Would You Please Pray for Me and My Family?

Patience has never been my strong suit. I don't like sitting in traffic or waiting in line. If I send an email or leave a phone message, I get antsy if the person I'm trying to contact hasn't responded in a few hours. I'm not even very good at holding on to a present for someone once I've bought it. I have this crazy need to give the gift to them right then.

You can imagine my frustration then with a recent series of health concerns. At the risk of boring you with details, here is the timeline of what has transpired in the past few months:

• September 26 - I had minor surgery to remove what my doctor thought was a benign cyst from my scalp.
• October 3 - Pathology revealed that the cyst was actually a tumor...and my doctor and the pathologist both suspected lymphoma. The sample was sent to a lab out in California to get a second opinion.
• October 6 - The secondary pathology results come back "inconclusive," leading my oncologist to send the tissue to Mayo Clinic before proceeding with any form of treatment.
• October 19 - We learned that not only were the Mayo results not available, but they didn't even have the sample yet! My oncologist decided to order a PET scan while we're waiting, just to get a jump on things.
• October 21 - The PET scan is scheduled for early next week, but we won't have our next meeting with the oncologist until Thursday the 27th.

Essentially, since being told that I possibly have lymphoma, my wife and I have had to wait three agonizing weeks with no definitive diagnosis or treatment plan. And there is more waiting to be done. Given that my life is in the hands of these results, I'm growing increasingly frustrated with the entire process. (On the positive side, waiting for a traffic light to change doesn't seem so bothersome anymore.)

I'm reminded of Isaiah 40:31 which says, "They who wait upon the Lord will get new strength. They will rise up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weak." But, being completely honest, I am tired. I am weak.

I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of wondering. I'm tired of worrying my wife. I'm tired of staying up until midnight having morbid conversations. I'm tired of smiling and saying "I'm fine" just because I don't want to get into it. I'm tired of living my life under a cloud of uncertainty.

Thankfully, I'm also reminded of Exodus 17 where Moses was watching a battle between Israel and Amelek. When Moses held up his hands, Israel would be winning. When he put them down, Amalek would take control. In verse 12 it says, "Then Aaron and Hur held up his (Moses') hands, one on each side. His hands did not move until the sun went down." When Moses didn't have the strength to continue on his own, God provided people to help him press on. As it turns out, I need people like that too.

Though I have had many close friends and family praying for me already, I guess I'm asking for more. I'm asking for help "holding up my hands" today. When you get the chance, would you be willing to pray for me and my family? Pray for strength. Pray for encouragement. Pray for a complete absence of lymphoma in my body. And above all--despite the waiting, the fear, and the frustration--pray that my hands be held up throughout this entire process.

Who Is God Voting For?

An article on CNN's website asks, "Who does God want in the White House?" In the piece LZ Granderson notes that at least four Republican candidates--Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, and Rick Santorum--have said that God told them to run for President.

Granderson is clearly bothered by this duplicity (or four-plicity), and he repeatedly uses it to question the sanity of the candidates and/or the omnipotence of God. At one point Granderson writes, "Four candidates have claimed a level of divine intervention with their campaign, which either means the creator of heaven and Earth is hedging his bets or somebody's mistaken." The author has even come up with a question for the next debate: "Now which ones of you were really called by God and which ones are hearing voices in your head?" 

Sadly, Mr. Granderson has made an incorrect assumption. He assumes that if God is calling someone to run for President, then God is also guaranteeing that he or she will win. And nothing could be further from the truth. I'm a firm believer that God sometimes allows, and even plans, our "failures"--mainly because he has a much broader view of success than we do.

Could it be that God is using these politicians to spur others (on both sides of the aisle) to get, be, and do better? Could it be that there is personal growth that will be immeasurably shaped through their candidacy? Could it be that God is giving some or all of them valuable experience for a Presidential run in the future? Is winning the only reason that God would ask someone to run for office?

As I stated in a recent post, our definition of failure and God's definition of failure are not the same. Often, our short-term disappointments are merely circumstances considered by humans to be devastating, but orchestrated by God to be divine.

None of us--including LZ Granderson--can say for sure whether Perry, Bachmann, Cain, or Santorum have truly heard from God. But it is entirely possible that God has told each of these candidates to run for President. And it is also entirely possible that none of them will win. And neither option indicates that the candidates are somehow crazy or that God is somehow irrelevant.

God can ask someone to run for office and ask you to vote for someone completely different at the same time...without contradicting himself. He's big like that. I need this reminder as much as anyone: Questioning what God has asked others to do is, at best, a colossal waste of time. At worst it's prideful and arrogant and sinful.

Personally, I have a hard enough time discerning what God has asked me to do.

(Wonder what I would say about my faith if I ran for office?)

A Faith You Can Be Comfortable With

The Transportation Security Administration unveiled a new plan this week that will allow frequent fliers to bypass certain security measures in order to speed up the check-in process. Over the last few years (and certainly since September 11, 2001), the lines at our nation's airports have become exponentially longer, and the TSA hopes that this policy change will help move things along.

Travel safety is but a small example of a principle that applies in nearly every aspect of life: freedom and security are inversely proportional. The more freedom you allow, the less security people have. The more security you put in place, the less freedom people have. For example...

- Allowing people to freely board an airplane risks a terrorist attack.
- Allowing your children to ride their bikes to a friend's house risks a kidnapping.
- Allowing your spouse to travel regularly for business risks an affair.
- Allowing your teenager to go to a party risks underage drinking or smoking.
- Allowing customers to post openly on your business Facebook page risks profanity.
- Allowing banks to set their own fees risks the consumer being taken advantage of.

In each of these examples, the "freedom vs. security" line is solely determined by a person's or organization's comfort level. And that line can vary wildly based on the person or people involved. One guy with a few explosives in his shoe made Washington uncomfortable enough to change the travel policies for 400 million Americans.One suspicious van driving slowly around the neighborhood can make many parents uncomfortable enough to keep their kids inside the house. One four-letter-word can make many businesses lock their social media pages down for good.

Unfortunately, it seems as if many of us (myself included) tend to use comfort as our barometer for spiritual things as well. We frequently condemn, judge, criticize, and hate on people who engage in activities that we are personally not comfortable with...as if our likes dictate God's laws. We use our upbringing and experiences to shape our beliefs instead of allowing the Bible to do that for us.

What is your opinion on drinking, dancing, tattooing, smoking, card-playing, skirt-wearing, church-going, TV-watching, and family-planning? Do your feelings represent your comfort or do they represent God's commands?

Christians have varying opinions on what the Bible says about certain issues, and that's to be expected. The challenge, however, is not letting our faith be formed by comfort but, rather, by Christ.