FLOWER FRIDAY AND PINKTOBER 9

Having arrived home safely last night, but in the dark, my first job this morning was to go out into the garden - in my pink robe, of course - but not in my pink slippers, as the grass was very wet.

I was searching for a pink flower for today’s Flower Friday and the Pinktober challenge and our roses did not disappoint.  I was happy to see this one and several others, but the two climbing rose bushes are not doing that well.  They are in pots either side of an arch given to us by a friend who died a while ago, and they need to be encouraged, so some serious pruning will be done at the appropriate time then perhaps next year we will have even better blooms.

This rose looked a little “frayed” at the edges and it made me think of an article that a friend of mine put on her FB page today about a lady in Karachi, Fauzia Maung Khuhro,  who discovered she had breast cancer.  If you want to read the article, please have a look here.  Such a courageous woman and there are thousands like her all over the world.

I expect most people who are going through chemotherapy for any sort of cancer will admit that very often they feel a bit like this rose - they tend to keep up appearances for the sake of family and friends, but actually they feel quite “frayed” at the edges so it is at those times that we need to rally round them and help in any way we can.  

It may not mean actually visiting the person - sometimes we need to leave that to close family and friends - but we can encourage someone by sending a card, making a meal and leaving it on the doorstep, looking after children or even doing a pile of ironing.  It's amazing how enjoyable ironing can be when doing it as a "gesture of love" for someone else, as I well know, after ironing for my friend, Karen, when she was very ill.  She would sit and watch me and often used to laugh and tell me that her husband, Keith, had said his shirts had never been ironed so well! 

As a Christian, I can also pray but for those who are not, they have their own ways of sending healing thoughts and doing good deeds.

The object of Pinktober on Blip, is to raise awareness of breast cancer in both women and men and I hope that you will feel able to click on this link so that those unable to pay for a mammogram can have one free of charge.

“Give freely to the world 
     these gifts of 
          love and compassion. 
Do not concern yourself 
     with how much 
          you receive in return, 
               just know in your heart 
it will be returned.” 
Steve Maraboli

P.S.  Sorry about the lack of comments recently, but hopefully over the next few days, normal service will be resumed!