Last night I made a visit to a home that I had never been to before. I have a good friend who asked me to go visit this home, which is the home of his brother and sister in law. Rick and Janice are sweet people. They are relatively young, seemingly with much life ahead of them. They have two children and four grandchildren. They have a comfortable home in mid town tulsa. He has a good job. On the surface, it looks like a pretty good life.
She has cancer. WOW.
6 months ago it was pneumonia... or something like that. In the course of a few days, it went from a nasty cold to pnuemonia... Antibiotics wouldn;t hit it , and then on subsequent visits to doctors the cancer was discovered.
It has been just six months...but in that time, as a result of chemo and radiaiton, much of her life has been sucked out of her... on the surface.
Unless there is a miracle, she does not have a long time left on this earth. I have seen this before.
But I left their home last night amazed. I was amazed at how strong Janice was. I know her voice is softer, she has lost alot of weight, and she struggles with the daily things that she used to have totally under control.
But in her spirit I saw strength. I saw real love for her family. And honestly, when I visited with her she was wanting to talk more about me and the health issues I have had , than about herself.
I saw a peace as well. She knows the score. But she also knows that this is not all there is. She knows that something really great awaits her on the other side. This peace that she has spreads to the rest of her family.
Our quiet moments together last night remind me of something. We live in a fallen world. This place is not perfect. Sin has tainted God's original plan for the earth, and because of that, really good people like Janice get cancer. And good families suffer with sorrow. I don't get it... and don't always want to accept it. But it is the way it is.
I told Janice that none of us has a body that will live forever. Not here on earth. Instead we have a spirit that will be reuinited with a glorified body someday in the presence of God. And all that she goes through will be worth it.
2 Corinthians 5: 6-9 says, "Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight, We are confdent I say and would prefer to be awy from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it."
We ended our talk last night with a thought. This is a journey... a journey that we all will have to take, unless the Lord comes. It is a journey that we do not take alone. "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me."
Pray for Janice and Rick as they journey together. Your prayers make you part of the traveling party. They could use all the friends they can get for this last leg.
1 comment:
Hi Charlie. Those who have connected the eternal word of God to the eternal soul of man have great peace when their earthly life fades (yes, we do listen to your lessons). Nancy and I have been reminded of that lately as her boss has been diagnosed with stage-3 cancer. Now this is a very young woman (33-years-old) who is unmarried and has her whole life in front of her. We expected her spirit to be crushed (as was ours), but were amazed at her positive reaction and joyful resignation to let God take control. She's a woman of faith and I see God shining through in her. I long for her same outlook.
Great blog. Thanks for being you.
Jeff Davis
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