A Box of Chocolate

Quoting his mom, Forrest Gump said, "Life is a like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get." That was certainly true of Harry and me. We never expected that he would be in the fight for his life with lung cancer. It's been more than a year since Harry was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer--a year and five months to be exact. With the diagnosis, he received a prognosis of ten months. But God!!! Harry has received God's gracious blessings. God has not healed him, but God has kept Harry. That is one of the reasons, we have not blogged in a while. It's because Harry is doing so well. Because he is doing so well, he wanted to write the blog for the first time:

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and  every one for the kind birthday wishes and for your prayers as I have journeyed this road. For the past year and a half, my life has totally been given over to God. On March 21, 2016, I received news that has changed my life. I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. My oncologist, Dr. Sally York, looked at me and the test results and with a look that said, how do I give him this news, she proceeded to say, “Go home and put all your affairs in order, and if you have a bucket list, then start fulfilling it."

Harry at Discovery Park of America this summer.

I knew what the doctor was saying but did not want to accept the inevitable. My wife wanted facts. She wanted to know what we were up against. Dr. York told her that I had approximately ten months to live. It was then and there that I had to make the biggest decision of my life; I needed to decide whether I was going to live by the words that I preached. I politely told Dr. York that God did not give me that prognosis and that He would take care of me.

Well on June 14 of this year, I celebrated my 64th birthday by the grace, mercy, kindness, and love of almighty God. Because of Him, I tell everybody of what God can do. All we need to do is put our faith in Him and believe with all our heart, soul, and might. I believed that if I lost my focus and waivered one iota,  I would lose. I had to believe because I wanted to live. God has shown me the preciousness of  life through this journey. He has shown me that many of us take our days for granted. But we must realize that we only have a short amount of time here on earth and to waste that time would be a  sin.

This life means so much more to me now because it is not mine. It is God's life to use for His glory, and I intend to do so. I pray that all who spend their days dreaming about tomorrow will begin putting into action what you are dreaming about. My life could have been over, and I would not be here today to write this blog. I thank God each day for every ounce of breath  I draw. You could be reading my obituary, but hallelujah, this is a testament of God’s goodness.

This journey has been trying at times for both me and my wife. But we both had to remain faithful to God and trust Him with our lives. To each one of you who have prayed, you need to know the power of your prayers. When I was at its lowest, it was your prayers that brought me through. God used you to bless us spiritually, physically, and financially. Each of those gifts were always timely. Your financial gifts fulfilled a need because I had to retire earlier than I anticipated. I was ready to work because I had just received my doctorate and wanted to pursue other academic adventures. However, that has changed. We will be on this journey for the rest of my life. Chemo continues, but every new scan reveals the cancer has not spread and all my blood and vitals are normal. I struggle with side effects--a level of tiredness and other bodily ills, and I am continuing to make the adjustment to a new normal, but through it all, God has blessed. As my wife said, earlier when she quoted Forrest Gump, "Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get." But whatever you get--good or bad--is okay when you place it in God's hands. He will carry you through.