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Monday, August 20, 2007
5:25 PM
I've been killing time for the last half hour or so, waiting for Christine to arrive so we can grab some dinner. During my time wasting, a CNN news story caught my eye with the headline "Blogger, 18, loses cancer battle". Curious, I clicked the link to find out more about this young fellow blogger who lost his life so early. I'm glad I did.
Miles communicated to his faithful readers through a project called CarePages. According to the website, its purpose is as follows:
CarePages are free, easy-to-use Web pages, brought to you by Revolution Health, that help family and friends communicate when a loved one is receiving care.
CarePages help Families:
1) Create a virtual meeting place on the web
2) Share news and photos as often as needed
3) Receive emotional support during a time of need
Over the period of two years Miles wrote and wrote, sharing his fears, thoughts, triumphs and downfalls with the world...and touched tens of thousands of lives in the process.
I have no words to do justice to the life of young Miles. I didn't know him, and I've only scanned a few of his blogs and read one CNN news article about his death. However, I am stricken by his maturity, wisdom, bravery, and grace. Cancer is a terrible thing, but childhood cancer is truly a tragedy.
People like Miles remind us why we're here, and what's really important in life. It's easy to become bogged down in the details of life, and far too often I think we fall into a rhythmic cycle of monotony and apathy. Instead of asking ourselves, "what can I do today to make a difference in someone else's life?", we ask "what can I do today to just make it through?". Then when night falls and we reflect upon the day that just ended, we can't name a single damn thing we did that's worth remembering 50 years from now.
I know I fall into this trap, especially lately! I've been absolutely consumed with the details of my life, and I think I've lost sight of the forest for the trees. Not that the details aren't important! Only now I remember why those details are important.
Not everyone has the opportunity to graduate from high school and go to college. Not everyone has the chance to choose and enter into a career of his or her own choosing, a chance to create a life and a lifestyle others may only dream about. I'm so thankful to God for blessing me with family, friends, and the means to pursue my dreams...whatever those may be. And I'm really thankful for people like Miles, who remind me that "it ain't all about me!"
I'd like to continue visiting CarePages. It's really an awesome project, and what a cool opportunity to encourage and pray for those who may be traveling through a really rough patch in life. It's nice to see internet social tools used for something good and useful...for once. :)
Off to dinner!Labels: life, random, thoughts
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