My heart was profoundly moved when I met Jim at a men’s retreat not long ago.
He had a ready smile and seemed about my age. He was never without his baseball cap for a reason I found out later.
During the course of the retreat I had several conversations with Jim. He met his dad for the first time when he was 18. I couldn’t imagine what that would have been like. Many men have a father wound and Jim’s was especially deep. Their relationship grew slowly over subsequent years. His willingness to forgive his dad helped tear down big emotional walls and allowed restoration to happen. If I recall correctly, his dad was in his mid-80’s before restoration came.
Jim wore the baseball cap due to the chemo therapy he was taking for pancreatic cancer. Eighteen months previously, he had been given 6 months to live. He had a successful “Whipple” surgery which helped him defy the odds and knew God had extended his days for a reason.
To hear him speak was inspiring. He said he did not have time look back over his life with regret or worry about the future because he had no future. He only had the present moment. He was determined to use it fully for what God wanted.
He chose not to repeat the failures of his father. He loved his three adult children and was their greatest cheerleader. He watched as God unexpectedly opened ways for him to provide for his wife so she would be taken care of when he was gone. He experienced daily joy in the midst of intense suffering. Tears came easily as he shared stories of relationships that grew deep due to his cancer journey.
I had the sense he was peering through a gap in eternity’s door ready to meet his savior with a life that finished well. And that brought him joy.
The rejection Jim experienced as a boy which spilled into his adult life gave way to forgiveness. It took courage to release the hurt and allow God to move him into unfamiliar places with his father. His family benefited from his bravery and unwillingness to be chained to his past.
Meeting Jim disrupted my life. He inspired me that finishing well can happen no matter what the past has held or current circumstances involve. Our Enemy wants us to live life looking regretfully in the rear view mirror. God is inviting us to be forward looking in fulfilling His purposes in the present moment with joy-filled prospects. He reminds us often that a future and a hope awaits all who follow Him (Jer. 29:11).
Jim’s life pushes us to consider whether we are being held back by past regrets or present heart breaks. Perhaps God is bringing something to mind that needs attention. If so, you have a chance, like Jim, to step into the unknown and find that God will meet you there to restore the broken places. It’s a risk worth taking.
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