I met a lady last weekend named Nancy through a church friend. Nancy is from Wisconsin but has lived her adult life in Denver. She never married and has no relatives here so you know she is one courageous and adventurous soul.
Nancy struck me as kind, generous, thoughtful, and interested in life. She is a nurse so her intellect needs no verification. Her interest in life was the most outstanding quality about her. You see, Nancy's breast cancer returned a year ago by metastasizing in her bones as well as other places. She can't beat it this time but hopefully they can keep it in remission through treatment, which often makes her ill.
She works still and enjoys her work for many reasons. One is that Nancy enjoys being productive. Another reason is she needs the social aspect of work. She enjoys the job and her coworkers.
She is keeping her home up to the best of her abilities. She recently hired someone to help clean. Her yard is in very good shape through her own efforts, primarily. I'd say Nancy is remarkable because the treatment has ravaged her body and she was skinny to begin with.
I admire and respect Nancy! She could stay home and mope about her bad fortune but she isn't. She could make everyone she comes in contact with her emotional hostage with her bad fortune but she isn't. She could reject people and especially new people but she isn't. She could set guidelines on conversation but she isn't. She participates in life as fully as possible and lives each moment with interest in life and those around her.
A pastor I studied under for many years, Col. R.B. Thieme, Jr., said often that you can tell a lot about a person's integrity by the way they keep their home and other possessions. If they take care of what they have, they have integrity. Nancy has integrity.
He also said a lot of things about having capacity for life. Since Nancy is living life as normally as possible through her battle with cancer, she is demonstrating a capacity for life.
She knows the end is near but that does not stop her. She is not mired in self-pity, depression, narcissism, etc. She is facing death and lives her life with as much zest as her weakened and frail body can.
Many of us could learn lessons from such brave and courageous souls about integrity and capacity for life. It would help us face life and our own death, however near or far, better. It would make each day sweeter to the very end.
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