Four and a half years ago, I was sitting with my father-in-law, Carl, at his doctor’s office when we were given the unexpected news that he had leukemia. In an instant, we were all thrown into an unknown world…the world of cancer. Carl would only live another seven weeks, but during that time we had to have a crash course on this dreaded disease as we learned a whole new vocabulary.
A month after he passed away, my mother-in-law, Alberta, was told she had multiple myeloma. Once again, we had to learn a whole new set of words and procedures. We are so blessed though that after these four years, she is doing well. Currently we spend one day a month at the cancer center as she has an infusion to keep the cancer at bay.
We have had numerous blessings during this time and back on June 29th, 2015, I shared with my readers about a friendship that had been formed between a woman and me at the oncology center (see http://luannfulton.com/blog/mmm-monday-morning-memo-62915). Marty was also a patient there and was sitting across from us during one of our day-long infusions.
To say that the love of Jesus exuded from Marty would be an understatement. When she smiled, her face just lit up and if anyone was having a bad day, she could change that fairly rapidly. Marty loved people just like Jesus loves people…unconditionally. Even though she was fighting cancer herself, she would often come in to the cancer center on days when she didn’t have a treatment scheduled, just to sit with someone who was alone. She hated to see anyone having to face chemo without someone to talk to.
Marty and I continued our friendship following that day. We have emailed back and forth to keep up with what each of us are doing, and I have continued to see her at the cancer center. Whenever I have seen her in person, she always has worn that big smile on her face and always wanted to know how I was doing…even though she was the one fighting for her life.
You can imagine my sorrow then, when I received an e-mail from Marty’s friend recently telling me that Marty’s fight was over. She has no more need for chemo because her body is now completely healed. She is receiving her eternal reward, which she so deserved. I just can’t imagine how big of a smile her Jesus had when He said, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Since hearing of Marty’s passing, I’ve just kept wondering, Who will take her place? Who is willing to pick up where Marty left off and continue spreading the love of Jesus to those they meet? Marty is leaving a huge hole for the rest of us to fill and there are so many people who still need to feel Jesus’ unconditional love. Will they see it in action through us or are we too busy? Does our own pain and suffering take precedence in our day, or are we willing to reach out to others to lighten their pain?
Who will take her place? If I’m honest, it’s so much easier for me to hope and pray that you take her place so I don’t have to…but I’m wondering if maybe both of us should step up to the plate and try to fill Marty’s shoes. Trust me, I think it will take a group of us to accomplish what this powerhouse, Spirit-filled woman did on her own. But we need to try…because people’s eternal destination is on the line.
“Your love for one another will prove to the world
that you are my disciples.”
John 13:35
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