(Read Part VIII)
During his fast Chuck knew things had to change in our lifestyle, the way we said we were committed to the Lord was not really commitment. We always felt we were doing the “Christian” thing by giving away thousands of dollars a year to worthy charities, but for us it was all about what WE were doing, not what God was doing through us. Chuck and I pretty much had our life planned out (and believe me Kenya was never a part of that!); become financially secure by age 45, retire and travel around the US in an RV playing golf. God had other plans and He had to get our attention! We had to accept responsibility for putting God low on the priority list of our lives and He had given Chuck and I the chance to change that.
After hours in surgery, Dr. B came into the waiting room, looked for Chuck and called out across the room, “Does your God do miracles?!” Chuck answered, “yes everyday but we don’t see them.” Dr. B then told Chuck what he had encountered in surgery. He expected to see cancer outside the colon wall and in the other organs because of the size of the tumor (45mm). That was one reason he had gotten me into surgery so quickly…he didn’t like what he saw and was concerned to wait any longer.
He said when he saw the tumor he was surprised. Normally cancer cells move through the colon wall in a jagged pattern, not in a straight line. So with the size of the tumor it was almost a certainty that parts of it had moved outside the wall of the colon. Dr. B said it looked like someone had poured cement in the middle of the colon wall. The cells had hit the “cement” and started back on themselves creating the mass inside the wall, not going outside it. He checked all the other organs and took biopsies, but believed they had gotten all the cancer when they took out 13″ of my colon.
Immediately after hearing the news Chuck said he got an upset stomach, realized his fast was over and it was time to eat and praise God. During the fast God had spoken to him, put his perspective in order, assured him I would be fine and gave him the opportunity to serve in a way we had never thought of…He reminded hin life was all about Him.
(Go to Part X)