Have you ever had just one of those days? You know, the days that your alarm clock goes off at its regular time at 5:30 a.m. and you wake up at 6:20 a.m. realizing you have 10 minutes to get out the door and put the dogs up. Thankfully, your husband fed the dogs before he left. That’s why you overslept because you had two labs curled up behind your back, so blame the husband.

As your morning just begins and your seat is not even warm, you get a call from school and your child is sick, again. No, he’s really sick with fever and we KNOW they have to be fever free for 24 hours (then your husband comments, “You can run to class and get fever, good grief.”) We are already one day behind on schoolwork from the doctor’s visit, some of which your SON has NO CLUE as to what the teacher is talking about. The teacher says to be prepared to retake Chapter 15 test and your SON says, “But we are on Chapter 17.” Houston, come in Houston.

I’m finally at my desk, knowing my son is on his way home to sleep the rest of the day (instead, working on two days of homework). I do what I always do first thing in the morning; pull up the news to see what is going on – of course – Facebook. I realize it is going to be a memory day. It’s going to be a day that I haven’t cried all day in a long time. I’m lucky that my co-workers have figured out to just leave me alone. It’s just one of those days… I also realized there wasn’t much news on Facebook that I needed to read.

You know what my feed was filled with? Pray for Cassy! She was going into surgery…a young girl with cancer. Aidan was having his MRI and his tumor has doubled in size…a child with cancer. Allie Allen…Scans, checking on her cancer. Kristina Hunsucker who is battling cancer with the bravest Trey face I’ve ever seen! Katie Roper lost her father two years ago today from pancreatic cancer. Dr. Mike Lynch died of cancer in his sleep. Terri lost her brother 6 months ago today. Melisa Randle with her son in the ER with chest pains (Melisa is a friend that was with us in the ER at LeBonheur when Trey heard cancer.) I could continue. Really I could. So much hurt and pain. Sometimes I feel such a burden for their pain. I know how Trey felt even though he pretended to be brave and I could see his frustration.
Can you imagine what Christ felt?

Where is our simple? Not normal. Nothing will ever be normal again. I’m just asking for simple. God showed me this passage. “Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in HIM and you, because the DARKNESS is passing and the true light is already shining.” (1 John 2:8) I think I have forgotten that the darkness is temporary. Satan is temporary. The TRUE LIGHT (Jesus) is already shining. How do we let it shine? Simple. We have to give Jesus access in order for His light to shine through us. His truth will be seen and we will not even need to explain it. Jesus lived out the two greatest commandments. He loved God and loved His neighbor as Himself. That is what we are to do and it does not specify when the neighbors are having good times. We might have to pick and choose! If that were so, most of Collierville and the city of Memphis would not have come to our aid during a very trying time.

Love instead of hurt. I can do that. I can’t replace my hurt, but I can love more. But love sometimes has to be an action. Okay, most always an action. You know how love is an action? Prayer. Pray for those precious children with cancer and those of us who have lost our hearts and are still healing. I’m not sure love has been seen through my tears today, but that’s okay. Jesus and I have a deal about tears. “He knows my name. He knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls, and hears me when I call.”