Bigger Picture

I've been pretty mopey and miserable lately. I've been privy to a string of bad luck that has sent me into a mental tailspin at times. Sometimes, all I can do is ask myself, "Why me?" and sit in complete wonderment over the course of events that led me to where I sit today. I could blame this, or I could blame that. I could dwell over all the details and the what if's and the how comes... and yeah... sometimes I do. I call that wasting time dwelling on the small details in the big picture.

Yes... every day I seem to find something to complain about in my dull little life. I sift through the minute details and "small pictures," sometimes wishing it was someone else's life I was looking in on instead of my own. One evening though, I had a chat with a friend I haven't talked to in ages. We haven't been able to communicate because she is very ill. She is suffering from cancer, and has been for the last year and a half. It was a fantastic chat; my friend had dropped off the radar and many of us were really worried, so to finally see her online again was a real blessing. We talked about all sorts of things. For once, I did more listening than talking. And in doing so, I learned something very valuable.

I have known my friend for nearly eight months now. I have always paid particular attention to the things she's said, because our lives are so different, and I find her fascinating. One of the things about her that sticks out the most is the fact that, as sick as she has been, in all the eight months I have known her, I have never ONCE heard her complain. I have never heard her curse God, or ask, "Why me?" Her outlook is always stunningly optimistic, despite being so ill from chemotherapy that her fingers are too numb to type, and she is restricted to a wheelchair and has lost some mobility. She is NEVER negative, or resentful, despite being continuously nauseous and hardly able to move. Welcome to the bigger picture, friends.

I listened as she explained with a casual tone about all the poking, prodding, painful procedures and crippling illness she has endured for the last 18 months. With every tidbit I take in in wide-eyed wonder, she has a positive affirmation to offer for each thing she has undergone. Considering my own propensity to throw in the towel over the smallest of upsets, I'm both perplexed and spellbound with her ability to minimize something that to me, seems so huge. I start thinking of my own struggle

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Testimonies: Learning from friends?
We want to hear your view. Write now!