A Pre-Planned Detour

C'est fait. It is done. Chemo has come to a conclusion, and we rang the bell early this afternoon in celebration of my 6th and final round. What a road to get to this point, which at face value can be seen as an inconvenient detour. Usually when I see a detour sign, I get frustrated for having to take all of an extra 3 minutes to zig zag through the unexpected route. It's even worse when nobody tells Google Maps ahead of time for such a curve ball. I bet Clark Griswald wished Google existed in the 80s. But then National Lampoon's Vacation wouldn't have been an all-time classic with Chevy Chase in his prime. And his wife wouldn't have been able to question the dangerous neighborhoods they found themselves in before Clark logically responds that it gives them a chance to see a part of America they normally don't get to see. "We can't just ignore the plight of the inner cities. See the plight, kids?" So our cancer journey might look and feel like an unwelcome detour even though we didn't have a Wally World destination in mind at any point before, during, or now after treatment. Following months of reflection, reading, and prayer, I'm convinced all of this was pre-planned for my good and a benefit for those who are vested by our side and in our circle. I've been spending more time reading the wisdom literature over the last few weeks, specifically Job, Psalms, and Proverbs. Psalm 119:71 says "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statues." Job writes "shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" And even Psalm 23 took on new meaning for me when David beautifully scripted "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." Cancer has strangely been a refreshing and clarifying season that will mark me and my family forever - specifically in a positive way. I like how Tim Keller talks about wisdom in his devotional on Proverbs. "Every time your car breaks down and you have to figure out how to fix it, you become "wiser" about cars. So it is with life." While the analogy doesn't work for me because I can't fix a light bulb, the principle is brilliant. Adversity, trials, troubles, difficulties, sorrows, fill in the blank crummy feeling or experience - they all make us stronger and actually are a big part of what defines our character. We can choose to lean in and flex these new muscles, or we can backpedal and play the victim. I don't think there's a middle ground. Brennan Manning (author of The Ragamuffin Gospel) says that "we are only grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to this present moment." Meaning we should look at everything in our life up until now as the guiding hand of God. And boy has God been ever present over the last 5 months. While He has been drawing us closer to Him, I've been praying the same thing for each one of you who has been walking with us. Doesn't matter if you meet with God every day or haven't approached him in years (or ever). His love and grace is readily available as long as we respond to His prompting and seek Him. And when we seek Him, we will find Him. That's a promise. There are so many other promises and truths to learn and more importantly apply, and I hope to engage in more purposeful conversations with many of you in the months and years to come. But I also hope that we all become seekers of truth on our own rather than speculators. Are we talkers or do we actively study God's Word? Are we non-doers or doers? It's easy to miss the truth if we aren't looking for it. And it's easy to miss Jesus if we don't pursue him. Thanks for reading with me since August. It has been a major blessing for Courtney and me to engage with so many of you in the real and raw substance of life. My final scans are slated for February 21 with my oncologist visit the following day. And then we hope to close this chapter for good - that is until God opens a new detour for our good. Each and every road ahead is designed entirely for God's glory. Or as my good friend Aaron likes to sign off, Soli Deo gloria (Glory to God alone).