Let me tell you a story
You see if you
live long at all you will experience mountains.
And you will
most certainly experience valleys too.
Long story
short, I and my family are in a deep valley right now. I could write a novel
and trust me; it would fill multiple volumes. Truthfully.
But this story
isn’t a tragedy though. It’s a comeback story. Don’t you love those?! I do to.
And that’s at
the core of this story. It’s a comeback story.
Let’s go back
just a little while…
A number of
years ago my oldest sister faced a terrible battle with cancer. After a long
time of struggle, God had tremendous mercy and he healed her! As of today, she
is over 18 years in remission.
But, then
several years ago my dear Mother was diagnosed with a similar metastatic breast
cancer. After several years of hard fighting, on Christmas Eve, 2018 my Mom was
taken home by our Savior Jesus. She was healed of her pain and suffering but we
were left behind to grieve and miss her every day.
Also, several
years ago (more than 5 now as I write this), my sister Colleen was also diagnosed
with a metastatic breast cancer as well. She continues to courageously fight
this terrible disease. We pray often for her and long for her healing.
And if that
wasn’t enough, my youngest sister has also been diagnosed with a terrible cancer
that appears like the others. We are shaken I must admit and our courage and
hope sometimes lay battered and bruised on the floor.
But… I assure
you our faith in God and the promises that He has given us through His son
Jesus stays strong!
But, there is
more. As I write this, my father lays in a hospice bed in Arizona fighting the
last hours and moments with a cancer that I only know as a Giant Cell Sarcoma.
A very rare disease and one that people generally don’t survive.
There is always
more even than what you are given in any story and even in this one, these are
just the highlights (lowlights really). But you get the picture now right?
How many body
blows before we go down?! How much grief and heartache can the human soul take
before we crawl into a hole?
Honestly, I don’t
know. Maybe I’m jaded. Maybe like the rest of my family, with all of this, we can’t
process all of this, and could it be that we are checking out… mentally,
spiritually?
I am going to
say it… I don’t think so. You see, there is a common thread here. And it’s not
the cancer or the suffering. We each go through our battles as individuals and
each of us is experiencing these things separately. So, we have mercy and
empathy because we don’t walk in each other’s shoes.
What lies
beneath all this suffering and sickness is that each of us has given our hearts
to Jesus Christ. We sought Him in prayer, and we invited Him to dwell in our
hearts. And He does dwell in our hearts. He is the reason we can get up every
morning and still be grateful, still put a brave smile on our faces, still laugh,
still participate, and still tell others of the hope He has planted in our souls.
He continues to transform us into a reflection of Himself and we are grateful
for that.
So, what am I
saying?
I am saying
that because of our hope in Jesus, though we are battered and beaten on all
sides by pain and trials, our roots and our anchor lies deep in the heart of
God and in Him are immovable and unshaken. When we are weak, He is strong as
the scriptures tell us.
Would I have
all of these circumstances be different? Would I wish that none of this should
have happened? In my humanity, of course that would be an emphatic YES!
But, knowing
that God can use our trials, our sufferings, our weakness as a catalyst for the
good that He wants to accomplish in the world is a comfort is it not?
I mean, think
on this for a minute… If Christ had not gone through his great suffering and
death on a cross, where would we be now?!
I don’t make
light of my family’s suffering and trials, I am instead trying to encourage you
to see your suffering, your trials, or your persecutions as a way for God to
accomplish seeing other’s lives saved as they observe Christ’s great work in
us.
No, this is not
an easy truth to take in. No, it doesn’t relieve the current pain of grief,
suffering and death but, if we understand that God’s promises to us are real and
dependable, then we know our current suffering is temporary and in the case of
my Mom and soon, my father there will be a great rejoicing in heaven as my
father enters into God’s glory and heaven!
What a sorrow
for us that wait, but also a peace that does in fact pass all human
understanding because there is so much beyond the transition that is our human
death. We have real hope and His name is Jesus!
Do you believe?
Have you committed your heart to Jesus and invited Him in to dwell with you?
You can.
If you give
your heart to Jesus, I will promise you that you will experience peace that the
rest of the World won’t understand but it is there, and it will allow you to
withstand the strongest storms this world has to offer, and it will not
disappoint!
Don’t waste
another day living in fear, living in doubt, living in the unknown. Ask Jesus
into your heart today!
Because of our
hope in Christ, we can have peace in the valley!
Love, Mike
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Seize the Day!!
