When I was growing up we had a neigbor kid that lived a few houses down from us named, Chris. We never could remember his last name so we always called him, "Chris Down the Street."
Now as an adult with two kids of my own we have a neighbor two doors down named, Chris. He is the dad of two boys. My kids do not remember his last name and so we affectionately call him, "Chris Down the Street." It's amazing how life repeats itself. I have always admired our Chris Down the Street. During the 6+ years we have lived here there is not one moment I can recall seeing Chris outside without his kids. They are always playing hard with each other. This takes on many forms such as, racing bikes, repairing motors on dirt bikes, chasing each other, or preparing for a day at the lake on their boat. Chris is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. They have always seemed to honor a commitment to church on Sundays but choose the 8 am service in order to have the rest of the day as a family.
Unfortunately, Chris was diagnosed several weeks ago with a form of liver and small intestine cancer that has a 50% chance of treatment. As always, Chris maintains a positive and hopeful outlook but was honest about his odds. I have learned so much about life from Chris just by observing his commitment to his family. You never know when your life may be cut short by cancer news. I hope I always play hard with my kids, not because of fear, but because they deserve a father who loves them enough to play hard with them every day.
Chris has another scan on June 30th which will determine his ultimate prognosis. Pray for Chris Down the Street.
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2 comments:
that is so sad. One of my college friend, Brian Flatt (we called him Rufus) died of cancer. He was only 23 (I think).
I had the honors of doing his eulogy at his funeral (that is something that I NEVER want to do again). It was so hard to say bye to some one who had cancer. I told Brian that I wish I could trade my diabetes for his cancer because I wanted him to do the things that he couldn't do while he was in the hospital. He told me in his own words, and I will never forget them, "Maggie, I would never trade this for anything. God is blessing me in his own way, and his Glory will shine through this."
Thanks for sharing this story. I find myself too often praying that God will protect me, my family, and my friends from things such as cancer. What I should be praying is that God would give me and my family the strength to live life to it's fullest, love each other no matter what, and be able to give God the glory for whatever happens in our lives..."good" or "bad".
FYI...after reading this post I stopped surfing the blog world and watched Finding Nemo with my boy! I felt the need for some cuddle time! :)
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