No man is a failure who has friends

Remember the movie It’s a Wonderful Life?  Of course you do.  If you know me you know that I’m crazy about this movie.  At Christmas time it’s a toss up for me between It’s a Wonderful Life and Elf.  If I had to pick just one though, I think George Bailey and his sidekick Clarence would take the prize.   One of the most memorable scenes  in the movie comes at the very end when George finds a copy of  Tom Sawyer among the hundreds of dollars his friends and neighbors collected to help him. With Mary at his side and ZuZu in his arms George opens the book and  reads the inscription from his friend Clarence,  “ Dear George, Remember no man is a failure who has friends.” This has always resonated with me. So much so that a couple of years ago the theme of my  Christmas card and letter was It’s a Wonderful Life. I ended our family letter with the inscription George found in the old  book.     Friendships are important to everyone to some extent I suppose.  My father was a great friend. Always willing to go the extra mile for a friend, neighbor or even an acquaintance. I think I take after him in this respect.  I endeavor to be a good friend and strive to keep in touch with the friends I have made over the years. A long time ago a teacher told me something along the lines of, “People won’t remember what you said, but people will always remember how you made them feel.”  From then on I’ve honestly attempted to make people feel good about themselves when they are around me.  

Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life!

Over the past two months Dee has mentioned to me more than once that my determined effort to be a good friend is evidenced in the outpouring of support I have received from so many.  I’m certainly grateful for my father’s example.  He knew life was better, sweeter, richer with friends to share the joys and hardships.    On Sunday the 18th of September I woke up excited for the day ahead.  At church I serve in the Primary and today was the final practice for the Primary sacrament meeting  program.  I had missed some meetings recently due to my circumstances and my counselors had done the lion’s share of the work getting this program pulled together. I was excited to see the children as they prepared to perform.   Now that my own kids are grown and gone, I am usually pretty early for church. On this Sunday however, I was running a little behind and was going to arrive only about five minutes prior to church starting. . Doug had meetings that morning so he was already at the building.  When I arrived and entered the back of the chapel I saw my friend Kelli from work.  Before I could process this I realized many other friends from Lied were sitting together in a middle row.  They all turned to greet me with enormous smiles.  It took me a second but I then noticed they were all dressed in pink.  My heart felt as if it grew an inch in my chest. Here were these wonderful women and men, most of faiths different than my own,, sacrificing their Sunday morning to be with me in the place they know I hold the most dear, second only to my own home. There were hugs all around and introductions galore.  Many of the youth in our ward attended Lied so the kids scurried over to say hello to their old teachers. When it was time to begin we all took our seats. .As we sang the opening song my eyes filled with tears.  I was so touched by this gesture.  Again I reflected on the giving of one’s time- how precious a gift it is. I saw a great poem in my oncologist’s office.  It’s called, What Cancer Cannot Do.

It cannot cripple love

It cannot shatter hope

It cannot corrode faith

It cannot eat away peace

It cannot destroy friendship

It cannot suppress memories

It cannot silence courage

It cannot invade the soul

It cannot steal eternal life

It cannot conquer the spirit

When church ended, I stood in the foyer surrounded by my friends- more hugs, more tears , more promises of prayers- and realized that cancer truly has no power over me.