Dana's Christian Journey

musings of a thankful cancer survivor

Author: Dana

  • first

    —

    Dana

    My grandmother on my father’s side lived until she was 103 years old. She was born in 1900 and lived until 2003. Her sister, Gracie, lived to the age of 106. She was born in 1894 and died in 2000, putting her in the rare club of those who lived in three different centuries.

    More important than longevity, my Dad would say ‘faith’ is the most important aspect of heritage. He recently told me that if he could recommend any message to believers today, it would be Paul’s second letter to Timothy. Written in prison, II Timothy contains the last recorded words of Paul before he was executed in Rome.

    “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” (II Timothy 1:1-5)

    What type of faith do we want to pass down to our children and to our children’s children? Lauren Daigle sings a passionate prayer:
    “I want to seek You first.
    I want to keep You first.
    More than anything I want, I want You first.
    You are my Treasure and my Reward;
    Let nothing ever come before I seek You first.”

    Children who witness authentic faith in their home have the advantage of seeing that God is real. May Jesus truly be our Treasure and may all around us “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

    “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 5:33

    “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8

  • friend

    —

    Dana

    Digging around in my closet recently, I found a writing dated July 27, 1997. This story took place a year or two after Taylor and Kinsey got trapped in the box, which goes to prove that we all need Jesus… and one another.

    I fell in a pit today. I’m sure the scene was comic, but it was not funny when it happened. I had lost a paper that contained an important phone number and after searching my office high and low, I concluded it must have been in a box of trash I had thrown in the dumpster earlier. So off to the dumpster I went. Thankfully this large dumpster is in an isolated place on campus and since the campers were away on a field trip, I did not hesitate to climb up and crawl in. It would take a video to show exactly what happened, but basically, I lost my balance and fell head first into this large metal garbage container and hit my nose on the frame as I descended. At first I sat amongst the bags and boxes of garbage not knowing where I was. After I stood up and realized I was in a dumpster, I felt a drip and noticed blood coloring the trash below my feet. As I squeezed my nose, I searched in vain for my missing piece of paper.

    Hurt, frustrated, and bleeding, the worst was yet to come; I heard a car approach. “Oh no,” I thought. As I peered out the hole in the side of the dumpster, I saw one of my good coaching friends grab a bag of garbage from his pickup truck and walk toward me. I had no place to hide. “Dana? Is that you?” “Yes,” I replied with not a little embarrassment. “I had a little accident.” “You’re bleeding,” my friend said. “Here, put your foot on this spot and I’ll help you.” I made it out, tried to explain what had happened, then walked back to my office.

    It is not fun being in a pit. Some might tell me how to better enter a dumpster, but that would not change the fact that I fell. In the pit, I was disoriented, confused, and wounded. I am thankful for the way my friend handled the situation. The last thing he expected to find in the dumpster was me, but instead of laughing and making fun, he was genuinely concerned for my well being. Instead of going to tell others about my plight, he asked if I was OK. Instead of lecturing me on the hazards of dumpster diving, he helped me out. I’m glad he didn’t crawl down in the pit with me; I don’t think that would have been good for either of us.

    How do we react to those that have fallen? Do we sit back and judge or do we have compassion? Do we discuss the poor decisions that led to a person’s fall or do we lend a helping hand? Do we spread the word of the situation or do we go to our prayer closet? I’m thankful for my friend.

    “But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 20-25

  • Savior

    —

    Dana

    Its hard to believe that school has started once again. It is even harder for Susan and me to believe that our oldest child Taylor turned twenty-nine years old last week.

    Around twenty years ago I was cleaning up after a summer of camp, preparing for school to begin. Taylor and Kinsey were with me and I told them to play in the gym while I moved things from one location to another. I also told them to ‘get along’ as they were at the age where brothers and sisters argue a lot.

    They went into the equipment room and decided to build a little fort inside a box that held basketballs. The sturdy wooden box was about five feet long, two feet wide, and three feet tall. After removing all the balls, Taylor and Kinsey found some gymnastic mats to put in the box to make it more comfortable. As I walked by the closed door on the way to another building, I heard the pleasant sound of children playing happily together. “That’s the way it should be,” I thought. “I wonder how long it will last?”

    As I returned for another load, Taylor and Kinsey had crawled into the box and were getting comfortable. At some point, they wondered what it would be like to close the lid. Carefully, they lowered the heavy wooden top and when it settled, the latch fell and hooked perfectly on the little part that holds the lock. When they tried to push open the lid, they could not; brother and sister were trapped.

    Shortly after the ‘imprisonment’, I walked again past the closed door of the equipment room eager to complete my work. This time I heard young voices yelling. “I knew it,” I thought. “My kids can’t be together five minutes without arguing. They will just have to work it out themselves.”

    A few minutes later I returned and heard even louder voices. “They are still yelling at each other,” I said to myself. “I just don’t have time to deal with it,” so I kept walking with my mind on my mission. A few minutes later, I returned with another load and this time I heard blood-curdling screams. “What is going on?” I dropped everything and opened the door. I’ll never forget the picture of a small hand reaching through a tiny crack between the lid and the box. I rushed over, unlatched the hook and my sweat-drenched kids burst out.

    “Thank you, Lord!” Taylor cried. Kinsey fell into my arms sobbing. Later, they told me they really thought they had limited oxygen and were going to die. They said they prayed together and were kind to one another. The screams, of course, were cries for help. When I unlatched the box, they experienced salvation.

    I’ve told this story many times over the years as an example of our need for Jesus. “The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!” (Psalm 116:3-4) What a Savior we have! He is strong and loving and more than able to rescue us from any trap. Let us tell His story and proclaim His good news: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

    “The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, He saved me…
    How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:6, 12, 13)

  • doxology & benediction

    —

    Dana

    We’ve come to the end of another school year so this will be the last writing for a while. A ‘Doxology’ is an expression of praise to our Father in Heaven. It is a beautiful thing to hear His children sing:

    Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
    Praise Him all creatures here below.
    Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
    Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

    IMG_7414We had two graduations this past week in our family. John walked across the stage as a fifth grade graduate. We are so proud of John and he is excited to enter junior high next school year. My favorite picture from Kenya could have been taken any day we were in the villages: John walking down a dirt path arm in arm with five or six African friends. I learn a lot about love from this eleven-year-old.

    photoTaylor graduated from his Masters’ program at Georgia State University with an outstanding grade point average. Of course Taylor and Emma’s greatest blessing this year has been little Wilkes, who is already being spoiled by four grandparents who live nearby.

    I praise God for a year of health. We have tried to learn to ‘seize the day’ and to be grateful. The first week of June the doctors want to put me through a couple of major medical tests as they are always concerned about multiple myeloma activity. As always, Susan and I cherish your prayers.

    I’ll close with the ‘Benediction’ that God gave Moses to bless the children of Israel. May we live each day with the assurance of our Father’s love.

    “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

  • Barnabas

    —

    Dana

    A year ago I posted a couple of writings about Barnabas Mam, a Cambodian survivor of Pol Pot’s reign of terror. Through a friend who works with ‘Ambassadors for Christ,’ Barnabas came to the house a couple of weeks ago and shared with our community.

    In the Body of Christ, heroes of the faith are also dear brothers or sisters in Christ. Though he has suffered in prison, in refugee camps, and in a ravaged nation, Barnabas humbly encouraged American Christians to simply keep our eyes on the Good Shepherd, who knows each sheep by name and expertly leads us.

    photoAt the close of our time together, eleven-year-old John gave sixty-five year old Barnabas a big hug and said, “Won’t you eat with us?” Of course Barnabas accepted the invitation. It is beautiful to see the older children of God invest in the younger.

    From 1975 – 1979, an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians were murdered in Pol Pot’s ‘Killing Fields.’ Barnabas is one of only about two hundred Christians who survived. Today he is part of an amazing work God is doing to welcome the lost into His Kingdom, as there are now approximately 500,000 Christians in Cambodia.

    People are coming to Christ in droves. It isn’t rare to attend a baptism of 300, 500, 700, or even 1000 people. Local pastors perform these baptisms, and I, filled with joy, watch my younger brothers wade into the river or lake with so many new believers. It is a feast for my eyes.

    The streams of God’s goodness are flowing in Cambodia today. And the result is exactly what the Psalmist said. One little phrase, slipped into the beginning of Psalm 23, reminds me of the Shepherd’s intended outcome through every twist and turn, every hill and valley, at every table.

    He leads, we follow, and it is all “for His name’s sake.” Together, we are bringing honor to His name. In an amazing act of solidarity, the Shepherd and His sheep share the same goal: the glory of God.

    “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:1-3

    (Quote from Church Behind the Wire, by Barnabas Mam with Kitti Murray, ©2012 Moody Publishers, p 349)

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