Life Lessons from a Book

Back in 1997, I read a little book called "Tuesdays with Morrie." I'd forgotten all about it until last week when I found a copy at a little free library. Taking it home, I put it on my TBR (To Be Read) shelf and said I'd get to it when I'd finished a couple of other books. (Normally I'm reading 2-3 books at a time.) Reading is my guilty, not guilty pleasure. 

Passing the shelf yesterday, I glanced down and saw the book on top of some others. Hmmm. I know I've read this before, I thought, but maybe I'll read it again since it's been years. I don't normally do that. Once I've read something, that's it. I don't revisit, except for the Bible which I read cover to cover annually. 

Picking up the book, I read a few pages and my memory was refreshed. The story was about an elderly man who was suffering from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. There's no know cure and I was very familiar with it, you see, my maternal Grandmother died from it. 

I'd forgotten about all the tender details the author shared and as I was reading, found myself remembering my grandmother and all she went through. When she was first diagnosed, it was in the early 70's there hadn't been a lot of medical research on the disease because it was so rare. I was a teen but boy do I remember how horrid the disease was as I watched my grandmother slowly decline. Day by day, her muscles atrophied. She lost the ability to walk. Then she lost the ability to talk. She had to have a tracheotomy and needed her lungs suctioned all the time. She needed to be fed through a tube and as we watched her waste away, our hearts were ripped from us. 

In the book, Morrie Schwartz shared life lessons with his former pupil, Mitch Albom. They met every Tuesday. The book begins as Morrie is diagnosed with the disease and progresses until he dies. During those Tuesday meetings, Morrie wants Mitch to know what he's experiencing. He shares his life in such a personal way you don't want to put the book down. Each page I read brought memories I thought I'd tucked away. I re-pictured my grandmother's face as she was doing her best to get through each day.  

There were so many powerful quotes in the book that I found myself underlining each one that touched my heart, especially this one -"Life is a series of pulls back and forth... A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. Most of us live somewhere in the middle. A wrestling match...Which side wins? Love wins. Love always wins”
― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson

How true! Life is a series of pulls back and forth. We all struggle daily in one way or another. Some deal with devastating disease, others with depression. Whatever the case may be, none of us go through life without some kind of trial. 

I've been dealing with a lot of health issues lately and discouragement has been my daily companion. When you can't control your body, it's only natural to feel that way. But I've tried my best to remember there are others who struggle with issues much more difficult than I. When I do that, I can be thankful, even for the path I'm on right now. And I tell myself God knows where I am and what's going on. He hasn't taken His eye off of me. 

And I got a sweet reminder today of that very thing from a friend I've never had the pleasure of meeting in person. Her name is Kathie. We connected through an article I wrote years ago for a cancer magazine. Since that time, we've become good "far away" friends. We talk on the phone when God prompts one of us to call the other, we email, we pray for each other. It's a great connection and the timing is always so on point, we know it could only be God's. 

If you haven't read the book, I hope you will. It's not very long - 210 pages. I know it will touch your heart as you read and if you don't cry somewhere in there, you missed the lessons. 

God is so good to give us the gift of friendship. Just like Morrie and Mitch were put into each other's lives for a reason, Kathie and I were as well. Don't take your friendships for granted. Say what you want to say before you don't have time to say it. Living with regret is never easy.