You find out who your friends are when tough times come around.
My
wife and I have discovered over the past year that we have a lot of friends.
It
started last fall, when Hwa (my wife) found a lump in her left breast. It was
malignant, Stage 3 cancer. It h
Wait
a minute. Something like this is what happens to “other people.” But it was
happening to us.
I
was numb, but I put on a brave face so I could support Hwa. She’s much stronger
than I am, but she was scared. Would the cancer spread farther? We didn’t wait
to find out. A great team of doctors and nurses recommended a game plan, and we
followed it. Surgery removed the tumor and cancerous lymph nodes. Next came six
rounds of chemo, which attacked cancer cells that might have gone elsewhere.
After that, 35 radiation treatments blasted the danger zone.
Since
about halfway through chemo, our oncologist has been telling us he thinks the
cancer is gone. A final scan later this year, we hope, will confirm that Hwa is
in the clear. Her hair is growing back and she’s gaining strength and energy
every day. The cancer could return someday, but we take life one day at a time
now.
God,
ever faithful, has bathed us with His love, His presence and His Word from the
day Hwa was diagnosed. What has amazed us, however, is the many people He has
used to encourage us. This column would be book-length if I mentioned them all,
but to highlight a few:
n Our daughter,
Heather, created a handwritten book of personalized devotions — one for each
day of Hwa’s treatment.
n Former missionary
Kim Davis delivered fresh bread, hot out of the oven, every Monday during
chemotherapy.
n Church ladies
brought overflowing bags of lovingly prepared meals every two weeks for months
on end. They wanted to bring them every week, but we didn’t have enough room in
the fridge. Work friends from IMB brought many more home-cooked goodies. Yes,
I’ve gained weight.
n Church folks
showed up unannounced to do yard work. Brothers and sisters from the Indian
fellowship related to our church paid a special visit at Christmas to pray and
sing worship songs in several languages. Yes, they also brought food.
n So many cancer
patients and survivors — some longtime friends, some people we had never met
before — have loved us, counseled us and given us the benefit of their
spiritual insight. “God is bigger than your cancer,” said one wise friend who
has been through it. He is also bigger than all the fear and uncertainty, all
the medicine, treatments and other overwhelming stuff.
n Jeannie Elliff,
wife of retired IMB President Tom Elliff, died July 20 after the cancer she had
struggled with twice before struck again. Yet in the midst of her illness, she
took the time to encourage us, just as she encouraged thousands of people
during a lifetime of church and mission ministry.
n People prayed for
us and continue to pray. Missionary friends thousands of miles away have
prayed. Our church family has prayed. Co-workers have prayed. People we hadn’t
heard from in years contacted us to tell us they were praying. Thank you. We
still need it.
The
love and faithfulness displayed by others throughout this experience has
reminded us of Jesus’ words to His disciples at the Last Supper: “A new
commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have
loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that
you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34,35 NASB).
I
hope we’ll be a little more faithful in loving others the way we have been
loved, starting with other believers. But not ending there. Maybe we’ll be more
compassionate toward lost and hurting people all around us who have never
experienced such love.
It’s
a dark, cold world out there. The body of Christ, His church, is the warm
shelter for His children — and the shining beacon in the darkness to others
searching for Him.
