{"id":266,"date":"2017-08-07T08:45:02","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T08:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/?p=266"},"modified":"2018-11-28T09:46:39","modified_gmt":"2018-11-28T14:46:39","slug":"21-a-second-chance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/2017\/08\/07\/21-a-second-chance\/","title":{"rendered":"A Second Chance!"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are flawed beings. We are far from perfect. Second chances are taken for granted. In fact, most of the time, we don’t even recognize second chances for what they really are… blessings! The way I look at life has changed dramatically in the past 2 years. My life now has two main aspects; my faith and my health. Everything else is a minor matter for me. With my diagnosis the acceptance of finality is commonplace. So I use this knowledge to enjoy and really\u00a0live\u00a0<\/strong>life! I know longer squander “second chances”. Mind you, I’ve had my share. Two city jobs and a few in the private sector were lost due to drug abuse. You know, going along with the crowd. No matter what the circumstance, I always ended up on my feet. I can talk about those things now because they have no meaning for me except for memories. I am a new creature in Christ! Every choice I’ve made I’ve accepted for those choices make me who I am today. Since assuming responsibility for all my actions, the past is just what it is, the past. God has forgiven me. Wishes, hopes and regrets are useless emotions for they take away from what we all\u00a0really\u00a0<\/strong>have… the present moment! You can go along the rest of your life worrying and lamenting about this or that choice you’ve made or you could just move on! God has forgiven you! Everyone of us at one time or another in our lives wishes to go back in time to “know then what we know now!” It doesn’t matter. God has forgiven you! Make an effort to the simple realization that faith moves mountains! I have! Jesus Christ is my\u00a0constant\u00a0<\/strong>companion! I have\u00a0no\u00a0<\/strong>fear! Each and\u00a0every\u00a0<\/strong>action in my life is treated like it’s my last <\/b>battle on earth. That way any and everything I do is done with the knowledge that this action could very well be the last thing I ever do! Faith is power! It gives me power to persevere. I am not alone in this battle. I seldom mention my family members because they are “default”. They are battling just as hard! In closing, I always felt that God had plans for me. My father and older brother both passed in their thirties. When I made 40, I was born again. It was a milestone for me. Now here I am, in my sixties diagnosed with cancer. If writing is something inherent in me I don’t know. A few people say I’m pretty good at it. I don’t know. All I\u00a0do<\/strong>\u00a0know is that somehow, someway maybe these words that I put together may help someone, somewhere to feel better about their life! Peace and blessings!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are flawed beings. We are far from perfect. Second chances are taken for granted. In fact, most of the time, we don’t even recognize second chances for what they really are… blessings! The way I look at life has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-living-life-with-cancer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8zBYf-4i","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2547,"url":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/29\/the-blog-lives-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":266,"position":0},"title":"The Blog Lives Again!","author":"Michael","date":"March 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"After some time away, I discovered something surprising. Without realizing it, my blog site had been down since December 4, 2025 \u2014 which also happened to be the date of my last post. As a matter of fact, I eventually discovered that the entire site had actually been deleted. That\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Living life with cancer!"","block_context":{"text":"Living life with cancer!","link":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/category\/living-life-with-cancer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_9024-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_9024-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_9024-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_9024-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_9024-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_9024-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2560,"url":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/29\/havent-posted-lately\/","url_meta":{"origin":266,"position":1},"title":"HAVEN\u2019T POSTED LATELY!","author":"Michael","date":"May 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"I have not been posting lately for a very simple reason. My concentration has been focused on my second book, CANCER\u2019S GIFT:THE GIFT OF AWARENESSFurther Conversations of a Walking Dead Man I know the title is a mouthful, but once you read the introduction, you will understand exactly what this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Living life with cancer!"","block_context":{"text":"Living life with cancer!","link":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/category\/living-life-with-cancer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2549,"url":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/01\/blessings\/","url_meta":{"origin":266,"position":2},"title":"blessings\u2026","author":"Michael","date":"April 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"i only evolve when standing on the edge of infinity. when solace fails and leaves fall between my fingers. music in my eyes, visions in my ears. i won\u2019t let the moss grow between my toes\u2014 for i must live, love, and always laugh. keeping a fragile synergy among the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Living life with cancer!"","block_context":{"text":"Living life with cancer!","link":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/category\/living-life-with-cancer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/F061C705-FF90-4B69-9FB4-86858918A520_Original-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/F061C705-FF90-4B69-9FB4-86858918A520_Original-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/F061C705-FF90-4B69-9FB4-86858918A520_Original-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/F061C705-FF90-4B69-9FB4-86858918A520_Original-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/F061C705-FF90-4B69-9FB4-86858918A520_Original-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/F061C705-FF90-4B69-9FB4-86858918A520_Original-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2572,"url":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/eleven-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":266,"position":3},"title":"ELEVEN YEARS!","author":"Michael","date":"June 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Eleven years ago today, I received what I believed at the time was a death sentence: Stage IV lung cancer. It was not. Ironically, I walked out of that doctor\u2019s office with my head held high. But as I turned the corner and began the quarter-mile walk home\u2026 the tears\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Living life with cancer!"","block_context":{"text":"Living life with cancer!","link":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/category\/living-life-with-cancer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingdeadman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_6476-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1023,"href":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions\/1023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingdeadman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}