Is it love or hate?

This weekend I had the chance to take a couple of my favorite clients out. These really fantastic people came to me because they wanted to relocate back to the Bay Area from the Central Valley. They found me partially because when the wife read about me she read about my fight with Breast Cancer, and she read this blog. We have a lot in common. She too is a Breast Cancer survivor. She and her husband have 3 adorable children, and she was diagnosed right after giving birth to their youngest.



I said something on Sunday like, "I bet you are anxious to get out of the Valley and back here." She said "you have no idea." We talked about how you drive further to go do things there, than here. But she said "that's not the worst of it. The worst the mentality of the people."


Having known quite a few great people from the Valley and having lived there for several years I tried to add some balance to her feelings. But then I found out what had happened to her and why she felt that way.


She told me that when she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer one woman, who she knew quite well said that God was punishing her for her sin. She would pray that God forgive her sins. God gave her Breast Cancer? Oh really now, is that so.?


Just writing that I am filled with such anger that it is hard to type without destroying this keyboard. It makes me remember a moment I had with my Mother when she was struggling through her treatment for Cancer.


My Mother was a kind and loving person. Light shone from her eyes with love, bright and embracing. One evening, my father's investment counselor was at the house. They were talking about God. He is/was a "born again" Christian. My Mother loved her God. She saw Him as a loving and kind God. But this man looked at my Mother and said, knowing she was dying, "It's too bad when you get to heaven your father won't be there, since he didn't accept Jesus as his lord and savior."


I looked at my Mother's eyes. In an instant they went from a bright and shining light of love to a flat and saddened look of death. I grabbed this man's arm, looked him in the eye and said "You know what? If you are in Heaven and my Grandfather is in Hell, I hope to God I go to Hell."


My God is love. My God isn't an angry God who punishes the good with Cancer. My God wouldn't even punish a vengeful angry man like this poor excuse for a human being, or the bigoted ignorant person who spoke to my client. He lifts people up, he doesn't tear them down. If you run into someone like this, turn your back and walk away, because this person... this person is not worth your attention. Evil never is.