~ Kaka Lucas, Mon 22 August 2022

Do the problems of our lives have a purpose, or are they simply an error in the cosmic design and the human experience? – Matthew Kelly

Last week, I went to visit a friend of mine who was visiting from the States. She is a senior citizen with the wisdom of age. My friend is battling cancer now for a number of years. She looked as fresh as when I last saw her a year ago. She is the “Martha” from the scriptures, but I can also compare her with my mum. The best person for her to be likened to is our house help, Ms. Madge. Their joy is to see people having a “potbelly”. As soon as you come in, they are ready to have you eat a mountain of food and lots of beverage just to make you feel comfortable.

Immediately after we entered, she took us to the kitchen to prepare something for us to eat. I didn’t feel like eating, but you know how things go with such persons. I ended up having a nice slice of potato pudding, coconut water and a piece of fleshy snapper fish. I took my time to feel every fiber of the flesh, for it was well seasoned, and this made its taste heavenly.

My friend gave us a little synopsis of her illness, and though the cancer went into remission, it seems that it has now come back in full force. She described a few examinations the doctor had to do and the results. Being a mother of a young man who works in the medical field, she did evaluate several good doctors just to ensure that she was in safe hands.

What really shocked me about this woman, is not that she was taking it easy with her deadly sickness, but the amount of peace she radiated. If I had ways to download some of it, I would have done so. Then she spoke like a saint, as if she was ready for the DAY of her last breath. (This made me cover my mouth)

This is what she said, and I’ll paraphrase it in this way, “I take every pain to Jesus, for the pain I am going through is nothing compared to what my God went through to pay for my sins. Also, there are people who are going through even more pain in their own different ways.” My friend was comfortable with her sickness. Even though none of us wished to be sick, she knew and lived very well the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:24 “there is nothing to gain in life by being worried or anxious.”

A good lesson is that worrying is fooling one self. It is self-deception; it is often borne from our unwillingness to accept that “I am powerless over this or that!”.

I left that house a different person. Not because she gave me ground provisions, soda and a bunch of lychee fruits from a very laden tree, but because she drowned every bit of me in the words of Matthew Kelly, ….

1. “What can I learn from this situation?
2. How can this help me to become a-better-version-of-myself?
3. What particular virtue can this problem help me to grow stronger in?”

I felt ashamed of myself. I feel guilty of the many times that I have complained of my little struggles in life and I pray that this will be a lesson for me when I face future difficulties. I will turn them over to God and make them a blessing.

 

I also prayed that every problem I face in life would be a good platform for me to be taught something new. These lessons will be aligned with my essential purpose, which is, to become the-best-version-of-myself.