“Do you remember when Dr. Behr was here yesterday?” my wife asked me. I searched my memories but had no recollection of a Dr. Behr. It was Day Six in the hospital and between the fog of opioids and the constant flow of doctors, nurses, cleaners, dining service, and...
See Part 1 here. In his book, The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis beautifully describes in a fictional encounter how God will help us make sense of our suffering when we finally see Him. “This is what mortals misunderstand,” says one man to another. “They say of some...
“Hmmm…excuse me for a minute. I need to step out of the room.” The ultrasound tech had been tasked with imaging my transplanted kidney to make sure that the surgery to remove the pituitary tumor at the base of my brain would be safe for the kidney. Kidney transplants...
Part 1 here. Several times through my year with cancer I asked myself, “Was the growth I experienced in my trust and love for God worth all that I went through? Put another way, if God had said to me, “Mark, this year I am going to move you to greater understanding of...
As I write this essay (summer 2020), I am five months past my last chemo treatment. My hair is almost fully grown back, although I think I will keep it shorter than I used to because it is easier to manage. It is July and I have been swimming in a friend’s pool for...
See Part 1 here. My comfort in suffering comes from the knowledge that God ordains my suffering for my eternal good and his glory. It is not enough to say that God allows my suffering. After all, why would God allow something if it wasn’t for the best. For God to...