Yesterday, my brother learned that the previous prognosis
for six years was another mistake. Yesterday he talked to the oncologists, in
Houston, who specializes in cancer of the pancreas and who will oversee his
care. The prognosis is 12-15 months with aggressive radiation treatment, to be
done in Houston and chemotherapy to be done in Miami. That is what the doctor’s
says, but my grandmother would say “It’s the Lord that has the last say so.”
Given this news, I have been thinking about my brother’s
legacy. He may have only 51 years or “If the Lord say so.” he may have many
more. Either way, he will leave a
legacy.
Like the
responsible parent that he is, my brother is preoccupied with making sure that
his daughters will be taken care of. He has saved for their college educations
and one of his primary activities even during this difficult time has been to make
sure that they have financial resources. Yet leaving their financial
inheritance is not the only legacy he will leave. He will now leave them these memories….these days, weeks,
months and possibly years, in which he has lived with a cancer diagnosis.
I imagine that one benefit of having been given a prognosis
such as my brother’s is that each day becomes meaningful. There is no time for petty
grievances. The skills of patience, kindness and compassion would need be
cultivated, if each encounter were possibly the “last” time. I can only imagine the soul work one would
have to do to leave a legacy of love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. A person might become more longsuffering, wiser in
cultivating these traits in the face of excruciating pain and medical uncertainties.
In the end, these days could be more fruitful in terms of Spiritual fruit than
all the years that preceded them. This certainly would be an inspiration for
those of us not in pain, because all of us will have a last day.
The legacy of
a life well-lived is a worthy endeavor for as many more days as the Lord say
so.
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