Everything beautiful that life has to offer

Sean, Wen and I were at the table just talking after a morning meeting. Sarah had rushed away to a lunch in town giving the three of us time to simply be together. We communicate most every day but hadn't had the chance to just sit for a while so nobody was in a hurry.

The topics varied but the major theme was acceptance. Life's rarely what we thought. Plans went array, wolves nip at heels and God prefers strange silence when we desperately need to know things. If you don't accept it then you're immediately overwhelmed what you can't control.

"Security is an illusion," is how Sean summed it up.

Later I was at Bernie's collecting my thoughts and preparing for the afternoon but found myself preoccupied. Amber is the daughter of Bill Berry (not the former drummer for REM but the other one; the one I love and have shared many an adventure with!). She's an amazing girl, beautiful and talented, a graduate of Savannah College of Art & Design, now back home in Richmond, Virginia.

She writes a blog ... "Live. Laugh. Lymphoma" ... that chronicles her diagnoses and treatment with Hodgkins Lymphoma. It's just "your every day, twenty-something girl, enjoying everything beautiful that life has to offer." (http://livelaughlymphoma.blogspot.com/2013/02/chemo-3-inspiration.html )

Just a few months ago she was happy and healthy, making her way through life when the cards she was dealt suddenly changed everything. Security is indeed an illusion. Yet Amber's first response was to say, "Well maybe I can be a mentor to the kids going through treatment."

Did I mention that Amber's amazing?

In the mornings, I check to see if she's posted anything and when she does I have a glimpse of what she's going through. It's pretty humbling ... especially if I'm worried about the cost of repairing the air conditioner at the rental house or why the contract at work is taking so damn long to close.

What we have is here and now. The people we have in our lives are the ones who are here. God's response to our demands to know why or how or when is a quiet affirmation of it is what it is. You're where you're at ... with who you're with ... with both opportunities and obstacles. Do with it what you will. It's all you've got.

The question is what are you going to do today?

Enjoy everything beautiful that life has to offer you?

Or settle for something less?