| | It's strange, the way events and emotions can hold court in your heart sometimes. The thing that I've had the most trouble making peace with in my adult years is that conflicting emotions can play out in your life simultaneously.
Last week, I found out that my 86-year-old grandfather had been diagnosed with bone cancer. In spite of his weak state, and in spite of the concerns that his daughters had about his body's ability to handle chemotherapy and a cornucopia of medications, he decided to plunge head first into chemo treatments and try to fight back. This morning, I received an unexpected phone call from my mother. She was on her way to the hospital to meet my grandmother and two of my aunts. They need to all talk about what steps to take next. His kidneys are failing. His heart is failing. The clock apparently is winding down, much, much, too much sooner than I expected.
About an hour ago, I received an unexpected phone call from Pastor Adam Vuma in South Africa. It has been two years since last I saw him, and probably about a year since last I spoke with him on the phone. Calls with him are always brief, because the phone cards that he purchases for international calls don't seem to last very long. He wants to come back and visit the States next year. His church is vibrant and growing. His family is doing well. The money is gone on the phone card, so he'll talk to us later. "Take care, King David..."
These are two men that I want to see again very badly. Nikki and I have been planning a trip to Indiana for the first week of September. Part of my reason for taking this trip is because Grandma and Grandpa are getting further and further down the road, and you just never know how many more visits you have left with them. I'd been planning on sitting down with them, and for the first time in my adult life, telling them how much I appreciate them, and how much they mean to me. To look my grandfather in the eye, and tell him I love him. That for all of his character flaws, and all of the poor decisions he's made in the past, that I still admire him and respect him. I was planning on sitting down and hearing some more of his WWII stories, because I only remember one other time in my life that I had the chance to do that with him before. I don't know why it's been so long since I've told them these things. I just want him to hold on for one more month, and I'm pretty sure that he doesn't have it left in him to do it.
And I've wanted to see Pastor Adam again, too, mainly because of the extra helping of joy that he brought to our house when he stayed with us in 2006. I didn't have a time table for the next time I'd see him, though, because it's not so easy for either of us to get to where the other one lives. We'll see if we actually get to see each other next year, but I pray that it does indeed work out so we can.
So here I sit, processing two very different phone calls. And this seems to be what adult life is all about: Moments of sorrow and moments of joy, and learning that sometimes they ride into your life simultaneously. And the only way to keep those moments from tearing you in two is to lean into God even more, and trust that his strength and peace will carry you through... |
| | Posted 8/2/2008 3:03 PM - 57 Views - 0 eProps - 1 Comment
- recommend
  - recs0
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
