The Kindness I Never Forgot

Ten years ago, Kim and I sat in a doctor’s office and heard words we hoped we would never hear: “You have Stage III colon cancer.”

In that moment, life split into a before and an after.

The plans we had made, the assumptions we carried, and the sense of certainty we took for granted suddenly disappeared. We didn’t know what the future held. We didn’t know how treatment would go. We didn’t know what the months ahead would look like for our family.

As Thanksgiving approaches this year, we’re celebrating an incredible milestone: Kim is now ten years cancer-free.

Looking back, I can honestly say that while I would never have chosen that journey, it changed me in ways I didn’t expect.

When Life Doesn’t Go According to Plan

Cancer has a way of stripping life down to what really matters.

I’ve spent my career as a financial advisor helping families prepare for uncertainty and walking alongside them through different stages of life. But during that season, I learned firsthand that some things simply can’t be solved with a plan, a spreadsheet, or a strategy. Sometimes circumstances are beyond our control, and the things that carry us through aren’t the things we can measure on a balance sheet. It’s our faith, our relationships, our health, and the people who show up when we need them most.

The Acts of Kindness That Carried Us Through

What stands out most from those difficult months isn’t the fear, the medical appointments, or the waiting. It’s the people.

Friends delivered meals when we didn’t have the energy to think about dinner. Family stepped in without being asked. Church members prayed faithfully. Clients checked on us. Neighbors offered encouragement. Some people sent cards. Others simply showed up and sat with us when there wasn’t much to say.

At the time, many of those gestures probably felt small to the people offering them.

To us, they were anything but.

A meal meant one less decision on an exhausting day. A text reminded us we weren’t alone. A prayer offered hope on days when our own strength was running low. Those simple acts of kindness carried us through.

That season taught me something I wish I had understood earlier: people may not remember exactly what you said, but they remember that you were there.

Finding Gratitude in the Ordinary Moments

It also gave me a deeper appreciation for the ordinary parts of life, the things that are so easy to overlook. A quiet morning, dinner with family, a walk with my wife, a holiday gathering, or even just a normal day all began to mean a little more.

I also see other people’s struggles differently now. When someone we know receives a difficult diagnosis, loses a loved one, faces financial challenges, or simply goes through a hard season, I understand a little better what they may be carrying.

I’ve learned you don’t always need the right words or a fix. Sometimes you just need to be there.

A phone call, a note, a meal, or a simple “I’m thinking about you” can mean far more than we realize.

A Different Perspective This Thanksgiving

Cancer taught me a lot about gratitude. Not just gratitude for the big milestones, like the one we’re celebrating this year, but gratitude for the ordinary moments we once assumed would always be there.

This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for Kim’s health. I’m grateful for the people who carried us through a season we could not have navigated alone. And I’m grateful for the perspective that came from an experience I never would have chosen.

Sometimes the greatest blessings are the ones we only recognize in hindsight.

And sometimes what we’re most thankful for didn’t go according to plan at all.

This Thanksgiving, our table looks much the same as it did ten years ago. The difference is that now I understand just how extraordinary that blessing really is.

November 2026