Reality

The other day I went into Ben's six month well visit, and as I was waiting for the doctor I had a conversation with the nurse that has sent me thinking. About two years ago she was diagnosed with leukemia. At the time the doctor told her it was only in stage two. Once treatments were over, and the cancer was removed through chemo however, she found out her situation had been much more serious than she had thought. Initially the cancer had indeed spread to multiple places in her body and had been in the final stages-- stage four. Her doctor, in his wisdom, had decided not to tell her the severity of the cancer until she was out of the woods, he told her patients fair better when the diagnosis "seems" more hopeful.

Can you believe it? One person's "belief" in their condition or "lack of belief" can change everything. I know faith in something we can't see does make a difference. I imagine this doctor understood this principle. Some might debate this doctor's counterfeit diagnosis. But what might have happened to this nurse if she had thought- she only had a few months to live instead of years to her life. It could have changed everything. Her children could be motherless right now. I could go on to discuss the ethics of this patient/doctor communication, but that is not the purpose of my post. My purpose is to better understand faith. Faith changes everything. Our belief in a better day, makes a better day. Our faith really does change the future. It changes how we live. And when we lack faith, we take away our accountability to "getting better" to "being better." At this point our values change. We hold other people accountable for our not getting better or not giving us the opportunities we think we deserve, and so on. Thereby taking away any real responsibility we might have to changing our undesirable situation.

So come with me on one last journey while I end this post. In David Archuleta's pop song "Something 'bout love" it talks about Love breaking your heart and setting you free. Instantly I thought of Will. His love has changed me.  I am a better person. I would do anything for him. I find myself changing bad habits, not because he asks me to, but because I love him. I don't want to disappoint. His love sets me free in the sense that I am more accepting of myself. I do better, which leads to being better which leads to feeling better which leads to more love and more faith.  I bring this example up because it is a physical pattern that teaches us about a very spiritual principle. I believe that it is our faith and love in our Savior which heals us all. Whether it be disappointments or physical aliments. As long as we demonstrate our faith we can be healed or glean strength to bear those heart aches that lie before us.