I hope you’ve given some thought to your purpose. Maybe your purpose is to be cute like this doggie. Maybe your purpose is to care for your own furry friend. If you are the sole provider of your family, that is a demanding position.
Maybe you feel like you have no purpose.
You are wrong.
Living with a chronic disease tends to isolate folks. Just because we are sick doesn’t mean we want to be ignored. We are still the friend, the family member, the neighbor that we always have been; adjustments to our living style may be different after diagnosis, but we are still HERE.
A friend of mine is living with terminal cancer and hospice has been alerted. I received a call from her a few days ago requesting a visit. When I asked my husband if he wanted to go with me, he paled and furiously shook his head. He didn’t want to see her in her current state. This made me sad, but I also understand what he meant. It’s hard to see a once boisterous friend shrunken by disease.
I don’t think God is giving me brownie points for visiting her, but putting myself in her place gave me a reason to visit. It gave me purpose.
Please do not interpret this as me patting myself on my back. I’m not tooting my own horn. I’m putting someone else’s needs/desires in front of mine. If that’s your purpose, do it. Send a snail mail card to a friend. Pick up that phone. Wave at a neighbor.
As Dr. Kaplin reminds us, “by helping others, you are helping yourself.”
Kaplin, Dr.Adam. ABCs for Good Mental and Emotional Health, MSAA’s The Motivator, Summer/Fall 2020.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Lisa, Lady With the Cane
Want to read more on a purpose-driven life? Rick Warren provides an easy-to-read disclosure on the many purposes we have.
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