But they are also thankful for their faith and an understanding of God that
allows them to glimpse purpose in suffering, especially undeserved suffering.
They have a great model for that in former White House Press Secretary Tony
Snow, also fighting his own battle against yet another form of cancer. A friend
forwarded me one of Tony's statements on his illness, which I reproduce here
for your convenience. It is an encouragement to all who are struggling with
health or other problems as the holidays arrive. Tony Snow is a great
communicator, and in this essay for Christianity Today he is addressing the most
important topic of all. Keep him as well in your prayers this Thanksgiving Day.
Some key paragraphs from Tony's testimony:
Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will
we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit,
and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern
in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to
things that do?
When our faith flags, he throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer
warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the
receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it.
It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the
back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just
know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift
us up—to speak of us!
This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back and
appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow
makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may
not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the
ineluctable touch of God.
What is man that Thou art mindful of him? We don't know much, but we know
this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or
frightening our prospects, each and every one of us, each and every day, lies in the
same safe and impregnable place—in the hollow of God's hand.