The Fine Line

I broke into tears just watching a video. It was a good video and a good song combined to bring me to tears. It challenged me to look at my life and those I love and that usually bring me to tears.

Sure, I am an emotional sort. I cry easily but when I start thinking about my parents, children and grandchildren I get emotional. The video was shot in the cancer ward of a children’s hospital with the children lip sync’ing the words to the song “Roar” by Katy Perry. 

It made me pause and analyze why I am crying.

Am I crying because it is such a great song?

Am I crying because of the children singing with IV’s hanging from their arms in hospital gowns?

Am I crying because I cannot imagine being the parent of one of those children?

I pause and look at my feelings. I write them down and what I picture is someone I love in that situation and this brings me to tears. Some child and some parent is going through that emotional trauma right now … it brings me to tears.

There is a fine line that we walk every day and mostly ignore it. This fine line separates our lives of joy, love and happiness from a life of pain, sorrow and torment. This fine line has you one day riding down the road to joy and a second later crashing into the life of pain and extended recovery. This fine line is crossed when a healthy 50-something gets his first heart attack. This fine line is crossed when you hear the word “cancer” spoken to you or one you love.

As I looked at this fine line I found that it drew me closer to God. It drew me closer to God because I realize the only thing keeping me on one side of the line and not the other is God’s grace. When we cross that line, one of our first exclamations is “Why, God?” but if we are on the joy side of the line is our expression “Thank God!”?

What is worse; we act like we are not on the joyous side of the line, then, just like a healthy person who forgets what it is like to be sick, we forget where we are RIGHT NOW! I thank God that I and those I love are on the joyous side. I pray every day that we stay there. I know that pain and sorrow is a fine line away but that should not keep me from loving and living. Love and Life is painful so enjoy the good side of the line while you are there because you know how thin that line is.

Cry and support those on the painful side of the thin line. Laugh and enjoy life on the joyous side of the line but NEVER forget how blessed you are.