Aspen

We had one of those programs on Friday. I’m still thinking about it and the reason for it.

It began with a trip to Chicago and some work on a book. It ended with a plane flight I won’t soon forget.

On the crowded plane I happened upon an open seat beside five beleaguered travelers. Three of them were small children, two adults. One was the mom, the other an aunt. I sat by the aunt.
They’d been flying or in airports all day. I noticed a bag at the woman’s feet that said, “Make a Wish.” I knew there was a lot to the story but I had no idea until we were halfway into the flight.

I got bits and pieces of their tale throughout. Aspen, six, had been born with only three chambers in her heart. There had been a surgery early on but the doctors said she wouldn’t make it past two weeks. She had a tracheotomy. When her mother got her brother to sleep by reading him The Little Mermaid, Aspen sang the songs and held a finger over the hole in her throat and squeaked out the words. It was a beautiful sound amidst the din of the engines and cabin noise.

I also learned the dad and mom were divorced. He was in prison. The whole story just seemed too much to bear. But there was light in Aspen’s face. Her aunt said she had such a sense of humor, such a purpose in each day. Though her body struggled with the organs that couldn’t keep up with the growth, her mind was sharp. When she put out her little hand and rubbed her brother’s back as he slept, I had to turn away.

But the story didn’t end there. After we got off the plane I followed the family and then pulled ahead of them. They made their way to baggage claim and then slipped into a limo provided by Make a Wish. When they were gone, I couldn’t stop thinking about them, so I told the story on Chris Fabry Live on Friday. We took three calls. One from a grandmother whose granddaughter had just heard the news a day earlier of a recurring tumor. One from a mother returning from the hospital with a daughter who had severe health problems. And one from a man who had been touched by the life of a little boy 24 years ago. His life had been irrevocably changed by that boy and his mother, Nina.

I don’t know why God favors us with such people, such stories. The pain of them is almost too much to bear, but I know they’re working for us and in us. This crucible of life is showing us what’s really important and what will really last.

Amidst all the things to accomplish this week, remember the Aspen’s around you. Some are struggling with such deep pain. Maybe that person is you. If so, may God show you how much He loves you in the midst of the struggle.

News

It's been a while since I blogged--thanks for checking back here every now and then.

1. My mother is in the hospital. She has diverticulitis and they're trying to get everything working. She went to the doctor yesterday and he sent her straight to the hospital. Thanks for your prayers for her. She seemed in good spirits when I talked with her yesterday. Her birthday is coming up Monday. She'll be 83.

2. I finished Almost Heaven edits and sent it to the publisher. I think it's the best thing I've written, but you never know how people will respond to something new. It is the third book I've written about the little town of Dogwood. It will be out in September.

3. Dogwood and June Bug sales have been going well, I hear. I don't have much control over that but the sales of Dogwood on Amazon seems to be picking up and CBA sales of June Bug the same. If you've read Dogwood and care to post a review on Amazon, feel free. If you haven't read them yet, I'd love to get your reaction. Reading groups have been purchasing the books and going through them to great delight.

4. I'm headed to Chicago to begin a writing project with a friend of mine. I won't divulge the story yet, but it's incredible--almost unbelievable. I'd appreciate your prayers for the process as we get started. Chicago in February--I get all the best travel plans. BUT I get to come back to Tucson, so I'll warm up.

5. I can't thank you enough for your support on the radio program. Things seem to be moving forward with God's blessing. I heard yesterday that we're picking up two new stations in Tulsa and Dallas in February. Dallas is airing us at 2 am, so I now have a morning show.

6. Andrea and the kids are doing pretty well. It's one step at a time. We met some new friends in Upland, Indiana who are going through the same situation we went through 15 months ago. It's just awful and my heart breaks for them, but I told our new friends that there is hope. And that is true. No matter what's going on in your life, there is hope.

Thanks for making this journey with us.
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Bad News Friday

I’ve gotten all sorts of bad news today. This is just a bad news Friday for me personally. I have a cousin who lives in the south. I saw him a few years ago at a reunion. Same age as me. And today I get this email about his situation. He was charged with a crime. Handcuffed. I saw his picture on the TV news. And I found his phone number and called him to get an update and…I won’t go into the particulars here, but the charges were dropped for the crime he was accused of, but there are other charges from another governmental entity that will take over. But he said, “Chris, this is in the Lord’s hands. We may lose everything we have, but we’re going to make it through this.”

And I said, "Well, if you lose everything, you can come out here and live with us.” And then we started talking about Haiti and the people there who had very little to begin with and then the earthquake comes and they have less of it. And you still hear the survivors talking about life and living.

Jesus said, "I came that they might have life and have it abundantly." And I take Him at His word on that. He wants to give us abundant life.

My mother fell yesterday, and I talked with her. And if you have aging parents that you are far away from, you know how difficult this type of thing can be. You just feel helpless.

A friend sent an email out yesterday about a niece who was in a car accident. Please pray, it said. Now there’s going to be a funeral.

Layoffs and people losing their jobs and marriages breaking up.

It just goes on and on. There is no end to the bad news in this life…and you probably can give me a litany of your own bad news, things that have blindsided you.

But in the middle of all of the bad news is the truth, and it’s taken me a while to figure this out, that you don’t have to get through all of this and come out on the other side in order to have life. You don’t have to be out of that terrible job or lawsuit or court action or whatever it is in order to experience the peace of God and the love of God and the care and nurture of God. In fact, you probably will experience that more acutely in the middle of what you’re going through. That doesn’t make it any easier to go through the earthquake or tsunami that you may be facing. It’s still going to be hard. But there is a certain sweetness to the hard stuff, and I didn’t know that–I spent so many years trying to just feel better about life and trying to spiritualize the hard stuff. It’s hard. Life stinks sometimes. It’s just not worth it–all of the work and the striving and toil and sweat and blood. It’s not worth it, if this is all there is. I don’t know how atheists do it.

But I tell you what. When you realize that we have a God of second chances, we have a God who knows the end from the beginning, who cares about us, who numbers the hairs on our heads, who sees the sparrow fall, who thought you up before your parents were even born…and who right now holds you in His hands and wants good things for you, has a plan for you, has desires for you that you may not even be able to glimpse yet…when you see just a sliver of that reality, and you see the hope you can have in God, it doesn’t matter what happens in the world.

I think that is why Jesus had to have such a close relationship with His Father. He had to continue to hang onto that which was not seen, because that which He could see was pretty difficult. The road to Calvary was not an easy one. It was the most difficult journey any human has ever walked. But what it accomplished for you and me in that journey was golden, because that bloody walk paved the way for you and me to have that relationship with God that Jesus had. And it enabled us to see things from an eternal perspective and not just from an earthly one.

So whatever you’re going through right now, may God enable you to not just get through it, but to see the life He wants to offer you in the middle of that suffering. And I pray it would work not only for your good, but also for the good of those around you, and ultimately for the good of the kingdom.

12/22 Plane Crash

This is the plane Andrew Palau and his family were on, which crashed on landing at the airport in Kingston, Jamaica. There were some slight injuries but everyone survived. To hear Andrew's account of what happened and how he has seen God working through this event, visit today's Chris Fabry Live! program page and click on Listen Now.

What She Was Made To Do

Here is a video I hope you enjoy as much as I did. I think there is a spiritual lesson here. May it buoy you up today as it did me.

My Pop Challenge to You

So Randy Carlson said to do "One Thing." Then yesterday we talked about diet and weight loss.

Here's my challenge--and it comes from years of drinking Dr. Pepper and Coke (with a lime squeezed in, and with lots of ice--I just loved the taste). Before that it was Mountain Dew (I'm from WV). And before that it was Grape Nehi and Root Beer (especially from Stewart's Hot Dogs in Huntington, WV).

My last soft drink was in October of 2008. Since then I've been drinking water. Every now and then we'll have juice or tea. Mostly water. For years I knew the facts about the sugar in soda pop. So I switched to Diet drinks. Then I learned of the damage the chemicals in there can have on your body. I got a headache when I stopped. The caffeine addiction was strong. But gradually I felt a lot better.

If I can help one person see that they can do this, that this is one thing they can do that will help them become more healthy, I'll be happy! So here's what I'd like to do. If you want to stop drinking soda and walk away from that unhealthy choice, send me an email to chrisfabrylive@moody.edu and I will put you on a list to periodically encourage you not to go back to Egypt. I won't use it for anything but that.

If the response was anything like it was yesterday on the blog, many will want to stop this unhealthy habit. Go ahead. I double dog --no, I'll skip that, I'll triple dog dare you!

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