Keep the Faith

When my husband, Billy, got cancer, our world was rocked. He had always been so strong, so healthy, he rarely went to the doctor. ‘How could this be happening?’ we asked ourselves. I was a Christian, Billy was not. My husband told me that he realized soon after he became ill, that God had been with him all along, throughout his entire life, he had just not acknowledged that fact. And Billy became a Christian, and was baptized, and his faith gave him hope, and the knowledge that God was with him gave him strength.

When we first started on that Journey, I just kept telling myself to keep the faith. “Keep the faith” became my mantra. I didn’t want to lose hope, even though Billy’s diagnosis was bad. The doctors gave him 6 months to 3 years to live. He actually lived 5 years and 3 months after his diagnosis, and I am so grateful for every one of those months that we got to be together. Even when we knew that the end was coming, that God was not going to give Billy any more reprieves, I still told myself to keep the faith.

I had faith that God would take care of us no matter what. I guess dying is the worst thing that can happen to a person in this life, but really your life doesn’t end with death. I believe our souls never die. So, when Billy died, it was a terrible day for me and our family, but it wasn’t the end. While I miss him terribly, I know that he is with God and he is happy, pain free, and medicine free. If it is true that one day in heaven is like a thousand days on Earth, then as far as Billy is concerned, he has only been gone a few minutes, and in a couple of days I will be there with him.

I have faith that God will take care of me now that Billy is gone from this Earth. That he will show me if there is a purpose I can serve somehow.

I have to keep the faith. Without faith, I would have no hope at all. This life is hard, and no one escapes alive, but it is also so beautiful and precious. While I live, I hope I can honor what God wants me to do, and that is to love Him and to love my neighbor as myself. Everything else will fall into place.