As we begin a new year it is good to find joy in the goodness of God. I was asked recently to summarize fourteen years of dealing with cancer for a group of doctors and researchers in San Francisco. My conclusion was to give thanks… to God and to people.
One of the doctors I thanked was the oncologist who diagnosed my multiple myeloma in 2000. I had not seen him in over two years, so I decided to visit him after returning from the conference. Upon arrival at his office, the receptionist at the desk screamed my name and started a big commotion. A nurse I knew well came into the waiting room and gave me a big hug. And, of course, Dr. Saker was very excited to see me healthy and strong. Gratitude tends to be contagious.
On a winter day in 2001, I remember a young man getting a similar reception as I sat at this same doctor’s office receiving chemotherapy with a dozen other patients. He walked into the room wearing shorts, flip flops, and a Hawaiian shirt. He was carrying a large tray of sand and a vase of flowers. After giving each nurse a flower and a hug, he sat in the chemo chair, stuck his feet in the sand, and with a big smile exclaimed, “OK, let’s get started!” Looking around at the rest of us, he said, “I’ll tell you guys, attitude is everything when you’re going through the fight.”
I was forty-one years old at the time and this patient looked at least ten years younger than me. A nurse told me he had endured three or four different bouts with cancer since he was a teenager and one of the diseases had returned. As the nurses prepared him, he told us that present treatments are a lot easier than they were when he was younger and that we would all be OK if we just took one day at a time. I think most of us thought this guy was a little crazy, but he encouraged everyone with a joyful attitude.
Of course, no one smiles through all the pain or laughs at every hardship, but this man’s determination to think positively while encouraging others left a mark on me. I heard later that he did not survive the new cancer he faced, but that did not change his influence and it made me ask myself a question: “Live or die, what will be my influence?”
If you’ve read these writings over the years, you may have noticed their conclusion that Jesus is the One who has the greatest power to influence. Unless we’re alive when He returns, we’re all going to die some day, so why not look to the One who holds life eternal? He tells us that if we believe in Him, death has no hold on us and we need not fear it. And since He faced greater trials than any of us ever will, He understands exactly what we feel. Jesus embraced suffering with eyes fixed on the joy to come and He invites us to do the same.
Happy New Year!
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2-3