The Journey Home

By Deana Parsick

In this life we have no guarantees, so many say live life for all you can get out of it. 

But as a rule, we generally get so wrapped up in our jobs and day-to-day activities that we forget.

Ailene was a friend I had known my entire life. Our mothers had been best friends since elementary school. 

A year and a half ago, I heard she was in the hospital battling cancer. I was shocked. I had just lost a longtime friend of 20 years to melanoma.

I rushed to the hospital to find Ailene was battling cervical cancer. We had not seen each other for years, and I didn’t recognize her as the cancer was already taking its toll. 

Luckily she spoke, and I recognized her voice. Ailene began to tell me about her struggles – the horrible pain, the many challenges. But the one thought she continued to voice was that she knew God would take care of her. Her faith was unwavering until the end. 

I watched Ailene go through so many things, and through it all, her constant thought was “I have to be here for my grand babies. They need me.”   But, at other times, I witnessed hate and blame, because with her type of cancer, the source came from an unfaithful husband. 

In my mind, I cannot imagine what she was going through –– the knowing that she had cancer because of the actions of someone she loved and trusted.

You wonder, am I doing enough to help the person suffering? You want to take their suffering away, but that is not in our hands. 

Recently, I attended a funeral of a 10-year-old boy who had died suddenly, quite unexpectedly. The minister said something that continues to stay with me, “We each have a plan, and when our plan is done, we journey home.”

The best we can do is live the best we can. Remember to care for all around us, and to realize that life can be taken in an instant.  

May we truly take care of all round us, and be kind until our journey home.