For those of you who might have missed the news, my sweet and wise wife graduated to her heavenly home last Thursday. It was a surprisingly sudden shift in her condition and a mind-bogglingly rapid decline; it was not the week that either of us planned or expected. But God had a different agenda, and His is always better.
A year ago Valerie was diagnosed with bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), a truly nasty and aggressive cancer that plants itself where it is difficult to treat successfully. When I read that the typical time from diagnosis to death was six months, I was not encouraged. By the grace of God, Valerie stretched that to a year, and she seemed to be doing well with a combination of immunotherapy and a targeted therapy provided by AstraZenica at no cost. Her chief complaint recently was a mysterious belly pain that is no longer a mystery. Valerie developed an abscess in the liver that burst and leaked. That led to sepsis that did not respond to heavy duty IV antibiotics, and the Lord called her home the same day she was admitted to the hospital.
Joy? Grief? Grief for Christians is a strange combination of pain wrapped in joy. C.S. Lewis got it right reflecting on his own loss and noting that the joy then is part of the pain now. That doesn't necessarily lessen the intensity of the pain. It turns out, however, that pain, no matter how deep, is less powerful than gratitude. And once again I am finding that to be true. There is so much for which I am thankful, and the gratitude is far deeper than the pain. I'm thankful that Valerie is in the presence of Jesus and able to meet for the first time people who are there because of her ministry with Global Recordings Network. I'm thankful that she consistently and habitually said "Yes" to Jesus and thrived because of it. I don't think I've ever known anyone as consistent as Valerie in saying "yes" to Jesus no matter the cost. I'm thankful that she is completely and permanently healed; For the Christian, cancer, no matter how aggressive, cannot win. I'm thankful that the Lord, who only gives good gifts, gave me the gift of Valerie for 14+ years. How could I be any less than overwhelmed with thanksgiving to the Giver of every good gift?
And in that, my friend, there is GREAT joy!
You're invited to join us as we celebrate Jesus and the joy He gives at a simple memorial service Friday, November 20, 1:00 pm PST, at Calvary Chapel South in Kent. For my family and friends in British Columbia, please remember we are in different time zones now as your clocks are an hour ahead of Washington's PST
