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The “C” Word – Is it a decoy?

What were you doing on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated into bits over Texas upon its reentry? [packing up little girls’ sleeping bags from a birthday slumber party]

Where were you on September 11, 2001? [elbow-deep in pepperoni pizzas, chaperoning a field trip at Domino’s]

Remember who you were with on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart in less than 2 minutes into its flight? [with fellow accountants at Intergraph in a very small, very smoke-filled office]

What about the attempted assassination attempt on President Reagan on March 30, 1981? [the UAH tennis courts with a new boyfriend (it didn’t last)]


As Americans, we share these jarring, collector moments. They bring a seriousness with them that brings us to our knees.

And likewise as individuals, we each have a stack of moments where a sentence or two screechingly interrupts our regularly scheduled season of life.

These top my personal list of interrupting moments:
  • From the first man I had committed my life to: “I’m not in love with you anymore and I want out.”
  • From my obstetrician reviewing our baby’s ultrasound: “That spot...something is wrong.”
  • From the doctor with my biopsy results on Tuesday: “It was cancer.”
Sometimes all it takes is one image, an event, one word, to brand a permanent memory onto our brains. The “C” word contains such power. Cancer.

For now, the word is not straying far from my thoughts. It brings its friends with it: “What if”, “Next time”, “If only”... But I don’t suspect we will remain such close bedfellows much longer, once the new wears off. Time and Light fade such images, even if slowly. I will never forget, but I will remember less intently.

But is cancer a decoy? Satan was robbed of my body, this time, but was it a devious scheme all along to steal my soul? He’ll take what he can get of me. I want him to have nothing.

So I sit tight in the Father’s big hand. He promised safety there. There I find joy and peace...and health. Physical health is comforting, for the moment, but spiritual health is eternal.

The temporal thunderclaps we collectively remember serve a purpose. They funnel our focus down to a moment, but they contrast against the broader backdrop of eternity. And we can't help but take notice of both.

Satan wants the interruptions to arrest our souls for his imprisonment; God wants them to transform our souls into His image.

What do you do with your interruptions?

What will I do with mine?

2 comments:

Lisa Spence said...

What a comfort to know that all our interruptions, whether we see them as for good or for evil, are used to for our good and our God's glory!

Lisa notes... said...

Yes, I'm very thankful that we serve such a wise God who can do that. We are blessed.

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