In Sickness and in Health

Because Rick was several years older than I, we generally assumed that I would care for him in all the old age afflictions: forgetfulness, deafness, incontinence, stubbornness, and some of the more serious possibilities such as heart attacks, strokes, or cancer. I was never afraid of caring for him under these circumstances because he did so much to take care of me. But I never wanted him to suffer through any of these seeming eventualities either.

When I think of how he died, I can be nothing but thankful. I’m thankful that he wasn’t sick, he didn’t suffer, and he had no pain. Almost everyone who knew him, including his physician, responded to learning of his death with this exact phrase: “But he was so healthy!” Then we all catch ourselves and think how ridiculous that sounds given that he still died.

I realize that not everyone gets sick and I know that Jesus is my healer, but we promised “in sickness and in health.” Sometimes I wonder, though, who will care for me when I’m sick? Who will bring me medicine when I can’t get out of bed? Who will make me eat some lunch when I know it won’t stay down? I wouldn’t say I worry about these things but I do think about them sometimes.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we didn’t have to be sick at all? I know it’s possible to eradicate a disease (think small pox) and to vaccinate against them (think chicken pox, polio, diphtheria, and tetanus). I’m walking 60 miles in three days on August 13, 14, and 15 to help bring about the eventuality of eradicating breast cancer.

Guys, wouldn’t you do almost anything to make sure your wife doesn’t have to suffer through this cancer, or worse, die from it? One in eight women gets breast cancer and your donation will fund research that will bring about this cure. Make a donation in honor of that woman you love by following the link on my blog or on my Facebook page. If you’d like to send a special note to her, I’ll arrange that for you too. Remember, you enjoy those breasts almost as much as she does.

“May your fountain be blessed, and my you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer – may her breasts satisfy you always, my you ever be captivated by her love” (Proverbs 5:18-19).