Light of The World

 

The Christmas season is upon us once again and there’s many emotions that take place. It’s a time of joy and giving yet a time of grief and sadness for many. If I’m honest in the past I haven’t been a Christmas lover, it’s always felt commercialized with to many expectations. But this year it feels different as we’ve let go of expectations around the holidays and put our attention towards Jesus. Christmas was never meant to be a crazy stressful time of year, it’s meant to be simple like the birth of our Lord was. In a humble manger surrounded by those shepherds who were the lowest of low in society yet God chose to tell them first. As we watched “The Nativity story” with our kids this year, I was humbled again by the story of Jesus coming to the earth as a baby for the purpose of dying on the cross for our sins. We can get accustomed to the story but to slow down and think about it, what a wonderful story it is!  As Christmas approaches quickly I’m reminded to embrace it fully, we don’t know that we’ll all be together next Christmas so what a gift it is to celebrate together this year. Jesus is the light of the world given for us, I pray we come to understand this more during the Christmas season.

Jesse had a CT scan recently which showed everything is still shrinking and the chemo continues to work. We’re so grateful for this news and know all the glory goes to Jesus. Jesse will continue to do chemo every other week and we are looking to add some other protocols into his schedule. He continues to do Vitamin C intravenously every other week along with hypothermia treatment on his chemo day. Every scan result can start to give us more anxiety as time passes but as a friend said to me " the more the clock keeps moving forward and Jesse defies the odds spoken over him, the more glory goes to God."

Below we wanted to share Jesse’s story that he shared with our church family, may it encourage you in your walk with Jesus .

I grew up in a Christian home but it was always a second hand faith. I never really followed Jesus for myself or knew him. Going to church was a tradition that never meant anything to me. I met Jenn when I was 19 and we began dating. I got saved a year after we dated and was baptized one Sunday morning at Gateway when they had a spontaneous baptism. Fast forward a few years, Jenn and I got married and had our 3 beautiful kids. Life was good, farming was what I always wanted to do and we we're living the dream, so I thought

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Fast forward to November 2021 when I was having some health issues and found some blood in my stool. I didn't think twice about it and carried on but it continued to get worse so I decided to investigate further. I was booked for a colonoscopy but because of covid things continued to get delayed. Finally on March 31 2022, I went in for my scope. I remember Jenn dropping me off and not thinking much of it but that day changed our lives forever and as I look back, it was for the better. The colonoscopy revealed that I had a tumor in my lower colon about the size of a golf ball. I remember the doctor coming in to show us a picture and saying it looks like cancer. We were devastated, 33 years old, 3 kids and a full life ahead. The following week I had a CT scan and results showed the cancer had spread to my liver, lymphs and lung. I remember sitting in that doctor's office feeling the blow of the news . What in the world God? Why is this happening to me?  This is insane. At this point of my life I had a choice to make. I could choose to question God and be angry with Him or say "Lord let your will be done" not knowing what the outcome would be. We dug into the Bible in those next few months following the news. One morning as I sat at the kitchen table the Lord spoke to me so clearly and said "I am here." Since that moment the peace that came has been incredible and there isn't a way to explain it.  

We decided not to do chemo immediately, taking the spring and summer to do a natural approach. Our oncologist was very blunt with us and said I would probably be dead by September. After September they said February and since have given up on giving us dates, only God knows the numbers of our days and we trust in Him. During that spring and summer we saw the Lord move in such mighty ways. He provided for us financially when an oncologist gave us $60,000 in the mail one day, the Lord was enough for us and still continues to be. 

That fall(Sept 2022) I had results from a CT scan and the cancer was continuing to grow. I decided at that point to start chemotherapy alongside many natural things we were doing.  At first chemo was going well but as time went on chemo has gotten harder and taken its toll on my body. To be quite honest chemo weeks feel kind of like hell. It hasn't been all rainbow and butterflies but Jesus continues to be our source of strength.  Trials produce growth in our lives and we've experienced so much growth.

So that leads me to some things that God has put on my heart to share.

As I was gardening this past summer God put these thoughts in my mind. What do I need to do to prepare for my garden each spring? I till the soil, take out all the weeds, rake and prepare the ground for a good base for seeds to be planted. As I was thinking of these steps, I thought about our life and how we're always preparing. We prepare meals, tasks for the week to come or for our retirement; ultimately we're always preparing for something. So I got thinking about death. How often do we prepare for that subject ? It's the one sure thing in our lives that we're all going to die and lack of preparation will lead to failure. So why do we get caught up preparing for here and now but missing the inevitable which is to come. One day we will stand face to face with Jesus and this time He will be the judge . I want to prepare for that day more than anything else. I've come to realize that many things in this life don't matter and won't come with us when we die. Yet one thing  will matter and it's who I served. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow and we need to be intentional about preparing for what is to come. Do I wish my cancer was gone? Yes but what the Lord has taught me far outweighs the trial I'm walking in right now. I wouldn't want to slip back into my old life of not preparing for eternal life. What about you? Will you start living in a preparation way for Christ? Will you fully surrender to His will in your life  and point people toward Jesus. He is enough for any situation you're going through. It's not too late, you get to decide. For me no matter what my outcome is, I win and I'm so thankful for the hope I have in Jesus.

" When you start to live on borrowed time, you really start to live. But reality is we're all living on borrowed time." -Jesse Strobosser 

"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food or drink or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don't worry about these things saying " what will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers but your Heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and he will give you everything you need. " So don't worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."

- Matthew 6:25-34

Light of the World:

https://youtu.be/tWeXVnRm6R8?si=0e9tkVNUQddX-5d5

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas season,

Jesse and Jenn