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The Greatest Gift I Ever Received Was a Watch That Doesn’t Work
How Presence, Time, and the God Intersect in One Simple Word
A lot of people don’t know what to say when they find out your wife has stage 4 cancer.
And honestly, I don’t blame them. What do you say to something like that?
Some people go quiet. Their faces soften and you can see them searching for words that don’t exist. Others rush to fill the silence with clichés they don’t quite believe: “Everything happens for a reason,” or “God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.” Some look sheepish, as if they wish they could un-ask whatever innocent question led to the answer they didn’t expect. “How’s your wife doing?” can stop a conversation faster than you can finish it.
You start to notice the small things. The awkward pauses. The nervous laughter. The quick changes of subject. And sometimes, the long silences from people who just do not know what to do with pain they cannot fix.
But every now and then, someone surprises you. Not with words, because words tend to stumble in moments like this, but with something quiet, simple, and full of heart.
A few weeks ago, a small package arrived in the mail.
