I'm going to break protocol here and talk about a topic that's taken up a position near the top of my ministry list.
Ten years ago I don't think I could name one person who had cancer. Within the last two years, it seems I hear, on a weekly basis, another name of a friend or relative who's been diagnosed with one form or another of this disease.
This morning in church, I found that the six year-old son of a church member was diagnosed with cancer. Surgery was performed Saturday to remove most of the tumor from his brain. I know this child. I've seen him play, run in the halls, laugh with other children.
Six.
At six your biggest concern should be running out of your favorite breakfast cereal.
Friends, I don't know what to write. I don't know how to even deal with something so tragic. Well, that's not exactly true. I can pray. And I will pray. It's moments like this, when we feel the most hopeless, that God uses us to reveal his nature. If you feel inclined to pray, the little boy's name is Jason. His mother's name is Pam. She'll need your prayers, too.
As fate would have it, I've taken on a project this year for my church's representation at the American Cancer Society Relay for Life even here in Oxford. My project? I wanted a prayer tent, to be manned for the entire 24 hours of the event. Right now, I feel like I could man it myself for the entire 24 hours.
I have a link at the top left of this blog. It will stay there until the Relay for Life is done for the year on May 20th. If you feel the need to give, you can make a donation through that link. You'll see my name on the page, I'm one of the team members. Our goal is $200 each. It seems a paltry sum when $200 won't even pay for the five minutes of chemotherapy. But it adds up.
I know many of you are involved in this event in your own towns. God bless you. Let's use the power of prayer and the compassion of Christ to reach out to the millions who suffer from this disease.
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