A Valentine's Day to remember

As I write this, Valentine’s Day has come to a close.  This has been a Valentine’s weekend I will cherish and a Valentine’s day I will not ever forget.  Our weekend was filled with special dates with each of our children.  On Sunday, I was lucky enough to accompany my sweet 2 year old princess on a date to Johnny Rockets for a milkshake, Build-a-bear to make a "kittykat" and a ride on the carousel. 

Monday came.  We set out fun valentines for each of the kids this morning and then, sent Camden off to school.  Christy left to take Payton on his date to the aquarium.  Shortly after they got home, a phone call changed the rest of our day.  It was a call we had been anticipating all weekend.  It was my doctor.  Seconds into the call, he broke the news that my cancer was back.

Five years ago, I was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer on my tongue.  I had surgery to cut out the cancer and lost ¼ of my tongue.  In the last couple of months I had been having some discomfort and wanted to get it checked out.  (I normally have a check-up every six months.)  Friday, Christy and I went to the doctor and he took one look at my tongue and requested a biopsy of the spot.  He wasn’t very optimistic.  So we had been waiting for an answer.  The doctor was calling with the results.

It came back as cancer, again.  As he told me, I tried to be strong… I tried to not let it bother me as Christy watched my reaction.  I failed.  I cried and emotions flooded my mind. Christy and I sat on the couch and cried.  Our tears turned into blank stares and questions trying to figure out what the next few months would hold for our family.  I picked up the phone to call two very important men in my life, my dad and Christy’s dad.  I didn’t know how or if I was even going to be able to tell them.  I tried to compose myself.  If there ever is a good time to be told you have cancer, right now was not it--not on Valentines Day after a great day with my family; not with so many things going on in my life.  From family to church… this isn’t something else I want to have to deal with right now, but I don’t have a choice in the matter.  Maybe it is for the better.  God does everything for a reason and even though I don’t know that reason today, I know there is a purpose behind it.

As I got this disturbing news, my mind was bombarded with questions.  I am sure you have lots of questions too.  The following weeks will have much in store for my family and me.  I will be having a PETscan to make sure the cancer isn’t anywhere else in my body.  I will also undergo another surgery as well as radiation.  I want to remind you and assure you that God doesn’t need me to continue to do great things at Paragon Church.  It’s His church and His plans.  We will press on toward the goal before us.  This is just a minor bump in the road. 

Our family covets your prayers during this time.

Jim Cartwright sent me this story today and I felt it was a good story to share with you.  It comes from Max Lucado’s book Come Thirsty.  (copyright Thomas Nelson, 2004)

The Woodcutter’s Wisdom (by Max Lucado – from Come Thirsty)

Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before—such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength.

People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. “This horse is not a horse to me,” he would tell them. “It is a person. How could you sell a person? He is a friend, not a possession. How could you sell a friend?” The man was poor and the temptation was great. But he never sold the horse.

One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. “You old fool,” they scoffed, “we told you that someone would steal your horse. We warned you that you would be robbed. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been too high. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”

The old man responded, “Don’t speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I’ve been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?”

The people contested, “Don’t make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed. The simple fact that your horse is gone is a curse.”

The old man spoke again. “All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone. The rest I don’t know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?”

The people of the village laughed. They thought that the man was crazy. They had always thought he was a fool; if he wasn’t, he would have sold the horse and lived off the money. But instead, he was a poor woodcutter, an old man still cutting firewood and dragging it out of the forest and selling it. He lived hand to mouth in the misery of poverty. Now he had proven that he was, indeed, a fool.

After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. “Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us.”

The man responded, “Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don’t judge. How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read only one page of a book. Can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a phrase. Can you understand the entire phrase?

“Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment! Don’t say that this is a blessing. No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don’t.”

“Maybe the old man is right,” they said to one another. So they said little. But down deep, they knew he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing. Twelve wild horses had returned with one horse. With a little bit of work, the animals could be broken and trained and sold for much money.

The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgments.

“You were right,” they said. “You proved you were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs, and now in your old age you have no one to help you. Now you are poorer than ever.”

The old man spoke again. “You people are obsessed with judging. Don’t go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments.”

It so happened that a few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured. Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying and screaming because their sons had been taken. There was little chance that they would return. The enemy was strong, and the war would be a losing struggle. They would never see their sons again.

“You were right, old man,” they wept. “God knows you were right. This proves it. Your son’s accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever.”

The old man spoke again. “It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this: Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows.”

The old man was right. We only have a fragment. Life’s mishaps and horrors are only a page out of a grand book. We must be slow about drawing conclusions. We must reserve judgment on life’s storms until we know the whole story.

I don’t know where the woodcutter learned his patience. Perhaps from another woodcutter in Galilee. For it was the Carpenter who said it best:  “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Matthew 6:34)

He should know. He is the Author of our story. And he has already written the final chapter.