A Challenge

I'm going to step onto a soap box - just for a moment. And before you stop reading, no this IS NOT about politics. Although I could go on about that too if I thought adding my opinions to the sticky politics gumbo would help anything. But, that's not what I'm here for, at least this time around :-)

I want to issue a challenge of sorts.

It is unavoidable that a person's perspective on the world will change when something as disruptive and painful as cancer enters into it. An unfortunate side effect of living in today's world, is that pretty much everyone knows someone affected by/diagnosed with cancer. And while cancer is by no means something that should be dealt with lightly, in many ways, it has become that way in our society. Because many of the cancers that are most common are curable, people have come to take that for granted. In addition, these cancers that are most common look, generally, the same - meaning, there's a tumor somewhere in your body, and they will perform some combination of surgery, plus chemotherapy and radiation to remove it and cure you.

Unfortunately, all cancers are not created equal - and this point has been driven home, literally, by the fact that my mom is fighting a cancer that does not fit society's mold, in multiple ways. As a family, we knew this when she got the diagnosis, but it became much more apparent to me as we began the process of trying to explain it to those around us. People listen, but when they hear the word cancer, they automatically assume they know what's involved and what it looks like. People jump to the conclusion that while this is cancer and it's no laughing matter, it'll just take a few rounds of chemo to clear it up and we'll be back to normal. I was no different before my mom's diagnosis, I did the same thing, jumped to the same conclusions.

I also began to take more notice of the events happening around me, the Races for Cures, the fundraisers and auctions...and please please PLEASE understand me, I am not saying that these are unworthy causes, because they are worthy...BUT...it seems to me that as a society we've gotten stuck in a rut.

For example: I see a sign in someone's yard for a Susan G. Comen Race for the Cure and (politics aside) I realize, "Well that's a redundant name, there IS a cure for breast cancer." Again, please understand, I am NOT trying to trivialize or minimize people diagnosed with breast cancer, it's just a good example. Thousands and thousands of women yearly are diagnosed with breast cancer, and it's a terrible, heartbreaking thing. BUT, there is a cure for breast cancer. I am so thankful that there are men and women who have been blessed with the knowledge and skill to develop a cure. And yet how much money is still being poured into these foundations and into research for it, when there are SO many other diseases, not just cancers, that still need cures? AIDs, Alzheimer's, Leukemia...the list goes on. There are foundations, scientists, and doctors who are working to develop cures for these diseases, yet have been unsuccessful for a myriad of reasons. Recognition is one of those main reasons. Society has latched onto a couple diseases and taken up the standard for them, raising awareness and money. But once a cure has been found, shouldn't they move on and take up the flag for the next disease? How much progress could be made in curing the next big disease if more people were reminded or made aware of the fact that there is no cure.

So, this is my challenge to you (at least, the five of you who read my little blog): take some time, and initiative, and do a little research on a disease that maybe you think you know about, but actually may not. A disease that needs a cure. Awareness is KEY in fighting these diseases, and the more people know, the closer we are to a cure. And maybe the next time you give money, or donate to a cause, you'll think about one of those diseases that's fighting on the fringe of society, and you'll realize how much your money or time or whatever it is, could mean.

If you're curious, I can give you a place to start, with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

I truly do not mean to offend with this post. I'm not trying to start a fight, unless it's a fight to raise more awareness. *steps off of soapbox*

The One Where I Quote Movies - Again

I can't sit cross-legged on the floor for longer than half an hour before my knees start hurting.

I can't sleep in later than 8:30, even on a Saturday, no matter how late I was up the night before.

I get excited about picking out paint colors and searching antique stores for that perfect vintage/distressed coffee table or fruit crate.

I have wrinkles on my forehead.

Over the last year or so, these changes have been creeping up on me, making it abundantly clear that time stops for no one - to roughly quote Steel Magnolias "Honey, time marches on, and eventually you realize it's marching across your face." *on a side note: if you haven't seen Steel Magnolias, with Dolly Parton and Shirley Maclaine, WATCH IT! Watch it now, with a box of kleenex and your best friend. You're welcome.*

Anyway, no matter how hard we try, there's nothing we can do to halt the energizer bunny that is time. It keeps going. And going. Bringing with it your birthday, sooner every year. I turn 25 in a few months. Honestly, I'm not dreading it. I'm just baffled at how it came so soon. It seemed so far away at 21. I will soon be on the downhill towards 30, and it seems much closer on the other side of 25.

I don't feel 25. Heck, I don't feel 24! I look at my life and wonder what I've accomplished. A friend asked me just the other night what I thought my greatest accomplishment so far was. I know what my purpose in life is, and I know God is working his purposes through me, but I look around and see what others around me have accomplished with their lives and I wonder if there's more I could be doing. But that's the problem, I'm comparing. Comparison...the thief of joy and contentment.

To quote You've Got Mail *another must-see* "I lead a small life." I have to remind myself that small doesn't automatically mean "without purpose" or "unaccomplished." I have a small sphere of influence, and I do small things within that sphere, and it suits me. I am content, 97% of the time. But then the Enemy sneaks in and turns my head, pointing out my friends who are married with babies, friends getting their Master's degrees, or friends traveling the world, and I start to compare again.

It takes a conscious, daily (sometimes hourly) effort on my part to remember that my life path is different from everyone else's around me, and it's OKAY! Crazy, I know. But I have chosen a different path from my friends. Chosen. (This is a topic for another post!) My choices have affected my life story, and will continue to do so. God will continue to work his purposes through me and my choices. Because no matter the different life paths, everyone in the body of Christ has the same end goal and destination. Everyone's journey is going to look different though. I want to live a good story. I want my story to point to God in every way. I hope it does, I hope I continue to grow in that. But I need to remember that it will point in ways that are different from my friends with snuggly babies and official-sounding Master's degrees.

And at the end of the day, I need to remember that age is truly a number, and though, "I am twenty-four, going on twenty-five" doesn't flow quite as nice as "sixteen going on seventeen," I'm going to find a gazebo to sing and dance in, in the rain, without the cute telegram boy (but definitely with a flowy dress). I have lots of practice singing both parts of a duet, and I don't want to be stopped by the fact that it looks different from everyone's expectations. I'll write my own song.