Live Like I Am Dieing

A 53 year old man goes to the doctor. Aches, pains…normal “getting old” stuff. So he thought.

The pains persisted, and he goes back to the doctor for more tests, more evaluations…………..

A couple of days pass and the 53 year old man receives a phone call from the doctor to set up an appointment to discuss his test results. The next afternoon the 53 year old man and his wife meet with the doctor.

“I am sorry to have to tell you that you have pancreatic cancer.”

After more tests and evaluations it is determined that surgery wouldn’t help the 53 year old man. In fact, due to the circumstances of the cancer, it might even kill him. The best the doctor can offer is chemo therapy to help ease the pain for the last 6 months of his life.

This is the story of someone I know.

Ever sense I received this news, I have been numb with emotions that I can’t explain. I have been evaluating my relationships with Susan, with the kids and my friends.  Am I the husband, dad or friend I want to be? Am I the husband, dad or friend that God wants me to be?

If a doctor told me that I only had 6 months to live would I feel cheated? Would I feel like I have done the most with my life?

I have thought of things like the song Live Like You Were Dieing and the move The Bucket List.

Have I loved the way God would have wanted me to have loved?

I have a friend named Bob. Bob is like the most outgoing, pick you up when you are down kinda guy that you would ever want to meet. Always happy, totally filled with the love of God; a guy who you just want to be around because he is such a wounderful person. Bob and his bride Dorthy were married for a long, long time and had a relationship that would make most of us jellious.

Dorthy had cancer and was dieing. I asked Bob how he did it, how he stayed so happy knowing everything that was going on with Dorthy. I personnaly would be a basket case.

Bob said it as simple as a person could. He said, “It’s better to break bread than to argue over why it got burnt.”

All the minutes that turn into hours and all the hours that turn into days through the course of our lives spent fighting and arguing with the ones we love are simply a waste of life.  I think that if the 53 year old man could go back in time and take back all the harsh comments and ill thoughts and feelings that he has had towards his family he would. We all would. But we can’t.

But we can all start living today as if we were dieing.