The Purpose of Diseasefeatured

When I was little, my mom would take care of me when I was sick. She would make me mexican chicken stew and hug me until I was better.

Now that I am 20 something, things have changed. I have to look out for myself most times and I don’t have my mom bringing me nutrients in bed at the sign of the slightest cold.

As adults, we don’t usually have our moms around to magically make it better. It is up to us to create that same warmth and love our parents did when those around us get sick.

As we grow up, more and more people will get sick. Some will make it, others wont. We will endure pain because we hate to see those we love in pain. It will make us mad and angry and question everything around us.

So what is the purpose of disease? Why do people have to get sick?

It is easy to get mad at whatever you believe in when someone you love is sick. It is easy to blame external factors and/or circumstance. It is easy to feel resentment everyday that you walk the earth because you or a loved one is sick.

But you know what isn’t easy? To look at the good disease does. The true purpose of disease. Disease brings people together. Disease makes people forget arguments and past transgressions. Disease makes everyone think twice about their past mistakes. Disease makes people hold each other tighter and hug a little bit longer.

I used to think disease was this ugly animal. It wasn’t until I started reading Facebook posts written by the mother of Kylie, a toddler who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, that I realized disease is not entirely negative or disastrous.

As I have watched her journey as a mother, I see she has gone one of the greatest pains–the loss of a child. I know no day is easier than the last for this mother who had disease take over her baby girl.

I also see this fierceness in her because of what she has overcome. I see a woman who was able to go on by writing her story and sharing it with the world. She has thousands of followers and people thanking her for helping them not feel so alone on their own painful journeys.

Disease is not pretty. Disease is definitely painful. Although this is true, disease can also create so much love. It can bring people together in ways they never thought possible. It can make individuals stronger. It can unite groups that usually have deep rifts dividing them. It can bring families closer together, but also tear them apart.

It is up to us to define the true purpose of disease. I am choosing to view disease as a chance to love harder. I am choosing to view disease as an obstacle that will only make me stronger. I am choosing to view disease as a chance for humanity to step up and stand together stronger than ever before.

Disease is painful yet miraculous. Choose love when faced with disease.

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