This I Believe

This post was submitted to Thisibelieve.org - A website dedicated to short stories about what people believe and why. 

This I Believe…

I believe that people don't understand how strong they really are until being strong is the only choice they have left. My lovely mother would, from the outside world seem to be just like any other, but she's far from it. My mother did everything right as I grew up, she would eat well, she loved her job and she made our home brighter each day even when she wasn't having the best of days. To me and my twin sister, our mum was untouchable - a perfect definition of a living angel. However, three years ago, everything I've ever believed in, I started to question.

My mum was diagnosed with colon cancer, and after more tests, doctors had confirmed it had spread to her lungs. This was the first day I had ever seen my parents cry. There might not be a worse feeling than seeing two people who you've known to be rock solid through everything throughout your life, break down right in front of you. What do you do when the one person who told you to never give up, never quit and keep fighting, is the one who needs it the most?

Three years later and my mum is still fighting it and still smiling. I haven't seen a day where she has broken down and asked why me? I haven't seen her question her faith once, rather strengthen it. People would hate the world for this, yet she rediscovered and reinvented the true meaning of strength to me and continues to do so. Every two weeks she goes in for treatment, one time is chemotherapy and the other is anti-bodies, yet she still has time to talk to me and help me with my life's problems. The results of her most recent scan is very promising and the doctor is very confident that the treatments should help her completely beat it very soon. That's all I want for christmas this year, is my mum to be healthy. It's what I ask God for every night, and it's what I thank God for every day - giving me my own angel.

Everyday I wake up and realize whatever my life throws at me, I am going to make it through. My mum wakes up with a smile and some kind words to say everyday, and she's going to make it through this. Nothing in life is meant to be easy. My mum is living proof that true strength, comes from within, and ultimately, it doesn't get much better than that.

This is what I believe.    Philippians 4 vs 13 - I can do all things through Christ God, who strengthens me.