Dana's Christian Journey

Kinsey was really moved during her visit to Rwanda. Most are familiar with the terrible genocide in which nearly one million people were killed in 1994. Every Rwandan she met her age or older lived through the horrors that engulfed a beautiful Central African nation nicknamed ‘Land of a Thousand Hills.’

A young man named Charles led Kinsey’s group of college students on a memorial tour around Kigali, the capitol. Kinsey said Charles was one of the most joyful persons she has ever met. Several wondered how this could be true of one who witnessed the brutal murder of his father, mother, and older sister. Thirteen-year-old Charles hid in a cave for months, eating roots, bark, and anything else he could find to survive. He emerged from the hills, skin and bones, many days after the fighting had stopped. So how does a boy traumatized in such a horrible way grow up to be a young man characterized by happiness? Charles told the group, God was the only answer, but he, himself, had to take an important step. He had to forgive.

Immaculee Ilibagiza proclaims the same message in her book, ‘Left To Tell,’ chronicling her amazing story. After the Hutus had been driven from the land, surviving Tutsis found themselves in charge of towns and prisons holding many who had slaughtered their neighbors. One such leader dragged the very man who had murdered Immaculee’s mother and oldest brother to face her. “We found your dad’s farm machinery at his house, didn’t we? He wanted you dead so he could take over your property. Didn’t you, pig?” The man, who had once tortured others, now kneeled in shame, sobbing before Immaculee. “He looked up at me for only a moment, but our eyes met. I reached out with tears streaming down my face, touched his hand lightly, and quietly said what I’d come to say. ‘I forgive you.’”

The man in authority was stunned… and furious. He later asked, “What was that all about? That was the man who murdered your family. I brought him to you to question… to spit on if you wanted to. But you forgave him! How could you do that?” Immaculee’s answer was full of grace and power. “Forgiveness is all I have to offer.”

Forgiveness works both ways… it is what we all need when we’ve sinned, but as we offer it to others, we are freed. Immaculee knew that if she and her fellow Tutsis simply lived to avenge the deaths of their loved ones, more murder and chaos was sure to follow. Where would it end? But when she forgave, God chose her to be an instrument of peace. Don’t think it is easy, but it is the only way. Charles now helps other Rwandan orphans regain their lives. He is called to bless… free from bitterness and hatred.

Jesus teaches us to love and forgive and show mercy, and we must to depend on Him to help us. Perhaps Charles and Immaculee…and Kinsey would say this is one of the ways God’s Kingdom comes to earth.

“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:9-15

Last Friday, ABC News named D. J. Gregory its ‘Person of the Week.’ D. J. was born with cerebral palsy and doctors told his parents their child would be confined to a wheelchair all his life. His parents didn’t accept the doctor’s word that their son would never walk and decided to explore all possibilities. Their little boy underwent five surgeries before he entered first grade and finally learned to walk with a cane. A sports lover without the physical capabilities to play most games, D. J. taught himself to lean on his cane and swing a golf club with one hand. He loved to play golf, but of course could not become a professional. This past year, the Professional Golf Association agreed to let D. J. walk with a different pro each tournament of the PGA tour. He walked each round of the 44 tournaments in 45 weeks… 3256 holes… 988 miles.

As ABC showed film of this young man’s journey, you couldn’t help but wonder if physical pain was involved. His dad had tears in his eyes as he explained that the pressure on D. J.’s feet was incredible because his toes were twisted. Each day seven or eight Band-Aids would be placed on his feet to minimize blisters. This dad was so proud of his son because he set a goal and did not give up. D. J. fell 29 times over the course of the year on the best golf courses in America. “I’m going to fall; it’s just the way it is. So you know what? You get back up, and you learn from your mistakes, and you don’t do it again.”

As I read parts of his blog about each round of golf he walked with a different professional golfer in 2008, this 30-year-old competitor always ended the section writing something like this: “I want to thank ___________ for his kindness and generosity at the Memorial.” “I would like to thank ___________ for spending time with me last week.” “As I finish my week here, I want to extend my deepest appreciation and gratitude to ____________.” And on a particular weekend he wrote, “I would like to especially tell my mom, Jackie, how much I appreciate her unconditional love and support. I love you!”

Perhaps this man’s greatest attribute is that he is grateful! He could complain. He could dwell on the things he can’t do. He could quit. But instead, D. J. Gregory keeps taking one step at a time while telling those around him, “Thank you.”

Our family is full of thanksgiving as we heard Kinsey’s voice on American soil yesterday. We hope to see her in person sometime in the next thirty-six hours.

May hearts full of gratitude be lifted to our Father in Heaven every day he gives us!

I’ll be away next week. Happy Thanksgiving!

“Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. I will give thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation… You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:19-21, 28-29)

My friend David North passed away last Thursday evening. David fought leukemia nearly five years… he was twenty years old. I was honored when the family asked if I would share some thoughts at the funeral Sunday. God deals with all of us through trials… not just the individual and family… but friends, neighbors, the church, and the world. Fruit produced in these fiery circumstances is precious treasure in the eyes of our Heavenly Father who hears every cry and sees every tear.

David and the North family reflected Hebrews 12:1-2 in a powerful way. Pam, David’s mom, told me she thought of the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ as her child took his last breaths. David ‘ran with perseverance the race set before him.’ As parents, Chris and Pam ‘ran with perseverance the race set before them.’ Two brothers and four sisters ‘ran with perseverance the race set before them.’ We don’t get to choose the race God gives us, but perhaps we do get to choose how we run.

I’ve never seen a person run with as good an attitude as this young man. He did not complain; he did not whine; he did not constantly question God… he simply took the next step and refused to give up. On a shelf in their den, a little carving revealed David’s mindset: NEVER SURRENDER. Every time I left his house or hospital room, I was inspired to run the race a little better. I’ve often talked with my tennis players about David. Many of them knew him because he was a ranked player as a teenager. He even won a tournament after starting cancer treatment. David is a champion in every sense of the word.

The North family persevered by loving one another and serving David. Two sisters donated bone marrow for two separate transplants. An older brother constantly drove back and forth from Birmingham to be with his little brother. The family got to take a few special trips together and day-to-day sacrifices were made without complaint. As witnesses take note, a natural question surfaces: What does this family have that allows them to go through such an experience with grace and joy?

‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith…’ The One who endured the Cross is the One who helps us walk through the valley of the shadow of death despite the pain and suffering. And though we know ‘His love endures forever,’ we also know it is not easy. I love the word the Holy Spirit chose to describe what Jesus did with the shame associated with the Cross: He scorned it. There can also be shame associated with cancer. Some might say, “Well you shouldn’t feel that way,” but when your hair falls out and you lose your strength and when you must depend on others to take care of you, the feelings come. Over the course of years, I witnessed David scorn cancer’s shame. David laughed in the face of death. He lived life to the fullest. He embraced a dreadful disease with godly contempt, thinking: “No enemy will steal my joy.” At the funeral, an older sister told of the time she took her brother to the track after he completed his first round of chemotherapy. David said he would run too, so Amanda offered to jog her mile a little slower so he could keep up. When they started, David clicked a stop watch and took off. When his sister completed an eight-minute-mile, she found David sitting on their car a little disappointed that it took him five minutes and twelve seconds to finish.

Cancer did not defeat David North. He’s now running victory laps in Heaven. A horrible trial did not destroy the North family. They are living with grace here on earth as members of Jesus’ Body serve them, pray for them, and love them. And a world in need of a Savior wonders if there really might be a God who overcomes death.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

“The King of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, ‘When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.’ The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, ‘Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?’ The midwives answered Pharaoh, ‘Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.’” Exodus 1:15-19

This past weekend, we talked to our daughter, Kinsey, who currently lives in Zambia. She told us about something that had happened a few days earlier. A pregnant woman who lived nearly fifty kilometers (30 miles) away knew her time was near and began walking to the clinic. Before she could get to the end of her journey, labor began and she gave birth to a baby girl on the side of a dusty road. A few minutes later, she had more pains and delivered a second baby girl. A few minutes later, pains came again and a third baby girl was born. Two of the sisters weighed four pounds and one weighed under four pounds. Somehow, the mother gathered her newborns and made it to the clinic. I would call her vigorous.

The story of the midwives preceded Pharaoh’s fiercer decision to throw every male child into the Nile River. After this horrible decree another vigorous Hebrew woman hid her baby and God raised him up to deliver a nation. The story of the Zambian triplets has only just begun. The mother said she could only afford to take care of one girl since she had other children at home, so the kind people at The Haven, a ministry for orphans at the base where Kinsey stays, agreed to keep the other two. Only God knows the future of these little ones, but the love poured out to them is from His heart.

I say the Hebrew midwives were vigorous women. They feared God more than they feared an evil king. A friend recently pointed out that God made sure their names were recorded in His Word while the powerful king’s name was omitted. He gives honor to whom honor is due.

I say the people who take care of these African orphans are vigorous. The work, the expense, the energy, the emotions, the diapers… Some would ask, “Why go to all the trouble?” But the vigorous don’t ask such questions. They have other thoughts: “Here’s a child made in the image of our Heavenly Father! I will honor life. I will care. I will serve. I will love.”

“So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.” Exodus 1:20-21