Back in 2007 I posted my testimony here on the site, at that time I just linked to my website. Since then my website has changed and the testimony is no longer on the site. The testimony talks about my first year as a christian. Its interesting to think that my first year as a Christian is also the year that Brian started the DAB. I haven't been listening constantly, I believe I have listened to a portion of every year but never a full year. A couple of notes to add to the story. The Twins that are mentioned in the testimony just turned 5 a couple weeks ago, and now our family also includes a baby girl (2 1/2 months). My wife and I were both Baptized on Feb 19th of this year. I was able to make it to the DAB Family gathering in Toronto and I was able to give Brian a quick summary of my testimony and how DAB has helped me with my walk. I am grateful that DAB as been a part of my story.
2006 - A life changing year.
I was thinking about everything that happened in my life during 2006. Last year was a very important year for me; I'm a very different person from who I was a year ago.
In order to set the stage we will have to start in late 2005, In September of 2005 my mother lost her 12 year battle with breast cancer. Losing my mother was a huge event in my life, and left me with a different out look on life. An event like this gets you to think about things like heaven, and the meaning of life.
When I was young I don't remember ever attending church other then weddings and other things like that. This left me without a religion of any kind, I wouldn't say that I was atheist or anything but I wasn't sure if I believed there was a God. I wasn't sure what I believed but I also didn't feel any need to try and find any more information on the matter. This was all about to change.
As Christmas was coming, my wife (Lisa) expressed that even though she was born into a Christian family and had gone to church on and off throughout her life, she felt that she was a little disconnected from God and wanted to start going to church on a regular basis. I told her that she could go anytime she wanted but I wouldn't be attending church with her. Honestly I felt like I didn't want to waste my Sunday mornings listening to someone preach about God. When I asked her what she would like for Christmas she said that she would like a personalized bible. Well this was an interesting request, now even though I didn't know anything about what was in the bible (even though at this point I thought I did) I had to figure out where to get one and which was the best one for me to get.
At Christmas the church that my wife was attending was having a Christmas play so my wife convinced me that we should go. We ended up going to the show twice once just me and my wife and once with our friends (Robyn and Des). The play was basically the Christmas story, but following the story of the bible closely. I found the play very interesting, I had thought I knew the Christmas story but there was so much I didn't know about.
On Christmas I gave my wife the bible that I had personalized for her, but I also got myself a bible. I was a little curious about church and decided that if she was going to be attending church every week it wouldn't be a bad idea if I joined her, that way I would know a little more about Christianity and what the bible was all about. The experience at the Christmas play had got me thinking, if so much of that play was new to me, what else was there for me to learn. At this point I wasn't going to commit to anything I had it set in my mind that I was just curious and that I wasn't planning on doing anything crazy.
I'm going to leave this topic for a bit, I want to keep things in order, and there many other events that shaped the course of the year.
Ever since I heard of The Weekend to End Breast Cancer I wanted to take part in it. The Weekend to End Breast Cancer is a 2 day, 60km walk through Toronto (it's also in other cities but I would attend in Toronto). They started the registration process and advertising early in the New Year and Lisa and I decided that we would sign-up. We wanted to complete the walk in the memory of my mother. Each person that registers needs to agree to raise at least $2000 in donations. If you do not raise more then that you're not allowed to actually take part in the walk. So in January I think, Lisa and I signed up for the walk and started our fund-raising and our training for the walk.
Since I had started going to church, Lisa decided to sign us up for a small group at the local church, this group was called Alpha. Alpha is a series of videos that will teach people who are curious about Church or the Bible; it talks about topics from Jesus to Praying and attending church. The group meets once a week, and goes for 11 weeks, each week you watch a video for about a half hour and then you get into smaller groups and discuss the topic of the video for about an hour or so. This system really worked well for me, I was able to ask all the questions that I had and there was no fear of offending anyone.
Over the 11 weeks of the Alpha Course, I decided that I was more then curious and I accepted Jesus as my savior. At the time I did this I still had questions about everything but I knew that I needed that relationship and that the answers to the questions I had could only enforce that feeling. Once I accept Jesus I was amazed to find how much faster the information was coming. I just had to take that step and Jesus was ready for it.
I only found this fact out afterwards, but during the time that we were taking the Alpha course, and even before that, Lisa and our friends Robyn and Des where praying that I would learn about Jesus. When I found out this information I made them a Thank you card and explain that their prayers had been fulfilled.
Since becoming a Christian, I have tried to get as much information as I could. I've read several books (The Case for Christ, The Case for a Creator, Mere Christianity, and most of A Purpose Driven Life). I've also listened to many sermons, seminars and podcasts on the subject (Sermon Audio, Two Blind Squirrels, Dr. Dino, Lifespring Podcasts, and just recently I've started following along with The Daily Audio Bible). All of things have increased my knowledge and enriched my life.
Over this same time Lisa and I had been trying to have a baby. After trying for several months we found that we would need to go to a fertility clinic. This news wasn't great but we were about to keep a positive outlook. Also since I was a new Christian I found that with prayer you could ease your troubles. One of the members of my group in Alpha put it this way "Let Go, and Let God".
After a few months working with the fertility clinic and having several friends pray for us to be able to get pregnant we found out that it had worked. We found out just before we left for our trip to Cuba.
Before I get to the Cuba trip, I have to mention that for a few months I had been going for tests at the doctors. I had felt a lump in my throat and you could even see the bump when I swallowed. I first went to my family doctor and he did was blood work. He said that some of the results where "a little funny" so I had to do a different set of tests. I did an Ultrasound where they said they could see the lump and they referred me to a specialist. The specialist took a sample for a biopsy and would give us the results in a week. But we went to Cuba that week.
Cuba wasn't the best of trips, we had been to Mexico twice before (Our Honeymoon, and our first Anniversary) and we found that we definitely liked the Mexico resort a lot better. Along with that we just found out that Lisa was pregnant and she wasn't feeling 100%, the food was a little iffy and with Lisa not feeling well it didn't help the situation. Overall I enjoyed the trip but we both agree that we won't be going back to Cuba.
A couple days after we got back from Cuba, we got the results of the biopsy. The lump in my neck was Thyroid Cancer and I needed to have my thyroid removed. When we got this news I was at work and Lisa had called the doctors office to see if we needed to go in and see him. Instead he told her over the phone. She phoned me at work; I told my boss the results and said that I needed to take the rest of the day off to clear my head.
It turns out that Lisa had her first ultrasound booked that day so instead of just sitting at home we decided it would be better to keep the appointment and we would both go. The ultrasound only added to the news of the day, not only was Lisa pregnant and doing fine, we where going to have Twins. What a blessing.
Finding out that it was Twins on the same day I found out that I had cancer was really a blessing. We could look at the positive and not focus on the negative aspects of the day. It doesn't make the news any easier or less important; it just gives you something else to occupy your mind for a while.
One of the most difficult things in being told I had Thyroid Cancer was telling my family. Since my mother had battled with Cancer for 12 years and had only passed away less then I year before. Everyone in the family knew exactly what cancer meant and really didn't want to experience that ever again. However Thyroid Cancer is a lot different then Breast Cancer, Thyroid Cancer is very slow growing and has a very high success rate for being cured. The doctors even told me that if someone had to have a cancer then Thyroid Cancer would probably be one of the best ones to have because it's not as life threatening as others.
It took a few more months before I had my surgery; the surgery involved cutting my neck in the front and removing my thyroid completely. The surgery went well and I was in the hospital for 3 days so that they could monitor my levels and make sure everything was fine. Now I just have a 2-3 inch scar on my neck (right in the front at about the height of a t-shirt collar) and I will have to take medicine to do the job that my thyroid was doing. This medicine has no side effects and its quite common for people to be on it for years and years without and troubles at all. Other then that the doctors said that I can be concidered Cancer free, and I will just have to go in about once a year to make sure it stays away.
Let's step back to The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. Over the course of the year (the walk took place in September) Lisa and I where about to raise about $2500 each in donations. We had raised enough to be able to walk. In an ironic twist we couldn't participate in the breast Cancer walk because I was recovering from surgery to remove the Cancer in my thyroid. We where both a little disappointed that couldn't walk, but at least we were able to raise the money for the cure.
After I recovered from my surgery I had to have some Radioactive Iodine treatment. This means that you go to the hospital and take a pill. Once you have taken the pill you are put in quarantine for 3 days. This wasn't fun at all. You're stuck in a tiny little hospital room with a hospital bed and a chair. You do have a TV but its one of those tiny 13" hospital TVs. At first I thought I would take my Nintendo DS in and I would be able to play video games all day but since you're radioactive anything that you take in should be thrown away because it will also be radioactive.
During these 3 days I only saw 1 person, and they where on the other side of a room and they had a lead vest on. I had a phone so I could talk to my wife, but not seeing anyone for even just 3 days was a very odd experience. It was actually a little easier then I thought it would be but I don't ever want to do it again.
After the 3 days in the hospital I couldn't go home. Lisa was pregnant and because of the treatment I needed to stay away from the young (babies in the womb are about as young as you get) and the elderly for at least a couple weeks. So I went to my Dads and hung out there for a while. This all was very odd, but from the tests that I have done everything seems to have worked and I can be considered Cancer free.
Since then things have still been busy as we work to get the house ready for the Twins. Lisa is due in the beginning of March, but they are expected to come earlier then that. 2007 looks like its going to be another life changing year. I can't wait for this story to continue. As the Twins get closer and closer one thing that I keep thinking about is how they will always know about Jesus, they will have the chance to accept him when they are ready but they will never have an issue with a lack of knowledge about him and what he has done for everyone.
Maybe that's why we had some troubles to begin with; maybe he wanted to make sure we both knew about him before they came so that they would be raised to know him as well. No one can ever say why things happen the way they do but I'm very happy in the way things have turned out. 2006 was at times a very challenging year but I've definitely come out of it a more enriched person.
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