What Makes Us Tick? “Thoughts of a Daughter Who’s Mom is Suffering From Cancer”

“We werenʼt those people. To whom bad things happen for no reason.”

This phrase suddenly passes by my train of thought as I mull over things that apparently been bothering my family. Not my family but the one I’ve been a part of since I got married. By the way, that phrase came from a famous novel by Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones.

The story of Suzy was one I still felt the ache until now especially that it ended without her family knowing of her body’s whereabouts but smart enough to let us realize that things really have ways to turn things around and prove that “What goes around, comes back around”. Right now, my family is going through a combination of anxiety, fear, heartaches and invisible wounds that tear us every time we see our mother breathe into this illness called, cancer. As I relate to my lifetime, if I’m in her shoes, would I try to fight and go through series of tiring and painful process to heal? This makes me ask myself, What makes us tick? What makes us do the things we do? What motivates a person to do such thing if there is no assurance of success?

Then I ponder on the things that mattered to her- Her children and her grandson. Her grandson gazes at her almost every day and smiles, laughs and dances whenever she is awake. And who would never want to fight against the illness for that joy? Wouldn’t you want to continue being alive to see that cheerful grandson every day of your life when you get well?

And I admire the journey was shared with me as a daughter-in-law. I admired how life brought us together to fight for what seemed a bane of everybody’s existence. What makes me tick? Well, this situation we had, the strength I see in mama’s eyes and her spirit and faith in God sometimes shiver me in a good and very meaningful way. This situation motivates me to write about her and about how faith heals emotionally. This right now, made me thank God all my life for giving me the chance to love my own mother more and stay positive in all kinds of circumstances.

Quitting is a permanent solution to a temporary problem as what this quotation points. True enough, like all this kinds of problems, may it be grades, failures in different fields, and even illness are just temporary if you seek solution and faith. And I admire mama for not quitting life even if she either has the biggest or the slightest reason to do so. Every day, when she possesses grace beneath failing physical strength due to chemotherapy but she never failed to pray and believe that every failing health is a pursuit to renewed and healthy one someday and that went without saying. As the song says, “It is written on her face”

The world has both good and bad to offer. These things may either hinder or inspire us to move along problems. One lesson I learned from a shared situation of pain from mama’s fight against cancer is a mindset. One that allows us to stay on the positive or else we’ll be eaten whole by the negativity in life. You just have to find the motivation, seek faith in Him and give yourself the chance to find the answer to what really makes one tick.

---

UPVOTE >> COMMENT >> RESTEEM