Closer

Sunset at Fannie Bay, Darwin NT

I’ve travelled recently to the Philippines to attend my Grandad’s funeral. He was in his 80’s. I sort of expected it and was gearing my self up for it but you are just never prepared. It still seemed too sudden.

And just before I left another sad news hit us. One of my wife’s closest friends was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. We’ve always heard of people getting cancer. But no one we know. No one close to our hearts. And no one young like our friend.

She just turned 40. She’s got two young boys, one is 8 and the other is 4. She’s got husband who is very supportive and lots and lots of friends who’ve tried to help in whatever way possible.

She’s three scraping procedures done. Mastectomy is not the only option one has nowadays. She had to have three procedures as the first two were not successful in getting rid of all the cancer cells.

Now, she’s undergoing chemotherapy. This process she has found to be much more difficult.

Am I at that age now when death and disease seem to be a lot closer? Now that I am in my 30’s my elders are much older as well.

In Psalm 90:10a it says:

The length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength;

My Grandad was 82.