In Real Life

I have occasionally participated in Five Minute Fridays with the Gypsy Mama...I'm a day late, but I'm going to do it anyway, because the topic intrigued me, and immediately a million thoughts flew through my mind.  The topic is "in real life."  Five minutes, no editing, no erasing, just writing.

START:

In real life I am a mom, a wife, a sister, a friend, an aunt, a great-aunt, a child of God, a writer, a scrapbooker, a jewelry maker and a patient.  Not PATIENT, A patient.  As in medical patient. While I try to do what I can and then some, while I try to ignore who I am, I cannot.

That's me, in real life.  I WANT to be different.  I want to be healthy and have 6 kids and homeschool them all and go to the park and climb hills and breathe well every breath.

But that's NOT me, in real life.

In real life I have to contend with 
bills,
appointments,
a 5 year old who doesn't always understand sickness,
judgement,
budgets,
doctors,
medications,
side effects,
cooking,
cleaning,
laundry,
and trying to live every day to show God's love and hope.

In real life I get sad and depressed and wonder why.  I try not to dwell, but in the realest of realities it's impossible not to wonder.  Not to say, "if only..."

But instead, I CHOOSE to say, "Even if:"

EVEN IF I am not healed this side of heaven, I will praise the Lord.
EVEN IF I am never in remission from this hideous disease, my life will go on.
EVEN IF people laugh at me for struggling, I will forgive.
EVEN IF I have an incurable disease, I WILL also have incurable HOPE.
EVEN IF I have limitations and weaknesses, I will choose to live STRONG.
EVEN IF I need help and no one comes, I will still help others.

In real life, it's about how you act.  It's about what you DO that really matters.  You can spout trite cliches and tell people you're sorry and that you're praying for them, but what are your actions saying?  In real life, that's what matters.

STOP