bad news

Today, I was told by a friend that she has an aggressive cancer and will likely die very soon.  I've written about this a fair bit here but one of the things that I get to do as a pastor is hear this kind of news fairly often.  I like to think that I'm fairly comfortable around death.  I must admit that this news today caught me emotionally off guard.  I might have cried a bit...a lot.

When I called her to talk, I was blessed by her faith.  She's not superhuman.  She wants more time with her family just as any of us would.  There's lots more things that she wants to be able to do and see.  What blessed me was her peaceful spirit.  It seemed well with her soul and in some strange way, that made it more alright for this news to be well with mine.  Even in these last days, she is talking about how she's been able to witness to doctors, friends and family - in ways that she hadn't been able to do in a long time.  What a blessing to have a friend like her.

I'm thankful for the family of God.  I'm thankful for my friend.  And today, I'm most thankful for the promise of resurrection.