One of the men that we have been so grateful for throughout the past 9 months has been Dr. John Piper. He has helped us know and treasure God in deeper and more profound ways than we ever have before. We have sought to immerse ourselves in his writings and sermons and he has left us with God time after time again.
Earlier this year he was diagnosed with cancer and on the eve of undergoing prostate surgery he wrote a short article entitled “Don’t Waste Your Cancer.” I was tremendously affected by his passion for God and his intense fight for joy amidst hours of pain and sickness. I was so influenced by this that when we heard the news that our son Chase had a life terminating birth defect I began thinking how not to waste his life.
We believe in God’s power to heal Chase and that it is right and good to ask God to exalt Himself through the miraculous healing of Chase's body. God knows that neither one of us have desired a miracle more than we do now. Chase's life won’t be wasted if we pray for this. But healing is not God’s will for everyone and there are many other ways to waste our sons’ life.
What you are about to read in the next few weeks are 12 discoveries that Jenni and I have seen throughout these past 9 months. They are lessons that we have learned and are still learning. They have comforted us, corrected us, and directed us. Many of them we have learned from you, with you, and through you and our prayer in posting them is that they might minister to you as they have ministered to us (2 Cor.1.3-5). We are praying for ourselves and for you that we not waste Chase's life.
2 comments:
To Chase's Parents
Thank you for these encouraging words. My wife and I found out on Wed, Sept 7, 2011, that our daughter was affected by this horrible NTD. We have just begun the process of processing all of the emotions, and your words here spoke to me deeply. As believers in Christ, we have already said this would only be possible to deal with by running to His arms and holding tight to His promises, and your blog post gives me new hope of what can come from these next months. Thank you again, and God Bless!
Update: 10/13/13
I returned several times to the above thank you note I wrote shortly after our diagnosis. the rest of the story is long, but Joelle Elizabeth was born 2/3/12, and live with us for 16 months and 19 days passing away 6/22/13. God has used her little life in so many ways, and he used Chase's life and your words to encourage me so much in those first days. We were blessed to be Joelle's parents, and to tell her story, and of the Savior and Creator with whom she now lives.
God Bless you!
David
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