Grace, Optimism, and Love

A friend of mine just passed away after a courageous and tenacious five-year battle with cancer. Felipe was just a few years younger than me; his cancer was very different than the kind I faced, yet that bond of similar struggles made him someone with a special place in my heart.

For five years, I’ve followed his and his wife Julia's posts, journals, and updates as they bravely navigated the highs and lows of their battle. Through it all, grace, optimism, and love shined strong—incredible, beautiful, unconditional, expanding love for each other, their kids, their family, and their friends. 

Grace is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Love is a choice. We can’t choose what situation we’re born into or what fate has in store, but we can choose to react to whatever we’re given with this divine triad. In doing so, it's possible to make even the most heartbreaking of situations fruitful. 

Felipe and Julia did this; they chose to react positively to a situation that would have crushed many others. In doing so, they changed lives and expanded hearts. My life has been touched deeply by their example.

Thank you, Felipe, for your grace, optimism, and love. It has made such an impact. Rest peacefully, my friend. <3

Felipe and Marty - August 2, 2015