Fighting ALS, Fueled by Faith

It’s been quite some time since my last post. I’ve had two posts that have been developed and almost ready to send and then … the next thing happened. This theme is basically what I feel convicted to write about today.

This may be obvious to many, but when you are struggling with anything – a health diagnosis, a loss, or a major event, life keeps happening. It doesn’t stop while you are trying to grapple with things.

I had finished my long overdue post just before leaving to Indiana to visit my parents at Thanksgiving. I typically ask my wife to take a look at my blog posts before I publish to make sure Im not sounding to surly or lacking in clarity. While waiting, it started to rain. Now we had just experienced rain a week before this and had a minor roof leak that our roofer was in the process of repairing. So this larger rain event was not a welcome circumstance. We put tarps up on the roof and did all that we could but the rain was infiltrating the roof and going into the attic in multiple locations. In my condition I cant get up into the roof so that left my very capable lovely wife to be the towel and bucket brigade. It was a mess. She did an amazing job with the help of some friends and prevented any significant damage and also prevented any opportunities for mold to grow. We were dealing with this for an extended period of time.

During this same time we noticed our wonderful Golden Doodle Honey, who was 13 years old, was coughing and not eating well. We rescued Honey at 7 years old and she blessed us richly for the 6 years we had her but we knew our time with her would end around this general timeframe. After the vet visit and results we were told she had significant lung cancer. We got home from our Thanksgiving trip and had a few good days with her while she declined rapidly and had to put her down. Knowing in your head that a beloved pet (family member) needs to be put down and experiencing it in your heart are two very different processes. That was hard for us both.

In this same timeframe, we got news of two people we dearly love that both received cancer diagnosis. We were devastated to hear this news and I think it even hit closer to home due to the love and care each have shown us in our ALS journey. We are hopeful, prayerful and optimistic about both situations but we know this means a significant journey for each and we are committed to carry the burden (Gal 6:2) with them.

So I can imagine you are thinking – I wonder what’s next – did his wife leave him, the truck get repossessed and did he run out of beer like any good country song?

Thats not where we are going with this post. These were a lot of challenging things all in one short duration. Truly. But I think we have the choice to view them in very different ways. I believe how we process life’s hard moments is foundational to our mental health and also an invaluable spiritual barometer that we really cant obtain in any other way. We know there will be storms in life both large and small, but where we fix our eyes and what we see in that storm makes all of the difference.

With the roof leak, God gave us the community and resources to deal with this situation so it wouldn’t become an overwhelming mess. He gave my wife the ability to do what was needed, He gave us a roofer that was willing to come out during the rainstorm and help us fix the tarping situation and He gave us good friends that could come over and help as well. We are blessed by the community He has provided and He was there with us in it all.

In the situation with Honey, any of you that have had beloved pets before know there is a struggle as to when you actually decide to put them down. The sweet spot of not to early versus holding on to long and having them suffer is a challenging decision to navigate. God made it so very clear to us exactly when we needed to make that decision and He brought an immense peace in that process that it was unmistakable. His presence was easy for us to feel during this.

In the situations with our cancer stricken loved ones, both have found this early and have excellent medical care in beginning to deal with what lies ahead. While it wont be an easy path for either, God has been and will be present in their stories to help carry them through. Knowing He is in this with them has given us a peace beyond our understanding. And, Im praying, that through this trial it gives them each an expanded platform to share the goodness of our God.

Nowhere in the Bible can I find that God promises an easy and trial free life. In fact, I think He prepares us for the opposite. But what He does promise is that He will be with us in all things. I think our tension is – are we seeking Him? For us, this makes all of the difference!

Positivity Update: My buddies took me golfing last Saturday and it was incredible for me. Not my golf game – but the experience. Made me feel somewhat normal. I am so thankful to them. So a charge to you – if you have someone in your life experiencing challenges, consider grabbing them by the scruff of the neck and dragging them out to do something they love, even if it’s in a very modified way. You are caring for their soul, and soul work is rich ministry!