Skip to main content

Tony's Story

Image
By

Lung cancer.  That was Tony’s diagnosis.  For Tony, this was just one small story on his journey.  He has many stories that reveal God’s faithfulness in ways impossible to explain on a human or earthly level.  On this leg of his journey, the lung cancer was just a minor detail.

Tony already took action by placing his trust in God’s hands.  He had faithful believers holding him up in prayer and from one unlikely circumstance to another, the way was made for Tony to receive treatment for his cancer at Mayo Clinic.  That in itself was not too extraordinary.  What was extraordinary was how the timing of his treatment hurdled over the usual timeline for cases like his.

Through this “unusual” timing, Tony was able to receive attention and care for his cancer.  Part of his treatment was a special type of radiation that made him feel quite afraid.   Even though there were doctors in the room, he felt alone.   As he lay still in the machine that would administer his treatment, he told the Lord how afraid he actually was.

He turned his head and clearly present with him at that moment, was Jesus.  The assurance he felt right then was overwhelming.  What added to that sense of assurance were the hundreds of faces he saw behind Jesus.  Tony remembered how many prayer lists he was on, and the faces were a vision of all those praying for him.  He was truly covered in prayer.

Joshua 1:9 is the scripture that Tony thought of that expressed his faith through this situation.

“…The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go…”


This is my interpretation of Tony's vision, created through mixed media collage...






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Everybody Loves a Good Fight

By
I’ve gotten into two fights in my life.  I know, hard to believe.  But I can remember them clearly.  One was with Cathy, who lived two doors down from my grandmother’s house.  I was probably around 8 or 9 years old.  Cathy was mean and a thorn in my side.  She was also the only other kid on the block who I could play with.  I don’t know exactly how the fight started, but I can remember the final scene and how it all played out.  I towered over her as she lay on the grass, pinned in a helpless position.  She cried for mercy and I let her go.  She flew home and that was the last time she bullied me.  The other time was in sixth grade.  I was friends with Rosie; at least I thought I was.  She accused me of breaking her compass and told me that she was going to beat me up after school.  I was shaking in my boots the rest of the school day.  I wondered how I could avoid the ordeal.  I wished I had someone that co...
3 comments
Read more

What I learned in March

By
Another day of snow.  The amount we'd been getting was absurd.  But this one particular day, there was an amazing snowfall.  Even though I really, really wanted to complain, I just couldn't.  It was way to beautiful.  As I drove to work, I looked at the trees along my route.  Each covered perfectly with a velvety ribbon of white.  Just amazing.  How could I possibly complain?  So as I drove, I took it all in.  Any other day, maybe the snow would not have received such a welcome, but this day, it did.  I decided to celebrate instead of complain.  So what happened?  Well, my disposition changed.  Since then, I focused on a simple prayer.  Lord, change me.  Three little words.  Because when it comes down to it, the driver for my mood is my attitude, my perspective, my thinking...all of it.  Learning and saying these three little words was a huge graduation for me.  It gave me a sense of peac...
3 comments
Read more

The Mending of our Lives

By design#860
  A new season begins. It is Lent. We are born. And the moment we are born, we leave one realm and enter another. We were conceived by the greatest Artist, God. Designed, created, and with the breath of life in us, He perfectly places us exactly where we are supposed to be. Yet, at this moment we entered imperfection, and became needy. Needy for so many things, but more than anything else, it was the beginning of our need for Him. Our need for His grace for our souls. Our search begins. Is it possible we have a memory of where we came from? Is it possible our needy souls long to be seen and loved as we once were? Could it be that this is what drives our search? Our search for someone to hold us, care for us, nurture us, and grow us? The neediness in us becomes so great that our lives can turn into broken fragments and pieces that scatter to anyone or anything that appears to have the ability to mend our souls together. We can be stuck in this fragmented and scattered state and cont...
Post a Comment
Read more