Recently I got to spend some time with an old friend on the phone. She was my college roommate and we were inseparable for years. Now we are a 20 hour drive away from each other, and get to visit every other year on average. Steph is that friend who you have no interest in trying to impress; the last time our family descended on her house, she offered us leftovers for lunch. It was one of my favorite meals of all time because my kids were spending time with hers, and my guy was getting to know hers better, and we were together. She showed me around her house and her garden, and then she told me what she was facing these days. Stephanie has battled different forms of cancer for almost nine years now, and once again she is in the trenches.
My roomie has always been an optimist, viewing anything with an unbelievably positive lens, and this time was no different. She told me about how fortunate she has been to be able to be on the same chemotherapy drug for 16 months, much longer than most, and how great is has been to not have to switch to another drug. Every time I spend time with Steph she is grateful for the fact that she is still here and yesterday she reminded me of something I have known but tend to forget; we all have cancer. She said that we are all in the process of dying, it’s just that most of us don’t realize it. We need to live each of our days realizing that only God knows how long we will be here, and its our job to make the best use of our time. I think she is way more alive than the vast majority of us all.
I would appreciate if you would pray for Steph, because we all need more reminders to be grateful for the little things, and to live each day like we don’t have a lot of time left.
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
howsyourlovelife 
I hope to not trump your story, for that is not my intent, but I had a dear relative just pass away from cancer, and he was so loving and generous and giving with his time, even right up until the end. He had such a healthy perspective on the time he was given and wasted none of it. He was truly an inspiration, as is your friend. This is such a valuable and critical truth that i desperately need to learn. Thanks for writing this!
I have heard more than once that getting cancer was the best thing that ever happened to someone….oh, to have that mentality! As always, thanks for reading.