MY DAD, THE SPIRITUAL WARRIOR

The other night I received that daily call from my father with all the newest updates on Mom. We are beyond excited that her radiation treatments have ended and she is recovering nicely inside the comforts of a rehab center. Our fingers are crossed she will get to make it home once more. While he spoke, I listened intensely, wondering how the conversation would go. See, despite the unbelievable progress my Mother is making because of her own strength and inner warrior, the reality is that the multi-layers of cancer throughout her body make the situation undeniably terminal. It would be easy for a man in his early 60's to indulge in anger, hate, frustration, and sorrow. And naturally, I would be a fool to think those feelings do not exist somewhere inside him, because, well, right now they all exist a little inside of all of us. Every member of this family. But it is not what we feel, it is where we choose to put our focus. As a family unit, our faith in God is strong. Although stunned and heartbroken, we still choose to trust the Universe and the cycles of life.

My eyes filled up with salty tears, not from sadness, but from pride. Hearing the overwhelming strength from my father's voice found me grateful that both my parents are such spiritual warriors. It would have been easy for the conversation to remain on a low vibration, but it didn't. How would that change her Cancer? It wouldn't. Instead, my Dad did what he and my mother always taught us to do....

He spoke of gratitude. How lucky we are as a family that we have been blessed with such support and love. He spoke of the positive experiences from both the hospital and the new rehab center. He told me how he got to know every worker by name while he slept in the chair by her bedside for 2 weeks. He spoke highly of their pure hearts and helpful hands. He told me how the arrival of my mom to her new center was equivalent to a celebrity rolling up a party! How blessed that even in the center of tragedy, God was able to give us such amazing people. He told me his plan of sending gifts to each hospital member that worked with my mother. In the depths of despair, knowing he is on borrowed time with the love of his life, he was able to dig deep and still speak of God, our blessings, and the goodness inside humanity. My father. The walking beam of light.