why advent isn't on my mind...
Normally Advent is my favorite season of the church and of the year. I love the time leading up to Christmas and spend time listening to Christmas carols and singing Advent hymns (O Come O Come Emmanuel and Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming are two of my favorites). I start to watch all of my movies that feature at least one Christmas scene and do some baking.
This year I have done some of those things, but my heart is just not in it like other years. The reason is because my mind and heart are with a teenage boy who was diagnosed with Leukemia in March. His cancer has resisted going into remission and he is losing the battle. Sam Grorud is amazing because through his diagnosis and battle with cancer, he has brought together many people in the town of Milbank and beyond through prayer and support. He has defied expectation over and over again.
I do not pretend to understand why God allows teenagers to have cancer, but he does. I do not pretend to know why Sam's cancer did not respond to the chemotherapy, but it didn't. I do not pretend to know why God has put me in Milbank at Sam's church for this journey, but He did. I don't pretend to know what tomorrow brings or the next week or month or year, but it will come and God will be there.
Right now my heart and my mind are with the Groruds and it seems that Advent is in the background. However, more than ever I understand the need for hope in the darkest of times. The power that faith and prayer can have when nothing else delivers is astounding. So, maybe Advent isn't so far away. Maybe this year the message of hope and the need to be saved is closer than ever.
For those of you who would like to know more about Sam and his story:
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