I am so grateful to be well again in body and spirit.
I want to apologize for living rent free in your minds and hearts since I began blogging back in August. It’s time to kick me out.
I’m out jogging again and the household repairs that I haven’t felt up to since last summer, like finding the source of the leak in our basement, are now on my to do list. I’ve also completed a long overdue application to do some volunteer work at Covenant House.
A few final thoughts and then my blog is almost done. One final entry about black bears to go.
My entire blog has been about a journey, a journey of faith and trust in God. When I began, I hoped that I would beat my cancer but I knew that I had to accept God’s will no matter what the outcome. It's been an uphill battle but one that, in retrospect, I’m grateful for. I’ve learned so much about patience, humility and service since my initial cancer diagnosis.
Waiting for that next round of chemo, that next test result, that next doctor’s appointment is all about developing patience; a patience that builds perseverance to help weather the storm of cancer.
Humility comes from knowing that the success or failure of your treatments is essentially out of your hands, that being an ironman doesn’t help you to pump up your own tires. Any pumping up I’ve received has been from family and friends. In a way, true humility is about giving up control of your life and your destiny and being able to honestly say, “Thy will be done.”
The service part of my cancer time has been the most gratifying and surprising of all. I would have never guessed that my time out of the starting lineup could be so productive. When I began blogging, I thought that my updates on my condition would only be of interest to relatives and close friends. However, as I watched my blog audience grow from the hundreds in Canada and the US to thousands including countries like Malaysia, Ghana, Brazil and Australia, I realized that I could use my blog as a witness to God’s presence in my life.
Mike 2.0 is still a work in progress. My granddaughter Isla, who turned one last Monday, is a work in progress. My dear mom, who just celebrated her 92nd birthday two weeks ago, is a work in progress. In fact, we’re all a work in progress. We’re all on a unique journey filled with opportunities for growth and happiness. What my cancer time has made me realize is that what I used to call luck is really is God’s grace working daily in our lives. And yes, each of us will make mistakes and experience hardship and failure. However, the challenge is to see God’s hand in all things, to keep our eyes open to His plan and to trust in the future.
In closing, these past nine cancer months have been like a sport training camp for me…. with some initial weight loss and a whole lot of sweating. I’m not quite at 100% but I’m anxious to get back into the action and try some new plays now that I understand the game better.
I still don’t know my coach as well as I should. But I do want to win a lot more for Him now.
The secret of life is to let oneself be carried by God and so carry Him to others.
Pope John XXIII
Mike what great writing - the rent was well paid! Thanks too for your kind comments and including Karen & I in one of your Mike 2s - our 10 minutes "of fame" just dropped down to eight.
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