Friday, June 21, 2013

The Will to Live

I am always surprised by the determination to live displayed by some plant life. While flowers in the big pot on my deck threaten to die if I miss one day of watering, these guys seem to be thriving while growing out of Independence Rock!


A few of us at work today were talking about the strong will to live.  It seems to me that some people seem to have a much stronger will to live than others. I was telling about a man, well into his 90's, who would undergo some very scary and painful treatments just to survive a bit longer. I do not think I have that strong of a will to live. Maybe it is because I don't have much fear of death.

Don't be worrying about me! I have never struggled with suicidal thoughts or anything. OK, there was that time when I was 3 and attempted suicide by black widow spider, but since then I have been good.  I believe I am supposed to honor this life and to live it well. I just believe that what comes next is even better. The stickler about death is the part about leaving those we love and causing them pain. I don't like those thoughts. When compared to eternity, though, our time of separation will be brief.

The very first verse I think I memorized was John 3:16.  Perhaps that is why I don't so much fear death.

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


3 comments:

Michelle said...

I went back and re-read your black widow spider story. (Grin and a head shake.) I wonder what your mother said when she found you.

Mom said...

I was horrified that you were not only going to go, but take Laurie along with you. It is precious that you wanted her to meet Jesus too though. I wonder if you knew you couldn't come back? I doubt you did. The faith of a little child is a beautiful thing even though, in this instance, it was pretty frightening for a parent!

Lisa said...

The problem is the will to live is still there, even when we know that what is to come is so much better. When face with catastrophic illness, my response has been "so what do I need to do?" I went through chemo and radiation, and I now have an ICD. Logically, I know sudden cardiac death beats cancer hands down. But I fight against that too, and there is no logic to it.

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