Great comfort at Christmas

One amazing thing about traveling the road of hardship is how frequently you find hidden treasures on familiar ground. Susan's brain tumor journey is hard. It truly is a matter of life and death with its ultimate outcome waiting in one of two places – healing (and Heaven later) or Heaven directly. Since we are confident in the goodness of God, we're also confident in the goodness of the outcome he has in store for us, which ever it may be. But in the meantime of uncertainty, there's work to be done, discomfort to push through, fear to cast out, and doubt to dispel, all in the context of Susan fighting brain cancer as her loved ones do what we can to help. The journey yields rewards in faith and character that will have lasting effect. But still, it's hard. Our hope for a better day in the future is what sustains us.
Just when we need the inspiration, it's just like God to provide an example for us in the Christmas story I've heard hundreds of times. One major theme is the humble nature of Jesus' birth – poor, quiet, and isolated, so out of place for the King of Kings. But defying expectations was normal for Jesus. He fulfilled Messianic prophecies to the letter but was not the political ruler most people expected. Focusing on doing the will of his Father, he bucked a religious establishment steeped in legalism. Embodying the authority of the Creator, he challenged the government who feared his power and envied his allure. Ultimately, these religious and political leaders converged to bring charges that resulted in Jesus' execution on a cross. So the life of Jesus that confounded most observers came to a perplexing end. But far from a failure, his 33 years on earth were just the first phase of a divine plan implemented at God's great expense. Jesus succeeded in revealing God's heart to us and offering salvation by his death as atonement for our sin. Even the greatest skeptic cannot ignore the impact Jesus has had on human history, affirming it with every check written this month – December, 2009 AD.
The treasure I found on familiar ground this Christmas? I realized God himself has done just what we're doing – enduring the hardships of this broken world and delaying gratification until a better day arrives. Right now we live between the advents, after Jesus' first coming and before his second coming. But his second coming will not be humble like the first. Next time it will fit the King of Kings and will be a game-changer, as overwhelming in power and majesty as his first entry came in mystery and obscurity. If his first episode with us in bodily form was costly, sacrificial groundwork, his next will be triumphant dominion. Isaiah 45:23 and Romans 14:11 say it well: "Every knee will bow." Along with the fullness of his kingdom, Jesus will receive the reward he's been waiting to collect – the people he came to save. I don't know what's more amazing, that he's so crazy about us he would go to such lengths to give us eternal life, or that he's so patient he'll work his plan for thousands of years to get the greatest harvest. Either way, God redefines the term "delayed gratification." His patience provides an astounding contrast at Christmas when time seems compressed, buying and consuming become frenetic, and we reduce ourselves to the instant pleasures of getting, having, tasting and doing.
Back to the brain tumor journey – we're still on it. There's no fast forward. We live each day with the weight of a hard situation. So do other cancer patients, farmers with drought-laden fields, the unemployed, the dream-deferred, and so on. This is the stuff of life. But God knows all about it because he's walked in our shoes. He draws close with true empathy and whispers a promise, laced with comfort: "Everything's going to be okay. You can do it. I will help you. Just a while longer..." He knows what it's like to wait.

Hanging tough in brain tumor world

Susan's condition has remained stable over recent weeks with some improvement in strength. Although she needs full-time care and assistance to walk and accomplish daily activities, she can more easily lift herself from an elevated chair and handle small stair steps. We're so grateful to enjoy another period without complications, infections or hospitalization. More importantly, I'm amazed at Susan's attitude and outlook, and her tenacious inner strength. She's gracious when needing help, positive that she's doing better today than yesterday, and usually ready to kid around and be sassy. On Sunday as we were leaving between church services, our friend Randy drove up the crowded aisle and asked if he could have our parking space. I shut her door and I joked it would cost him five dollars. I got in the car and told Susan about it. She said, "That's good. You gotta get 'em when you can."

Every Christmas I look forward to when I once again realize the magnitude of God's gift to us in the birth of Jesus. Sometimes it's in a scripture, or in a song; in prayer or in hearing a sermon, or in a God-breathed human encounter. I'm still soaking up this year's moment. Todd VanEk had a word in his sermon Sunday on Luke 2:12 where the angel says to the shepherds, "This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Everything about this announcement shattered people's expectations about the coming of the King of Kings. The news was given to shepherds, who were poor and marginalized. The King was a baby – weak and dependent, clothed in rags, and lying in a feeding trough for livestock. The urine and manure may have been at a safe distance, but the smell wasn't. Then Todd brought the zinger. Jesus was born into a mess. The "sign to you?" There is no human mess Jesus is not willing to enter, bringing healing, strength, grace, and mercy. Wow. That was it. That's the room in my heart I could prepare for Jesus this Christmas, and he came right in.

I was not prepared for the living example of Jesus' love that would follow just minutes later, after church. The woman sitting in front of us with an infant turned out to be our friend Patti. I did not know she and her husband were expecting. We learned they stepped in as parents of their relative's baby boy after he suffered abuse and broken bones in only the first six weeks of his life. He's nine weeks old now. They've had him for three, and are willing to adopt him if the legal arrangements can be made. For now, these 30-something Christian parents are adjusting their lives, their family, and their careers to make room for another baby boy born into a mess. This is selfless love – astonishing and familiar. It's a fitting display of God's Kingdom that arrived on Earth with baby Jesus in Bethlehem. As we prayed with tears, I could see the Spirit of our Savior bringing healing, strength, grace, and mercy to this baby and to this family – just like Jesus has always done. I'm so glad to have met him again.