Faith and love
I know there has been a time in most peoples lives that you have heard a conversation that a stranger near us was having on their cell phone. Most of the time I just ignore it and flip through a book or a magazine and try and tune it out I have to admit that there are times when its gossip about how badly someone behaved, or what happened to cause a break up or fight between friends I listen just because its like a real life Soap Opera however I try not to because it is not the right thing to do. While filling out the seeming-less amounts of paper work that goes along with getting an MRI done I over heard a conversation that a man sitting back to back with me that caught my attention. The paperwork laid incomplete as I listened to him speak to his daughter, he confirmed what her mother had told her; his cancer was stage four and had metastasized, he told her he is going to die. I could only imagine the heart break that his daughter on the other end of the call was going through as I thought about my own father. I heard him tell her that he probably not be around for the birth of his second grandchild, but he was so glad that he got to be there for the birth of the first. He assured her that even though God was calling him home he would be there with her during the good times and the bad she may not be able to see him but that she would be able to feel him. I heard him tell her that a fathers love survived even death. He said that he knew this day was coming and that he was ready for it. He told her that he planed to spend the rest of the time that he had left with his family and friends so that when it was his time there would be no doubt of how he loved then all. I could not believe the strength in this mans voice, he spoke with such clarity and conviction as he told her that he believed in heaven and that he would be there soon and that in time they would all be reunited there. I just sat there tears stinging my eyes listening till he told her that he loved her and would come by that night to visit.
I wanted to talk to this man to tell him that the short five minuet call I had just heard had an impact on what I was going through in my life, I have never been a shy person and never have had any problem talking to a stranger but I was not sure if I should have said something. I had one of my girlfriends with me and we looked at each other both with tears in our eyes and I got the courage to tap him on the shoulder. He turned around and I began to explain that I had overheard his conversation and that I was sorry to ease drop but I wanted him to know that his words had given me a kind of peace as I go through my own health issues. The smile on his face let me know that he was not at all bothered by me hearing his conversation, I told him how I struggled with understanding why I was meant to go through all of this and at times I get cranky and am ready to say enough is enough he told me that he had been there and as soon as I let go of the anger things would get better. He said that life is too short to live it being angry, weather you have minuets or years left we all die someday and you have to spend you time here in a way that glorifies God. I know that there are people in the world that have different religious views but I think that what he says holds true for most people. If you spend all your time fighting off the inevitable you have wasted whatever time you had left time you could have been spent with your loved ones, and wasted any chance to have your life impact the world, to maybe make a difference that otherwise never would have happened. I never got to ask him what his name was because just as I was opening my mouth to speak I heard my name being called to go back to have my MRI done. I had so many questions that I wanted to ask him, and the entire hour and a half that I was having my scan done I though about what he had said to his daughter and I found myself thinking about my father and friends and how they had all stood by my side as I struggled with illness and the impact that they had on my life and I hoped that one day someone would say the same thing about me. Thanks to this stranger I am not as scared about what is to come, I was reminded that what does not kill us only makes us stronger, and after all this I can move a mountain.
I wanted to talk to this man to tell him that the short five minuet call I had just heard had an impact on what I was going through in my life, I have never been a shy person and never have had any problem talking to a stranger but I was not sure if I should have said something. I had one of my girlfriends with me and we looked at each other both with tears in our eyes and I got the courage to tap him on the shoulder. He turned around and I began to explain that I had overheard his conversation and that I was sorry to ease drop but I wanted him to know that his words had given me a kind of peace as I go through my own health issues. The smile on his face let me know that he was not at all bothered by me hearing his conversation, I told him how I struggled with understanding why I was meant to go through all of this and at times I get cranky and am ready to say enough is enough he told me that he had been there and as soon as I let go of the anger things would get better. He said that life is too short to live it being angry, weather you have minuets or years left we all die someday and you have to spend you time here in a way that glorifies God. I know that there are people in the world that have different religious views but I think that what he says holds true for most people. If you spend all your time fighting off the inevitable you have wasted whatever time you had left time you could have been spent with your loved ones, and wasted any chance to have your life impact the world, to maybe make a difference that otherwise never would have happened. I never got to ask him what his name was because just as I was opening my mouth to speak I heard my name being called to go back to have my MRI done. I had so many questions that I wanted to ask him, and the entire hour and a half that I was having my scan done I though about what he had said to his daughter and I found myself thinking about my father and friends and how they had all stood by my side as I struggled with illness and the impact that they had on my life and I hoped that one day someone would say the same thing about me. Thanks to this stranger I am not as scared about what is to come, I was reminded that what does not kill us only makes us stronger, and after all this I can move a mountain.