The Long Road Back. Beray Thigpen

waited for that phone call for what seemed like eternity. I was outside when the call came in, I remember that moment distinctively. The specialist explained to me that I had two forms of cancer – Leukemia and Lymphoma. He said most people with Leukemia usually lived a pretty long time. He did not, to my recollection, mention anything about the second form of cancer, which of course concerned me greatly, however, given the circumstances, I did not think to ask him to share what he must have known.

      That was a real sobering moment for me. I can’t even recall what I did in that moment, but I do know that I moved my thinking from the medical side to the Lord’s side. After I got myself together, I shared the news with my wife. She did not seem to show as much concern; because I’m sure, even at this early stage, she was depending on the Lord. We immediately began to discuss options; my wife does not believe in putting things off, she was ready to develop a plan of action. We sought advice from people that were versed in the profession and decided to travel to a renowned cancer center located in the southwestern part of the United States. And with this, our journey began.

      Up in the Air

      Dora and I started our weekly trips back and forth to the cancer center after my initial assessment resulted in a recommendation to begin treatment immediately.

      We boarded a plane every Tuesday and prepared for treatments on Wednesdays. The welcome and the warmth of the treatment facility was outstanding. If we arrived early, we were given warm blankets, reclining chairs, snacks and the whole nine yards. We were provided a space to relax and sleep as we waited my time in the chair.

      The treatments lasted for seven to 12 hours each session. I am still thankful to my beloved Dora for sitting through the process week after week, month after month. We spent so much time there, that we earned free accommodations in the hospital owned apartments. But we never accepted the offer. Content to come and go. In retrospect, I think it was just that I couldn’t see myself spending that much time away from home. It wasn’t like vacation. I wanted to be in my own house, enjoying what I had grown accustomed to in my many years.

      This back and forth went on for months. We spent Tuesday boarding a plane to leave and Fridays boarding a plane to return. Finally after a complete review of my progress and treatment, it was decided that we needed to changes course, just a little. My scans showed that despites these multiple trips, my lymph nodes had increased in size and number, particularly in my chest.

      We waited for few months before a clear course was charted. We learned that the new medication that would be part of my treatment course was still in development and we had no indication of when it would be available.

      The time continued and we continued waiting, calls unanswered, for a new course to be charted.

      My Witness to a Miracle

      It was on a Tuesday evening that my wife and I made our way to the Jackson International Airport as we did every week during my treatment span. We arrived at the airport early, as usual. The weather was a bit of concern because the sky was dark, the wind was blowing and lightning could be seen in the distance. Just before our boarding time, we heard a message over the communication system that our plane would be delayed due to a late departure from Baltimore. We waited about a half-hour and got the same message all over again. Another half-hour went by and a third announcement came over the system that cancelled our flight entirely.

      My wife and I immediately began to think about what we would do. We certainly didn’t want my treatments to be interrupted. So I said, “Now what do we do?”

      About that time, a gentleman standing nearby overheard our fretful conversation between another patient who was also traveling to the same treatment facility. Each of us expressing our concern, “Where do we go from here?” This man, whom I have never met before said, “The three of you come with me and let me do the talking.” He hurriedly walked down the concourse to another carrier. We stood at a distance, I only saw the boarding attendant that was supervising the boarding of the aircraft. It was a United Airlines airplane with the same destination as ours.

      After this stranger finished talking to this boarding attendant, she turned around and said, “Give me your credit card.” Mind you, the plane had already finished boarding and we had not had any communication with the airline or with the boarding attendant. But this gentleman bought all three of us an airline ticket on that flight so that we could all get to our destination and continue our treatments.

      We all arrived at our destinations, treatment scheduled uninterrupted, a miracle right in front of our eyes. So for those of you who are not quite sure if there is a God, go back and reread this about this random act of kindness.

      Internal Environment

      I ran across this topic and it intrigued me so much that I thought it may be interesting enough to share what I learned from this phrase.

      Internal environment, as defined in Thorndike/Barnhart, is that it speaks to all the surrounding things, conditions and influences affecting the development of living things. You are a living thing. The second definition is a person’s character is influenced by the social things, conditions, and influenced by the social environment. It scares me when I think about the social media and so many other influences that are so available to all of us. Our social surroundings are so strong and are so available that one has to really be rooted and grounded in the Word of God and be committed to doing God’s work to exemplify Christianity.

      We might try to find a way out by saying, “God doesn’t expect me to do what He does.”

      Well, fasten your seatbelt because I’m about to lay one on you.

      John 14:12 says, “Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

      So, I tell you, focus on the Christ that is within you. If you have it, use it, if you don’t have it, get it or step to the side.

      John 15 says, “He is the vine. We are the branches: He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth fruit: For without me ye can do nothing.”

      If God is the vine and we are the branch, we are to produce fruit, because the branches are the place where fruit is produced. “It’s not our religious activity that produces fruit, but our relationship with Him.” You remember the story of the fig tree that failed to produce fruit. Remember again, that the branches are the place where fruit is produced. As we receive life from the (vine) Christ, the inevitable result is that fruit is produced. So, take a look back and see if you can identify fruit that you are responsible for producing. If not, hurry and be about our Father’s business. Remember, Jesus performed a dramatic act when He cursed the fig tree that failed to produce fruit.

      Mark 11:14 says, “Look back, how do you feel about the amount or fruit, or the lack of fruit that you have produced?” To be successful, you must abide in the vine and I promise you He will make your life complete and rewarding.