Kristian Anderson.
His wife Rachel.
Their two boys Cody and Jakob.
Fighting through a terminal illness.
Halfway through this book, I wanted to pretend I had never started it. I wanted to push it away. I made myself keep reading.
Suffering, we want to keep it as far away from ourselves as possible. Placing yourself in proximity to it takes courage. This book deeply challenges and inspires. Their story is courage gathered up and defended.
We struggle with Krisitian through his cancer journey from his poignant, honest journal entries. He holds onto his faith with unwavering resolve.
Even in the Darkest Moments Light can Shine Through.
After Kristian, a television editor, makes a birthday video for his wife Rachel (complete with Hugh Jackman) he attracted the attention of Oprah. His story of faith became well-known around the world. He successfully campaigned to get a powerful cancer drug on the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme in Australia. He left a legacy of faith to his family.
From his last blog post:
There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in… the truth is, we’re all broken, we’re all cracked, and what so many people see as a fault or a malfunction really is something to be considered useful.
Rachel describes in the book when they were watching a portion of The Fellowship of the Ring.
Frodo says: “I wish the right had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.”
Gandalf replies: “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us.”
Their story is hope in the darkness.
Their story is purpose even when the answer is no.
Their story is faith even when we don’t understand.
Their story is courage and it is needful.
Each day we are given is much and it is enough.
Leave a comment and win a copy. How do you keep faith when your prayers are not answered in the way you hope?
To be honest, much of what you shared of the book (and Tolkien quote) is stuff I’m wrestling with right now.
Hope has always been a ‘theme’ for me – sort of something I feel like God’s repeatedly told me to cling to.
In the last several months, I feel like pretty much entire life has been unraveled. Here’s how I’d normally answer your question: claiming the things I know are true of God…wearing one of my ‘hope’ necklaces…a friend reaching out and reminding me they care and I’m not alone, even if much of the time it feels that way…and that they’ll hold and be hopeful for me, even if I’m struggling with that at the moment…or some good worship music.
At the moment, though, I’m struggling with all of that, too! So I’m not sure what to really say to your question!
Leese, I’m so glad to meet you! I went over to follow your blog. What a beautiful promise you have that God has no problems, only plans. I really love that! I think when our lives feel unraveled and our prayers are not being answered the way we hope is the very hardest place to be.
I try to remember God knows my heart so intimately, he hears each cry we give to him. I also try to remember this journey has a facet of mystery to it that I might not know the answers to until later.
I am praying for you today to feel peace and an overflowing measure of hope. Thank you for your honesty. I think all of us at some point don’t know how to answer that question in the midst of our struggles
It’s a powerful testimony to keep going and trust despite that.
Thanks so much for that – really!
Have you seen Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd-Jones (who also did Jesus Storybook Bible)? I LOVE it – it’s intended for kids but I’ve given it to several friends since it came out, and it’s the thing I’ve read (along with Jesus Storybook Bible) more consistently than anything else over the last many months. The illustrations are great, too!
Anyway, I love this particular entry:
Hardly-Even-There Faith
When Jesus’ friends asked, “Give us more faith!” Jesus told them they already had enough.
Even faith as small as a mustard seed is enough. How small is a mustard seed? About as small as the period at the end of this sentence. Jesus said that’s enough faith to uproot a huge tree and plant it into the sea!
Even the tiniest speck of faith – the little bit you have – so-small-it’s-hardly-even-there faith – is enough. Enough for you to do whatever Jesus has asked you to do.
Because it’s not about us and how much faith we have.
It’s about Him and how faithful He is!
(“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” Luke 17:6)
I have to check out this book! I love the Jesus Storybook Bible, my son really gravitated to it. Thank you for sharing that passage, it’s perfect. It’s not about us, it’s about him and his faithfulness. I love that so much!
You won the book! I’ll hop over to your blog and contact you for an address
I try really hard to remember that I can’t see the big picture. When times are tough I try to remember that I’m only in one scene right now and I can’t see how the whole movie will play out. I just have to trust. I also look for any snippet of hope or joy and try to hold on to that. IT’s really hard to do, though, on those dark grey days!
So hard to do! I love that way of looking at it! We are only in one scene right now, that is so true. Trusting God has it, the struggle of our journey, but I know he does.
Anyone who quotes Lord of the Rings must be on to something. I love all of the reading to which you point us.
As a pastor, the most beautiful and the most difficult part of my job is to sit in proximity to people in their joy and in their suffering. It’s heart-wrenching and it’s inspiring and it’s exhausting and exhilarating. Mostly exhausting, I suppose, even when it’s the joys. (How does such an introvert survive being a pastor?)
In strange ways, books like this one sometimes feel like too much, but more often help expand my capacity to sit with others suffering. They give me the opportunity to learn to sit with suffering with no one to witness it but myself – not even the sufferer I sit with.
This is so true of you as a pastor. I was just talking to a friend about how showing up is so important. Sometimes that means showing up to some really hard situations and suffering. You being there means the world to the person who needs a presence
This book felt like too much for me part way through too, I’m glad I read it because there were able to extract such hope.