The news cycle in this week has been replete with homages, retrospectives and reportage focusing on the life of Malcolm Fraser. Inevitably, his now famous truism "Life wasn't meant to be easy" was oft-quoted. To many, this is read as a harsh and critical phrase akin to the modern "Stop complaining and toughen up". Today I learned that Fraser took this line from George Bernard Shaw's 1921 pentateuch of plays Back to Methuselah. Intrigued, I sourced the text of the play online. Truthfully, it is nigh on incomprehensible to the likes of me - one who is without classical (or indeed any) literature education (in stark contrast to Fraser!).

However, it is evident that Fraser took only the first part of the text. The full text is wonderful and worth committing to memory, a sticky note or the fridge door. It is:-

"Life wasn't meant to be easy, my child, but take courage: it can be delightful"

Here, in its fullness we see a 'double truism' spoken gently. It is not a strident criticism delivered harshly at all. Sue and I want to attest to truth of Shaw's words. Life will never be without hardship and challenges. It just won't. We will all suffer, and some will suffer greatly. Sometimes the suffering flows from our actions and choices - other times we are absolutely without fault or contribution. But for those who are willing to meet hardships with courage (which is always born of hope and faith however understood) life can also be full of delight. We are living that precious paradox every moment of every day - and loving it.

An example (of which there are a plethora) is Sue's description of chemotherapy days. It is certainly not unreasonable to think of cancer and chemotherapy when seeking a context for the truism life was not meant to be easy. However, when asked about chemotherapy days Sue's (truthful) response is along the lines that "it is really quite a lovely time and I quite look forward to it". Why? "It is a bit like a date. We spend a day together, close together. We talk and touch. I get pampered. People fuss over me. It is restful and a pleasant change from running around for appointments." In short, it is rather delightful!

We live in a 'both-and" world where two apparently inconsistent things can be true together. As the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Corinth when reporting about his own suffering::

I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

 

Medical Update

Among the delightful 'medical' things so far this week were:

  • Monday: Sue becoming delirious from the pain medication and whatever else was going on in her body (quite amusing but a little worrying). Attempts to use food supplement (protein) powder in palatable ways!
  • Tuesday: Increase in severity of mouth ulcers (lips, tongue, palette, throat) making eating and speaking a challenge; Visit to Cancer Centre for blood tests, fit of nausea and vomiting.
  • Wednesday: Chemotherapy all day. Continued weight loss. Ulcers worse. Feet starting to peel.
  • Wednesday evening: First use of Lignocaine Viscous - an ingestible anaesthetic gel that is swished around the mouth then swallowed. It numbs the mouth and throat prior to eating but also renders talking almost impossible (quite amusing) and swallowing difficult.
  • Thursday: Worst night of sleep for quite some time (won't detail the reasons). Very early start for visit the GP followed by CT Scan.

But Sue continues to meet each moment with courage, faith and hope. She allows me the joy of tending to her needs and finding ways to allow her to love me practically as well as emotionally.  We laugh. We cry. We get a bit annoyed or short with each other. We apologise. We forgive. We live. We love deeply. We delight in the confidence we have in who we are individually and together under God.

There is NOTHING hard about any of it! Carry on delighting..............

undefined