consequences.” ~Hebrews 9:27 (The Message)