My Mum is continuing to astound me with her fortitude and faith as she waits for her operation to remove the cancer in her eye. She has sent out a number of updates to friends and family and received this reply from one person. I found this perception remarkably accurate as I have observed my Mum in the past couple of days:

“Waiting is never easy but in your case I think it is a bit different. I don’t think you are waiting, marking time, wanting the date to arrive. Judging by what has already happened, the opportunities you have been given, I think you are more in the “excited run up to Christmas”, full of expectation and “hopping up and down” to see what will arrive. So, as I am sure your grandsons would tell you, you have 11 more sleeps before you see the wonder that God has in store for you. Enjoy the anticipation!”

My Mum replied thus:
“That is exactly how I am feeling. Isn’t that crazy? If I were anyone else, I would have said this reaction was OTT, she’s ‘putting it on’… I thought this morning that God hasn’t taken away fear and anger – I have never had them in the first place. That’s not to say I won’t, of course – I am fully aware that this may be a very long road indeed, and I will no more be immune from human emotions that anyone else. But for today, Lord, this is how it is, and I thank You.”

Waiting for something pleasant is hard enough, but waiting for something unpleasant is normally much harder. In my Mum’s case though, God has turned the waiting into such an adventure that she is like a small child in a very large, unstaffed sweet shop with rather low counters and open jars! Her mood is light, her thoughtfulness knows no bounds and her step is sprightly. She is taking every minute captive and not letting it go until she has drunk it dry of every ounce of meaning and purpose or rest.

She has new eyes, you see – a new way of seeing – and it is, quite literally, giving her a new lease of life.

Praise God!