January 4, 2009 - The Last Chapter

The other day I was catching up on my reading, scrolling through the entries on some cancer blogs. On the blog of Mike Dellosso, a published novelist, I came across a short story he wrote, called “The Last Chapter.” (After clicking on the above link, scroll down to the very bottom of Mike's page for the link to his story.) He wrote it, he says, right after his own cancer diagnosis, as a sort of coping exercise.

I find it interesting to read, from the perspective of a cancer survivor. The story’s about a newly-diagnosed man, a construction worker, who learns from his doctor that his cancer is advanced and untreatable. He resolves to end his own life, then some experiences he has lead him to question that decision.

Here’s something Mike writes in another blog entry, dated December 30:

“I learned this: God is good all the time. ‘But how is getting cancer good?’ I have no idea. But I know this. God’s standard of goodness is not the same as ours. His understanding of goodness is on a different plane than ours. He sees things our eyes could never see. Knows things our minds could never even dream of fathoming. His idea of suffering is not the same as ours. He is God and I am not. And in that I have to place my trust.

I also learned this: God will never . . . ever . . . abandon me.”

Like the protagonist in Mike’s story, the news of a cancer diagnosis can shake our lives to their foundations. Most of us – like Mike, and like the man in his story – enter into this crisis and come out the other side, eventually, feeling stronger for the experience.

It’s one of the wonders of this experience called cancer.

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28