Category: stories

After playing ‘cars’ then playing ‘dinosaurs,’ Wilkes pulled out his medical toys. He checked my heartbeat, took my blood pressure, tapped my knee, and stuck something in my ear. Next, he was the sick patient and I was the doctor. As I examined him, I thought I would bring Jesus into the game: “Jesus, will You come and heal Wilkes? Please take care of him,” I prayed.

I noticed as I started this ‘pretend’ prayer that the almost-three-year-old straightened up in his sitting position on the floor and started looking around. After five or six seconds, Wilkes looked at me and said, “He’s not coming.” But before I could figure out a sensible reply, he followed, “It’s OK; Jesus is in my heart.”

The next time I was at Taylor and Emma’s home, Wilkes talked about Jesus again. “He’s my best Friend,” he reported. Taylor tells me such conversations are common at their house and this makes me smile. I wonder sometimes if God would like Wilkes to have faith like His grandfather… or would He want Opa to have faith like Wilkes?

Some might want to discuss matters of ‘understanding’ or the ‘age of accountability’ or several other rational arguments against elevating the faith of a preschooler, but it would be good for us to try to understand why Jesus used a child to teach about His kingdom.

“He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My Name welcomes Me.’” (Matthew 18:2-5)

I’m sure I don’t grasp everything Jesus means, but I do know we can learn a lot from little ones. I think God would love all His children to look expectantly for Him to show up when we call His Name. And Jesus wants us to believe beyond a shadow of doubt that He lives in our hearts. And wouldn’t it be great if all disciples spoke of Jesus as a ‘Best Friend’?

“What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear;
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” – George Scriven

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master‘s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything 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.” John 15:15-16

“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Ephesians 3:16-17

“John, if I had it to do over again, as a young man I would be in God’s Word every day. There we find wisdom and the knowledge to avoid all kinds of pitfalls.” Then Ed read the Proverb below. Thirteen-year-old John received more than breakfast on a recent Sunday morning.

It must have been late 2001 that I went in the Dunkin Donuts near our house for a cup of coffee and saw a familiar face. “Ed?” I asked. “Dana, how are you?! Come sit with me.” For sixteen years Ed and I have met for a cup of coffee around 5:30 every Sunday morning. Now eighty years old, Ed is one who encourages me to walk closely with the Lord.

Ed was an excellent basketball referee and softball umpire for many years in the Atlanta area. He regularly came to our gym at the beginning of a season to speak to our players and parents about the rules of basketball. Shortly after we re-connected I felt I needed to confess my own terrible rule violation in a game he officiated.

We were playing away at a region rival who had a very strong team. We were down by at least ten points late in the third quarter when the ball was stolen from our point guard in the corner of the court closest to our bench. I was confident my player had been fouled, but there was no whistle and the quick opponent was dribbling the ball toward our basket.

I still do not know what overcame me, but since my pleas for justice were going unheeded by the three referees, I did a very foolish thing. Standing on the sideline as their guard dribbled by our bench, I reached out and stole the ball. It was a very clean steal and I found myself holding the basketball for an awkward moment before I simply rolled it the opposite direction. The whistle blew and a referee pointed in our direction, indicating that we would receive the ball. No referee saw what happened.

As you can imagine, chaos ensued. The large home crowd started yelling and booing. The player I stole the ball from pointed her finger at me and cried foul. The opposing coach came running down the sideline, loudly objecting to my behavior. Even my own players were looking at me with curious expressions. “Coach, what did you just do?”

Mainly for self-preservation, I called the referees over and asked them to reverse their call. “It is the other team’s ball,” I said. “What?” one official asked. “Just give them the ball,” I replied, not really wanting to go into much detail. Though they changed the call, our team rallied and almost upset a better team. Honestly, I was thankful we lost the game.

When I shared the story with Ed, he just shook his head and laughed. Coaches and referees have an abundance of stories… and sometimes they end up being good friends.

“My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down you will not be afraid; when you lie down your sleep will be sweet. Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.” Proverbs 3:21-26

After singing a few songs and sharing a Bible story with the children in the mountains of Ecuador, we always had some treats to distribute. Anywhere on earth it is wise to have a good strategy in gift-giving to prevent chaos. And there always seems to be a couple of ‘artful dodgers’ who attempt to take advantage.

My most memorable young friend this past summer sat near the front of two long rows as cookies were distributed to about thirty children. As he held out his hands, I went to hand him a bag and Karlyn said, “He already has some, Dad.” The boy looked at me with sad eyes and continued to hold out his hands. “Are you sure, Karlyn?” I asked. She firmly confirmed her answer and I refrained from giving. A few minutes later, knowing his efforts had failed, the kid stuck his hand in his pocket, pulled out the cookies, and started eating.

A few minutes later, with the children still sitting on the steps, we began giving gifts – one to every person. I watched my little friend take a toy, put it in his pocket, and nonchalantly walk to the other end of the row. As he stuck out his hands to receive another toy, I walked over and foiled his plan. He looked a little wounded, but I thought I detected a hint of a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

We closed our time in the village playing outside. We kicked soccer balls, threw Frisbees, played chase, and had a good time. When it was time to leave, I felt a tug on my jacket and noticed the young ’dodger’ at my side. “Dios te bendiga,” he said with a big smile. “God bless you,” are beautiful words in any language.

Who knows, it might have been a similar child who gave his lunch to Andrew to help Jesus feed the multitude. Jesus took five loaves and two fish and blessed thousands, but a little boy played an important part in the story. Don’t ever sell a kid short.

“Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’ Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass in that place and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” John 6:8-11

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child to Him, and placed the child among them. And He said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in My name welcomes Me.’” Matthew 18:1-5

It is hard to believe, but this is our final week of school… so this is the last writing for a while. Thanks for all the prayers, encouragement, and love you’ve extended to me and my family. I still receive good reports from the doctors and we give thanks for every day.

I recently saw a friend who used to live in Atlanta but now lives in Nashville. A while back he had a conversation with a lady who, when hearing he used to live in Atlanta, said she remembered a man with cancer who shared at a women’s study group at her church. “That was several years ago, so I am sure he is dead by now.” My friend asked if the person happened to be me and she said, “Yes, that was his name.” “Dana is a friend of mine… and he’s still alive!”

“He’s still alive” brings much glory to God the Father who keeps us very much alive in Christ, not only on this earth, but forever.

A few weeks ago, I sat in a familiar room with another dozen cancer patients and a dozen or more caretakers. The patients were all waiting to give blood for our weekly labs, and held buzzers like the kind you get in a restaurant to let you know your table is ready.  But these buzzers tell us when they’re ready to collect our blood.

The buzzer held by the man sitting next to me buzzed, and he addressed the nurses’ station: “My wife stepped out… she’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I leaned toward him and said, “You should have gone back with the nurse and given your blood while your wife is out… then you guys could get a good report.” He smiled and said, “No, no, I shouldn’t do that.” A young patient overheard our conversation and laughed. I said to him, “That’s what we all need… someone else’s blood!”

Upon reflection beyond my weekly labs: “We all need Someone else’s Blood!” And at ultimate cost, it has been given! “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” This is the promise the Lord gave Moses as the Israelites prepared to leave the bondage of Egypt. Any blood would not work… it had to be the blood of an unblemished Passover lamb. (see Exodus 12)

Of course, this Old Testament story points to the true “Lamb of God – who takes away the sins of the world.” Our own blood will not suffice, but God lets His Son’s Blood redeem and purify us. “For you know it was not with perishable things like silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you by your ancestors, but with the precious Blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last days for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” (I Peter 1:18-21)

The Blood of Jesus allows all who receive the Gospel to come to the throne of our Father in Heaven, who loves us more that anyone can imagine. “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is His Body, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

So, let’s walk in fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. God puts His love in our hearts and invites us to live boldly as we share the Light.

“This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” I John 1:5-7

Recently, I ran across a journal from 2009. On the left side were verses from various Psalms; the right side was left open to record reflections. One hundred entries covering the critical days of my last stem cell transplant brought thanksgiving and praise to our Father in heaven.

Memories of visits, calls, and meals from many friends also renewed my appreciation for the Body of Christ. Most of the entries were rather mundane: “feel terrible, but the doctor says I am progressing…” “threw up three times today…” “Susan is trying to make me walk more…” “Gil is an awesome nurse…”

One entry did make me chuckle, though it was not very funny at the time. In a surgery before transplant, a catheter was placed in my chest to accommodate the taking of blood and the giving of stem cells. With a low platelet count, the small incision would not stop bleeding. A rather large nurse’s assistant came to my room to put pressure on the wound to try to stop the bleeding.

After twenty minutes of her weight on my chest, I asked, “Have you ever read The Shack?” She told me she had just started Paul Young’s book (which has recently come out as a movie). “Why?” the kind lady asked. “I feel like I am in it… and you remind me of Papa.” ‘Papa’ was the large woman that Young let represent God in his story. My new friend had not reached ‘Papa’ yet in her reading, but perhaps she smiled when she did.

Martin Smith sings a song called King or Cripple. One verse and the chorus go like this:

I love to hold the hand of One who healed the blind
And saw the leper run into Your arms of love
King or cripple – they were the same to You
You take a broken man and You treat him like a king

Keep me; won’t You keep me? Keep me; won’t You keep me?

The Lord does keep us! He alone has the power to reach through the pain and touch us with His love. David knew this at every stage of life and his ancient writings teach us to talk to God.

“Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.” Psalm 17:8

“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He causes me to stand on the heights.” Psalm 18:28-33

“For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.” Psalm 27:5