The last couple of days have been pretty rough – at least in terms of the wave of bad news rolling in. To put it succinctly, a number of our friends are hurting or suffering right now.
We heard the sad news that a young lady who grew up in our church has passed away after a long bout with cancer. I also learned that one of my former professors has also died. Young or old, it’s never easy getting sad news.
Cancer is just awful. I know of some other friends who have received recent cancer diagnoses. Members of the extended family, too. They are all fighting this insidious foe. I pray for each and every one of them as they go through their battles. And still, on a personal note, you can’t help but also utter a prayer of thanksgiving that it is not you or your loved ones going through that battle.
Other friends have different sorts of challenges right now. One is moving and is coming to grips with that fact (and dealing with all the duress involved with a move). Other folks I know have job issues or other types of stress in their lives.
Suffice to say, the last two days were not full of good news.
What do you do at a time like this (besides pray)? You can offer a hand of support or serve as a sounding board for ones to vent. Otherwise, you feel helpless. And there’s no way to sugarcoat bad news.
Then, you turn on the news and hear of shootings. You go down the street and notice gas prices have risen again since you looked yesterday. You hear stories of people paying higher taxes this year. You learn the job market isn’t as robust as prognosticators have hoped. You learn of more illness.
When does the bad news end?
From my experience, it tends to go in waves. Sometimes, you just have to hang on and ride the wave until the good times return. If you dwell on it too much, you can become overwhelmed.
For me, just having the ability to write and to express these thoughts and feelings is a gift. Just to be able to express my thoughts - and prayers - on paper (or on screen) makes a big difference. It’s cathartic.
And for those of you read the Coach Jeff Blog, thanks for giving me this outlet and letting me bend your ear.
JG
Originally posted 2/20/2013
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