Ten Years of Life
Almost nine years ago, our family had a real scare. Our Rebecca had just turned four years old, and Justus was a little more than a year old. Our family had finally hit its stride since moving from Austin. The news came following a Lisa’s yearly trip to the doctor for a wellness exam. Something was wrong.
We were expedited to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. God had made sure that we were in the right town. Lisa and her case were overseen by the chief of oncology. God had made sure that we saw the best doctors. The radiologist report came back with a puzzling and dark diagnosis: Neuro-endocrine Carcinoma, a cancer found normally in the lung or the brain, an aggressive cancer that is known for hopping on the endocrine highway early and quickly spreading throughout the body. And here it was growing on her cervix. After my shock, my engineering mind immediately went into overdrive. Doesn’t that mean that it’s already metastasized? What about the kids? What about our future? My faith had turned to Jello.
But, Lisa’s faith was steadfast and true. She had hope. She saw countless miracles throughout that dark time of CAT scans, X-rays, MRIs and ultimately the surgery. In the end, the doctors had found no other cancer in her body, and her Endocrine system was clear. No chemo or radiation was necessary. The Lord had chosen to heal her, and this April marks ten years from Lisa’s radical surgery.
Lisa’s hope was not in the temporary, but the eternal. She didn’t have faith in her health; she had faith in the forgiveness and victory of Jesus over death. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
You see, sin is a death sentence. We are sure to die and we are without hope of overcoming death. So, God sent his Son intentionally to take our place of death so that we may be forgiven and freed from death. There is only one requirement of us: to simply and humbly accept his love.