I referenced a couple of stories about my experience with strangers while driving - 2 of them I can think of off the top of my head. I will write about them tomorrow.
Today, I want to write about 2 families on my mind...I posted a LONG post. Then came back and curated considerably.
Relative with stage 4 cancer diagnosis. She is doing amazing. Mass in her lung is gone, as are the other tumors in liver, lymph nodes and couple other places. It is a miracle!
She can barely breathe, so tenuous her understanding and comprehension. She says she will celebrate at her 1 year mark...So amazing.
On the other hand...her son is in his 20's. Did not know his father. He is very smart, but just no "gumption".
Relative had some issues in her life, she will be the first to admit. But she always worked hard. She had a great father. At one point she was very successful in her career, making over 6 figures. But after some relationship issues, a big geographic move and some job insecurity...ended up essentially scraping by job to job, no savings left, and barely kept her house, which is pretty run down and too big for her to properly care for.
Well, when she got ill. Her family has tried to be supportive. We all tried to be there for her and J her son. We all tried to gently comfort J while simultaneously encouraging him to "man up", the brothers tried to mentor him. The problem is...we are all located distantly, busy working/caring for our families and have not been around him enough to naturally foster such personal relationships. It is hard to "start" now from many miles away. Any ideas?
At one point, she even encouraged us via group text to not let him feel abandonded, should she die. I have tried a couple of times, not really knowing what to do and not getting any response in return. What can I do now? I admit, I feel distant partly because I just don't respect his bad choices. But I do sincerely pray for and want the best for them both.
Well, evidently now the son and his mother had a falling out. She explained that after he left in a hurry, she inspected his room and found it covered in trash. Items she found troubling. She even texted me pictures - it was shocking to me. Mom wants to sell this house that is too big and get moved into a smaller place but she worries about J. J meanwhile is just piling trash in his room and not helping enough. I told her (gently and with great emphasis on the disclaimer) - I HAVE NO CHILDREN - that she needs to cut the cord for his own good too.
So, clearly this guy has issues...it is really sad.
Another sort of related topic...I have a family member whose husband was in a bad car accident recently. Likely his fault, their only car. He is similar in affect to J, smart and wants to tell you how smart he is, sort of anti society. Well he was hurt badly. I think the passenger and the other driver are OK.
Many issues about accident I wont go into...What if S and JD have no money saved up for emergencies? Oh, these poor choices. These 2 examples are not isolated...it is sad and scary.
Lord if someone is hurting today, please visit them and embrace and comfort them. Amen.
Did I mention that neither J or JD have any spirituality - no experience in nature, no meditation/solitude, no exercise, no artistic outlet. No humility, I guess. I think my gumption came from humility, which unfortunately came from humiliation - my father's way of cultivating obedience. But does it have to come from there? Do we have to feel small before we can see the big picture?
