Skip to main content

A new worldview

When my son died of brain cancer, things changed... 

Disclaimer: Maybe I explain these things to myself this way because subconsciously I cannot accept defeat. Or maybe I am just trying to make sense of what cannot humanly be understood. Whatever it is, these are my thoughts, my crazy internal monologue, that bring me some peace as I grieve my son's death. Please don't judge. 

Since you’ve been gone…
I have not lived in fear. 

For many months, even years before you died, my prayer was simple:Dear God, please take away my fear in exchange for strength.I said these words every night when I went to bed never knowing if tomorrow – or the next day or the next day - would be the last with my son. Fear was often what kept us going. It was a blessing in disguise, but also a difficult way to live. As Xavier grew more and more tired of being sick, I grew tired of being scared. Fear of his death had gripped our family for so long. It never allowed us to fully relax or forget the pain. I asked Jesus to carry my fear for me so I could be present with Xavier every day we had together. I felt Jesus holding me up when the fear was so strong I could barely stand. He held it back for me to experience moments of joy and appreciate life as it was. But the fear wasn’t gone. It was still there. Until the day you died. It was God’s grace – an unexpected answer to my prayer. Your leaving was the only escape from the fear. Xavier was relieved of his suffering and we were relieved of our fear. At first I wondered if God misunderstood my prayers. Maybe I messed up and should have prayed for Jesus to never take my son away. Maybe if I had prayed harder or longer things wouldn’t have ended the way they did. I never meant for it to be this way. I would have lived in fear forever if it meant I got to keep Xavier here. But I trusted God’s plan. My fear is now pain.But pain is a dimension of love. My tears are a release of my love for you. They say what my heart feels that words cannot.Fear showed up as anger. It made me tense and anxious. Since you’ve been gone I am not afraid anymore. I am not scared of death, of failure or what others think. To some, my lack of fear may appear like carelessness, but it is furthest from the truth. I care about how beautiful the sunset it, the softness of the grass and the turning of the leaves. I am not afraid to take a risk, to show a stranger love or if I didn’t get my house cleaned before company shows up. Since you’ve been gone “things” don’t matter. Things don’t make my life any better or any richer. I am seeing the bigger picture, but not yet fully accepting. Xavier’s death has turned me into something better, someone beyond this physical body I felt so attached to. Although I miss him beyond words, I have a peace within. 

There are universal "truths" we just believe as we go through life. A perceived "natural" order of things that are in our human DNA.

People die of old age. Parents are supposed to outlive their children. Kids aren't supposed to die. Suffering is bad. Life is eternal.

Why do we believe these things? Aside from life being eternal, which is written in the Bible, no where (that I have come across) does the Bible guarantee us a life free of pain, suffering or tell us the "right time" to die is when you are old.

We use this to create our own reality that in turn creates good and bad and unhappiness when the good doesn't happen the way we think it should. I read my first column in the first issue of  inspire magazine and found that I still see things the very same way then as I do now. The only difference is that I still had my son then.

This experience has not turned me cold or calloused as it may seen because of my disinterest in a materialist world. I thought maybe my compassion was gone as I have a hard time listening to others "minor" first-world problems. But in fact I am still the compassionate person I always was, I just see things for what they are... just things.

I don't see our world as doom in gloom. Losing my son opened my eyes to the connectedness we have with everything. The beauty of nature and all the little things that bring me peace that no big materialistic thing could do.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The aftermath is MESSY

We are on the road to recovery!  Physically, Xavier is improving daily with his regular physio and pure determination only a child possesses. He is learning to walk again and use his left side, all while building back the muscle he lost.  He has at least another month of treatment left, but we are so fortunate we can manage it at home and at a dose that causes fewer side effects than he faced last month.  Xavier is determined and I admire that in children. The lack of self-pity in kids we have seen  on his cancer ward are so inspiring. Instead they use that energy to heal, and set goals for recovery.   Still there are residual symptoms that are concerning. He is choking on liquids more frequently, suffering from reflux and is unable to move his toes on his left foot. Seems minor but as he tries to walk now his toes curl under his foot and trip him. Who knew how important straightening your toes are!  But the lingering side effect of treatment ...
2 comments
Read more

The dragon in his head

As far as my son knows, there was a dragon in his head. This dragon was big and scary and made him feel sick. But as far as my son knows, we stomped that dragon out. The idea of Xavier's cancerous tumour being a dragon in his head came from a movie that had been given to me by another mom of childhood cancer. Paul and The Dragon is a powerful 20-minute video of a young boy with cancer. Although it is generic (not about brain tumours), and there are no words, it is incredibly telling. For any family who has been through a similar experience, you will instantly connect with this boy and his family. And for my kids, who are very young and don't exactly understand medical terminology, the story is easy to understand and has provided a great foundation for how to talk to them about Xavier's journey with cancer. The movie was so popular among my kids that it became part of our regular Friday night movie rotation. My son even requested it while he was in the hos...
Post a Comment
Read more
Ever since I learned how to write, I have been writing. I am not a professional, nor do I pretend to be. I am not an English major or a published author. I wrote the news for years (almost 10 if you count my years at my college newspaper). But the benefit of writing for me is not for money; it's for pleasure. Writing makes me feel good. Since I was 10 years old I kept a diary. I wrote down my thoughts, my daily activities and everything in between. It was my stress relief - how I figured shit out. I can trace every low point in my life to a time when I stopped writing for pleasure. Pen to a paper, fingers to a keyboard, I have to write. My sanity depends on it. So, here I go. I intend on writing about my life, about stories I have swirling around in my head. And maybe share some excerpts from my diaries as a child. If no one reads this, that's fine. It's not for anyone else but me. But if they do, that's ok too. If I can bring a tear, a laugh or a smile to someone e...
2 comments
Read more