A SHORT EXCERPT FROM MY BOOK “ON THE WAY”
Day 39
Moving On
“When He had concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum” Luke 7:1 HCSB.
“When He entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony!’” Matthew 8:5-6 HCSB.
“Jesus marveled at this. He turned around and said to the crowd who had followed Him, ‘Listen, everyone! Never had I found even one among the people of God a man like this who believes so strongly in me.’ Jesus then spoke the healing word from a distance” Luke 7:9-10 Passion Translation.
“When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Don’t cry.” Then He came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearer stopped. And He said, “Young man, I tell you get up!” Luke 7:13-14 HCSB.
Two grieving parents whose lives intersected Jesus’ as He traveled on the way to the cross. Two differing stories that moved Him to take action. One was a Roman, a Gentile, and an outsider, yet still Jesus was moved to act. The other was a widow who lost her only son. She never asked Jesus for help, yet His compassion compelled Him to reach out and give it.
Grieving parents, we find them in doctor’s offices and hospitals. There is a disease out there that brings devastation, and it sweeps through families. A broad term for it is “pediatric cancer.” Even as I write these two words there is a pit in my stomach and tears are forming in my eyes. Panic is threatening to choke my larynx. The disease has not touched my family, but it has entered my world. One of my daughter’s best friends heard the word, “Leukemia,” spoken over her six year old daughter. A few years before that, one of my friend’s two year old granddaughter was diagnosed with neuroblastoma.
The disease disrupted their worlds. Each family has been changed and marked by these terrible cancers. Two innocent little girls have spent days, weeks, and months in agony. They have battled, they have shown their strength and both have come out on top. God is their victor and Jesus their hero. Today I dedicate this chapter to Hollace Costello, her mom Amy, her dad Brendon, and her sister Langley. I give a shout out to Charlotte York and her family. You guys are heroes in my book and rockstars with powerful stories to tell because of all you have been through and will go through still. You’ve got this, but more importantly God’s got this I have seen each of you grow stronger since the days you first heard the diagnosis. What was sent to destroy, God used to grow a mighty faith.
Jesus has seen your sorrow and He was moved. It was the same emotion that stirred Him when He met the centurion and the widow of Nain. They loved their children the same as you love yours. The Passion Version says in verse 2 of Luke chapter seven, “There He found a Roman military captain who had a beloved servant he valued highly, and the servant was sick to the point of death.” In verse 13 of the Passion Bible, “When the Lord saw the grieving mother His heart broke for her. With great tenderness He said to her, “Please don’t cry.”
The same heart that broke over the widow’s state of affairs, still breaks today. Jesus heard your cries every time Hollace and Charlotte were hooked up to another IV, and He felt their pain as the medicine that was meant to heal, tore through them, and tormented them as much as the disease that threatened their very lives.
These families are rock stars and hero’s in my book.
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