Category: prayer

Jun 17

Easy or hard: Which would you choose?

1st grade

3rd grade

It was early fall 1960 and my family recently had moved from Ohio to California.  I loved first-grade in the Buckeye State, but second grade apparently was “boring” in the Golden State where reading and math textbooks were the same ones I already completed.

My mother said I usually walked home from school, didn’t want to talk about anything, and then threw up. I would have suspected the cafeteria food or my tight perm, but  my parents, my teacher, and the principal got together and decided on a course of action.

After work that Friday, Dad sat on the edge of my bed with me. I don’t remember how the conversation started, but I definitely recall how it ended.

“So do you want to stay in second grade and have EASY work? Or go to third grade and have HARD work?”

With just-turned-seven-year-old exuberance, I replied: “I want to go to third grade and have HARD work, Daddy!”

On Monday morning, I took my crayon box out of my desk and marched down the hall to Miss Milford’s class, where I happily found “hard” work and stopped puking.

Pretty sure that was the last time in my life I voluntarily chose hard instead of easy.

Remember those Staples’ “easy” buttons from about 20 years ago? Personally, I would like the phrase “That was easy!” to describe my everyday life! I’m always on the lookout for ways to make life easier–for myself or people I care about. As I pray for the hurting people I know (and myself!), I always hope the answer/healing/resolution comes quickly.

But more often than not, it seems those prayers do not afford me a chance to respond with an “easy” button. Not only does life often not get any easier, sometimes it gets a whole lot harder–with no relief or explanation in sight.

I realize that many of you know exactly what I mean because  I’ve sat with you while you heard bad news. I’ve prayed with you when your world turned upside down. And I’ve cried with you as the worst actually happened.

You and I both know that life has not always been easy for you and your loved ones.

The word “easy” only appears in the Bible nine times–at least in the New Living Translation. Proverbs has a verse about lizards being “easy” to catch and the OldTestament prophet Ezekiel warns that scattered sheep make an “easy” target for predators.

But my favorite “easy” verse is found in Matthew 11:

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you,
because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’”

I need to forget about the “easy” button and hoping to make life easy-peasy. Scripture never promises that God won’t give us more than we can handle, but Billy Graham preached and I believe:Billy Graham

“The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.”

― Billy Graham

A yoke is not designed for one animal and neither were you designed to bear your burdens alone. Let Jesus carry them with you, resting in the sure knowledge that He will not take you where He cannot keep you.
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Open in your browser to hear “Rest for Your Soul” by Austin French.

Jun 03

My Father vs. the Angry Goose

Did I ever tell you about the time my father was attacked on a golf course?

It’s true.

After Dad retired from civil service, he worked part-time at a community course as a ranger traveling the links in a golf cart. A seasoned golfer with a 4-handicap in his younger days, Dad knew he should steer clear of the nesting goose on the course. And thought he was keeping a safe distance from her not-hatched-yet goslings.

But mama goose apparently didn’t agree that he was far enough away, and as he rode by, she circled around and flew straight toward him.  Dad kept thinking that surely she would turn, but instead the goose aimed her sharp beak right between his eyes. At the last second he let go of the wheel and threw up his right arm to protect his face as the goose’s broad wing knocked off his baseball cap. Dad lost control of the cart and ended up capsizing in a shallow stream–much to the amusement of a nearby foursome of young guys, who literally fell to the green in hysterics!

He laughed as he later told me the story, but I was horrified.

“Dad, what if you hadn’t thrown up your arm in time?” I chided him. “Do you know what the newspaper headline would have been the next day?…’Man Goosed to Death on Golf Course’!”

Please excuse my weird sense of humor, but as an ex-newspaper reporter, I’m always thinking about stories and headlines! Anyway, the moral of this story seems to be that Mother Goose will do whatever needs to be done to protect her family!

Mother hens do likewise. Have you ever watched one clucking and spreading her wings as she tried to safely gather her chicks when a dangerous storm or predator approached?

Did you know that Jesus once described Himself as a mother hen? In Matthew 23:37 we read:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers!
How often I have wanted to gather your children together
as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let Me.”  (emphasis mine)

As Jesus looked over the city of Jerusalem, He knew that He was the answer to the longings of Jewish hearts, but the people didn’t want to hear it. Like a protective, loving parent, the Lord longed to draw these folks close and keep them safe, but they wouldn’t let Him.

Can you feel those “wings” over you today–protecting you, shielding you, trying to draw you close?

Even if you can’t, I promise you they are there.

The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you.–Deuteronomy 33:27

He will cover you with His feathers.
    He will shelter you with His wings.
    His faithful promises are your armor and protection.-–Psalm 91:4

Yes, I know that bad things still happen to us and those we love. And yes, I know that unfair circumstances often are forced upon us. But I also know that even in the midst of this fallen world, God’s love cannot let us go.

Below are two favorite photos of my dad. In one he is safely holding 2-year-old me at the edge of Niagra Falls and in the other he meets and cradles his firstborn grandchild. Even if you don’t have happy memories of your earthly Father’s arms protecting and shielding you, today you can start experiencing that peace in your Heavenly Father’s arms as you draw close and let Him love you.

(Please open in your browser to enjoy the beautiful song “Under His Wings (Psalm 91) by Tom Mottershead.)

May 20

Celebration Time: My Oncologist has cancer Part 13

Well, the milestone that no physician thought possible–but for which family, friends and patients prayed–is here.

Tomorrow, May 22, 2025, is the fifth anniversary of Dr. Marc Hirsh’s diagnosis of a stage 4 very rare neuroendocrine tumor of the thymus!

Marc doesn’t have a party planned–life itself is enough of a celebration for him.

He and wife Elizabeth–plus Golden Retriever Boondock–recently returned from two weeks of traveling south in their camper van–a trip that  seemed impossible five years ago.

Marc clearly remembers how he felt when diagnosed at age 69.

“When I saw  that it had invaded into my heart and was in my lung, I was pretty pessimistic,” he recalls. “I was having a lot of trouble breathing, short of breath and in a lot of pain. In the hospital when Elizabeth asked me if it was curable, I told her I probably would be dead in three weeks.”

The “lowest point” emotionally came during his appointment with an oncologist at Johns Hopkins, where Marc was “very hopeful” he would learn something optimistic.

Instead, the doctor recommended an extremely toxic chemotherapy regimen which had “no data that it was curative.”

“I still have the oncologist’s report…and it said that if I didn’t do what they said, I’d be dead soon.”

But Marc refused the recommended treatment.

“I knew how incredibly toxic it was and I knew how weak I was,” Marc explains. “I knew how immuno-supressed I’d be and we were in the middle of COVID. I likely would have had to spend a lot of time in the hospital and the virus easily could have killed me.”

Instead he devised his own protocol of radiation/hormone therapy/oral chemo and what had been a grapefruit-sized tumor was the size of a lime at his check-up last year.

Last week on their trip, Marc celebrated his 74th birthday with a quick stop to purchase the “State Dessert of Maryland.”

“I bought myself a Smith Island Cake and I froze it and am eating a piece every day,” he confesses with a smile.

Elizabeth added that “he’s eating it all by himself” as she  gave up  sweets decades ago!

Marc says the realization that he might not quickly die from the cancer has dawned slowly.

“After about two or three years of (the tumor) being completely stable or slightly smaller. I started thinking I might actually be cured and there’s no active tumor left,” Marc explains.

“But I’m under no illusion,” he continues, “that the cancer definitely will never come back. I have a check-up June 10 so we will see how it looks.”

In the meantime, he has joined the local senior center’s twice-weekly over-60 basketball league.

“My wind is not what it used to be and the games are pretty intense and exhausting, but I’m enjoying it.”

When I asked Marc if he had any encouragement for those facing daunting health circumstances, he replied: “No matter what the so-called experts say, there are exceptions to generalities.

“Keep living for the moment, each day, each hour, each minute, and try to find meaning and joy no matter what the situation.”

Marc, who for 30+ years has shared his faith as a Jew who believes in Jesus as Messiah, says his diagnosis reminded him that others would see whether his actions were consistent with his words.

“I knew I had the opportunity to be courageous and to live life to the fullest,” he adds. “I could be an example of how to deal with what life hands you.”

(Life has handed Elizabeth a challenge, too, as she was diagnosed in 2023 with Parkinson’s Disease and needs Marc’s assistance with tasks she no longer can do.)

And at this 5-year milestone, for what is Marc most thankful?

“I’m incredibly grateful to God that He allowed me to be here for Elizabeth after all she’s done for me.”

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Open in your browser to hear Rich Mullins, Marc and Elizabeth’s favorite Christian artist, sing “Awesome God.” It seems appropriate on this 5-year “Cancerversary” to acknowledge our awesome God, and Rich sitting at the piano sharing a little about his faith before he sings reminds me of what Marc has done at our prayer support group concerts for the past three decades.

 

 

 

 

Apr 22

What “Granny Clampett” Taught Me about Love

If you’ve ever seen that spunky character Granny Clampett on the old television show The Beverly Hillbillies, you have a pretty good mental picture of my friend Alice. She was about the size of her TV counterpart with long, salt-and-pepper hair pulled back in a tight bun. Her blue eyes danced mischievously despite the fact she was nearing 80.

And from her I learned what God’s love is really like.

Alice’s ramshackle two-story home was on a road I traveled often and occasionally I’d see her outside.  Who is that tiny flannel-clad lady swinging such a big ax?

In the spring of 1995, Alice’s world met mine.

Her older daughter brought her to my Cancer Prayer Support Group meeting. In true Granny Clampett style, Alice didn’t particularly trust strangers and firmly announced that she didn’t know why she had come and wasn’t going to participate. 

But over the ensuing weeks, we all warmed to one another and Alice became like a favorite “granny” to our group. Soon she was suggesting some of her home remedies for the physical woes we experienced:

Soak walnuts in whiskey for a few days to relieve diarrhea.

Nibble on a bit of peach pit for heartburn. “I know they have laetrile in them and it’s poisonous, but it doesn’t hurt me,” she insisted.

For respiratory problems, Alice swore by a mixture of honey, lemon, whiskey, and linseed oil: “If there’s somethin’ down there in your chest, that’ll bring it up!” 

Photo by Vlad Deep on Unsplash

Alice and I developed a special bond because we had the same kind of cancer. Not much else about our lives was the same. 

She had had a tough life, but remembered having felt “a great love for God” when she was only 3. As an adult she took her own three children to church faithfully until their teens.

But then something happened that made Alice feel she wasn’t welcome and she stopped attending. When she came to our support group, it was her first time in decades to set foot inside a church building.

 Every month Alice came to our support-group meeting and occasionally on a Sunday morning, I’d see her sitting in our congregation, smiling at me.

In the spring of 1996 I asked her to be my guest at our church’s Mother-Daughter Banquet. When I picked her up, my jaw dropped…Hair obviously freshly washed and piled in a soft bun. A  bright pink skirt-and-sweater set, accented by a matching jewelry ensemble. Plus a light perfume fragrance. 

“Wow! Do you look beautiful!” I exclaimed. She was beaming now and handed me a crocheted cross bookmark. I told her I would put it my Bible, where I would see it every day and think of her. 

At the banquet, we laughed and even cheered when she won a prize for the oldest mother. 

A few months later Alice was bedridden, nearing death. We read the Psalms together and she announced that she was “ready to go home to God.”

“I love God,” she kept whispering.

“He loves you, too,” I promised her–grateful that she had found her way back to Him.

 

I can’t recall the first time Alice told me “You’re my best friend.” But I do remember feeling embarrassed by her pronouncement, knowing I had done so little for her. I resisted the temptation to protest, thanked her and hugged her frail body close to mine.

I told her I loved her and that she would be my forever friend…It was our last earthly conversation.

And that’s how my friend Alice taught me about “the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of God…I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it.”

Excerpted from When GOD & Cancer Meet ©Lynn Eib, 2002
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Be sure to open in your browser to hear “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury.

Apr 08

Should I “snooze Jesus”?

I don’t know if you’re on Facebook or not, but I have to be honest that much of the time lately I wish I wasn’t.

Don’t get me wrong. I love hearing from readers around the world who have been encouraged by one of my books and take time to let me know and share a little of their story. I love photos of old friends whom I don’t get to see in person often (or maybe ever!). And I love updates from cancer survivors and their families.

But I dislike intensely (that’s the phrase my mother made my brother and me use instead of “hate”) all the political posts, especially those which are not factual. And I really intensely dislike the lack of compassion I see, including from some of my Christian brothers and sisters.

So when a FB friend (not someone I know in “real” life) kept sharing posts which I felt fit both those categories, I decided I did not want to see these popping up in my feed any more. Easy enough, to remedy right?

Well, what I hadn’t really considered was the fact the first part of the “friend’s” online name was “Jesus.” Here are the choices I was given:

 

I’m sorry the photos are a little blurry, but I was laughing so hard when I read the options that I think I shook my phone.

“Snooze”Jesus for a month? Is that like hitting the alarm button, going back to sleep and ignoring Him?”

“Report the post” and they “won’t let Jesus know”? Pretty sure that’s not going to work.

And worst of all: “Unfollow Jesus” but “stay friends?’ Don’t we become friends because we are following Him?

When I finally stopped laughing, I starting seriously thinking about whether I unconsciously have chosen any of these options in my relationship with my Lord Jesus.

And the answer, I’m sorry to say, is yes.

I do “snooze” Him at times as I “ignore” His quiet whispers to spend more time with Him.

I do “see fewer posts” from Him when I skip reading my Bible and play word games instead.

And I always do want to be His friend, but I don’t always choose to follow the way I know He wants me to.

So these are the questions I’m asking myself in these turbulent days: Have I “snoozed”Jesus lately? Am I following Him or a political party? Is His Word prioritized in my day–both reading it and living it? Would the King of Kings give my FB posts a thumbs-up?

I’m finding that more than ever I need to guard what goes into my mind and heart so I can better control what comes out in my words and actions.

Proverbs 4:23-25 offers great wisdom:

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.
Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

Whatever struggles we face today, Hebrews 12:2 gives us the answer:

And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion, who initiates and perfects our faith.

Please worship the Lord with this beautiful rendition of “Turn Your Eyes (Jesus We Lift Our Eyes to You) by Sovereign Grace Music. (Open in your browser to play the music video.)