Life is Neutral

I heard about a book that was written several years ago by a British soldier during WWII. He had escaped into the jungle to hide from the invading Japanese army. It was titled "The Jungle is Neutral." The soldier had heard all kinds of stories about the jungle before he ended up living there for two years. Poisonous snakes,spiders and plants were waiting for him. He also heard the opposite: that the jungle was a tropical paradise full of clean fresh water, fruits and beauty unlike anything he had ever seen. Which was true? Well...actually they both were. In the end (spoiler alert), he lives and realizes that the jungle contains all of what he had heard. It was a lush paradise and it did also have lots of nasty critters. I think life is like that, too.

We all have our personal struggles in life. I also know that all of us have experienced immense pain and loss in our lives. I am not denying that sometimes life just isn't fun. In fact, it can suck big time! Like right now for Christina. She finished her sixth of sixteen chemo treatments on Wednesday. Being infused with cancer killing drugs that make you sick isn't something you look forward to when you wake up in the morning. The weight loss and other side effects are definitely not like winning the lottery. But what about the good stuff? Like the nurses and staff at UCSF that have shown her so much love and compassion. They have been incredible and have lifted a mighty weight off of us with their care. What about the angelic cousin that I met with yesterday in Stockton that proved once again that God is great? Don't tell me that life isn't fair and there is so much pain out there. I don't want to hear it brothers and sisters. Goodness, glory, smiles and laughter are always close by. Take off your "Blue Blocker" sunglasses and feel the warmth of the sunlight in your life. Even on the cloudiest days, like when your beautiful wife has breast cancer, the sun is shining bright above. You just need to poke your head through and catch some rays. And put on some sun block!:)