lifestyle choices & grief

We received the devastating news that the credentialed teacher who reviewed Daniel's school portfolio died this last weekend.  She was 61 years old, and battled inoperable stomach cancer for two months before her death.  Hospitalized for the past two weeks, she requested to go home and live out her days with her husband and her 21 year-old son.  Not expecting death so soon, she was even planning her art class lessons, to be taught on Monday.

When we met with her on August 10, she did seem depressed and defeated.  She must have gotten the death-sentence diagnosis a week or so before our meeting.  I noticed her depression, but didn't mention it, thinking that maybe she was just tired.  We had attended two of her art events earlier in the year, so I remembered her to be a very positive and loving person, as my entire homeschooling group would attest to.

I feel for her husband and young son!  The whole thing made me realize that as parents, we owe it to our children to take good care of ourselves.  Our good health honors God, and works out to be a gift to our children.  Healthy parents make good parents, capable and loving grandparents, and easy-to-care-for aging parents.

Let's do our exercise, our veggie, fruit, lean meat and whole-grain eating, our water drinking, and our healthy sleeping, for the glory of God and for our precious children.  Some diseases--cancer included--do stay at bay longer when we make good lifestyle choices.  Yes, God is ultimately in control, but that doesn't mean we don't have any control over our health.

We have only to look into the grieving eyes of young children left behind to convince us that our lifestyle choices matter.