Life Is Not Fair

We have a friend. I have known her for about 18 years and DH, even longer. She is a good person...a mother, a wife, a medical worker etc etc. She lives about a two hour drive from us, so we manage to see her a couple of times a year, however, we are in contact by phone far more regularly. It's more than fair to say that her husband and my DH are very close.

A couple of years ago, our dear friend was diagnosed with a debilitating illness. We were shocked but she was handling it. Medication became a part of her daily life. There was a hope that she would last out for years before this illness tried to beat her.

Last week we got news. Not good. She is in hospital. The possibility of full time care is very, very real. Her story is not really mine to tell, so I guess I've been vague. But it is an understatement to say that we have gone through many emotions over the last few days......shock, sadness, disbelief, anger, etc etc.

To see a good person who lives their life helping others become stricken by illness (be it terminal or chronic) is devastating. For that person to be someone that you feel close to is even worse. And for that person to be young, the mother of school-aged children and someone who already has faced many of life's battles, it's even worse.

My thoughts about our friend eventually lead me to contemplate all the strong women who have influenced my own life. Immediately, I think of my nanna who was a breast cancer survivor, who lived for many years close to poverty and who did not have the 'mod cons' that we have to help her get by. Despite all this, however, she still found time to enjoy the simple pleasures around her.....the beauty of a native flower, the surprise of a bird landing in the yard, unwavering love for her family. Despite the hardships that life threw at her, she managed to rise above it and left us with unending admiration for her strength.

Today, I am praying that my friend can find the type of strength that my nanna has. And that she can somehow live peacefully with the fact that her body is letting her down. And through it all, may she find that same strength of love through her young children and her extended family.

Sometimes, life just doesn't seem fair!