Dana's Christian Journey

musings of a thankful cancer survivor

Author: Dana

  • bold living

    —

    Dana

    Phone calls made from United Flight 93 made several passengers come to the conclusion that they needed to live boldly in their last minutes of life. Todd Beamer’s words, “Let’s roll!”, inspired a nation.

    When the doctor told us I had cancer, Susan researched and found a rather depressing statistic. The average length of life after diagnosis was 3-5 years. Since then, the average has been raised to 5-7 years. I’ve lived two of these years and Susan and I debate about which statistic applies to me.

    So should I live boldly these last years of life or should I live in fear? The Lord gives one answer and the devil gives the other. I have had the advantage of thinking about this quite a bit, but Jesus wants us all to know His thinking… no matter what our circumstance.

    “Take no thought for your life…” Can we really live in such a way? Jesus did – because He knew everything was in the hands of God. He was on earth for a purpose – to do the will of His Father. Is it any different for us?

    By living boldly, I mean living out the life of Christ: If someone asks, I give. If someone strikes, I turn. If someone sues, I surrender. If someone hates, I love. If someone needs to be rescued, I risk my life. When Satan’s lies are all around, I tell the truth. When things look so bad it seems God has failed, I believe He is there.

    Lack of trust may be our biggest obstacle to living boldly. The devil makes us think such talk is foolishness, but the Spirit of God says, “Trust the Father and walk by faith. You will not see the end presently, but God holds all things in His hands. He is faithful. Even if the worst seems to happen, God can bring good. As you live boldly in Christ, He will live boldly in you.”

    May the words of our greatest Hero inspire God’s holy nation to live boldly.

    “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.” “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

  • do not forget

    —

    Dana

    For two years now, Susan and I have attended a support group in Atlanta for families dealing with multiple myeloma. In these days of good health, I confess I have been a bit reluctant to go to these monthly meetings, for here I am reminded of my disease. Some of us are in remission, while others are in the midst of treatments of one kind or another. At the end of each meeting, we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to all who reached such milestones that month. We also hear bad news of those who have regressed or those who have passed away. Though certain things may be depressing, I know I must go.

    To stay away from this support group seems a type of denial and a shirking of responsibility. I dare not forget the members of this group who encouraged us when things looked so bleak. Survivors shared their experiences and gave practical advice. Never did we feel judged or condemned. Everyone knew each family had to make tough decisions in their own journey. The group exists to support others, and I know I am to do the same. When a disease-weakened newcomer enters our meeting, I understand where he is. Perhaps I can encourage him. Perhaps I can give a word of hope. I know I can pray. I cannot simply forget.

    These thoughts remind me that I have been eternally cleansed of a problem far worse than cancer. I’m not part of darkness any more. Jesus has brought me into His Kingdom of Light. But dare I forget my fellow man? It is more comfortable to hang around Christians all the time, but do I have another purpose?

    This comparison suffers when I talk of a cure. There is no medical cure for my cancer. There are several possible avenues to take, and each family must decide what is best for their situation. But there is a cure for our greatest problem. It was established many years ago on a lonely hill of execution where Jesus shed His blood for the sins of the world. He is the only hope today. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can have eternal life without Him.

    When I see a sin-weakened man, I dare not condemn, for I understand where he is. Perhaps I can give a word of hope. Perhaps I can share the good news of Christ. I know I can pray. I cannot simply forget.

    “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time…” Ephesians 2:1

    “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24

  • no greater love

    —

    Dana

    “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8

    “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:12-16

    As we remember the brave ones who risked all to rescue the perishing, so let us remember the perfect One who gave all to save us.

  • not as strong

    —

    Dana

    Rich Mullins wrote a song entitled, “We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are”. How many times I have discovered this to be true! I thought I knew a little about prayer until I stood with those brothers in Benin who gathered before the sun rose to lift their prayers to our Lord. When I realized afresh that I was not as strong as I thought I was, I asked them to pray for me and the American Church.

    In the year 2000, Samuel Lamb, a pastor in the underground Church in China, was asked how Americans could help. “Tell them to pray for us. Pray for revival; pray for more new converts; pray for more strength to stand firm because persecution is still severe.”

    But perhaps those who have gone through the fires of persecution have something to teach us. They may know how to cry out to God. They may know something about intercession. They know what type of faith is needed to endure. And they know to pray for souls. When Moses came down from the mountain after fasting forty days and nights, he found his people in terrible sin. What did he do? For forty more days and nights he fasted. During this time he lay prostrate on the ground and begged God not to destroy His people.(read Deut 9) What brings such disregard for self and such concern for others?

    John Hyde was an American missionary to India at the turn of the twentieth century. His constant prayer was, “O God, give me souls or I die!” Was he sincere? The Holy Spirit is the source of such praying. The passion we need comes from Him. It is a passion full of an uncommon love that offers the most precious possession for the souls of men. Anyone who desires such passion is invited to humbly come to the One who knows how strong we really are.

    “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” Revelation 3:17-19

  • persistence

    —

    Dana

    My brother and his wife and son are arriving in Atlanta tomorrow morning. Each week day I try to pray for Brian’s family and the people we met in Capetown last Christmas. The devil tempts us to think such praying has little purpose, but Jesus teaches us to pray and never give up.

    The Lord reminded me of this instruction last spring when a missionary my son and I met in Benin, West Africa came to Atlanta. Taylor and I visited Benin a little over four years ago when my brother was living there. We had the great privilege of meeting many Christians in the rural villages of the country. Some of these brothers make it a daily habit to rise before day break to pray to the One who has all power and authority. I sometimes had chills run up and down my spine as these men that some would call poor and uneducated prayed with great boldness in languages I could not understand.

    Sometimes I was asked to pray. Brian interpreted the requests, and I prayed boldly like my African brothers. Though I knew God heard our prayers, I did not see answers. Each night Taylor and I wrote a short summary of our day for Susan and the girls to read when we returned home. I often recorded the things we prayed about in the villages on a piece of paper in my Bible. For about a year, back home, I used this paper to pray for Benin and the brothers and sisters we met. So often I would fight the discouraging thought that such praying was pretty much a waste of time.

    But this past spring, almost four years after our trip, we got to see one of the missionaries we met, and he gave me a message from a certain village. “Dana, the brothers wanted me to tell you that all the things you were asked to pray about when you visited have come to pass.” I hate to admit it, but I was a little stunned. If this message was true, some incredible things happened. We prayed for healing in places where witchcraft is the common method of curing sickness. We prayed for deliverance for those oppressed by the devil. We prayed for salvation to come to those who did not know Jesus. We prayed for believers to have the faith to withstand persecution. We prayed bold prayers.

    These things I wonder: What if I had given up when I saw no instant result? What if I had not prayed persistently after I came back home? How many prayers has the Lord answered that I don’t even know about? Am I alive today because of the persistent prayers of the saints? … How often I have failed in persistence! How I need more faith! May the Son of Man find faith when He returns.

    Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ … However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8

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