If you haven't been following the story of Ryan Woods and his battle of fighting cancer while also Church planting in downtown Vancouver, Washington then you are missing out. If you have been following then you know that he lost his battle in this life, but ultimately won the battle over what too many of us fear; death. But while we inwardly rejoice that his suffering and pain are now over, I can't help but wonder about the deep deep despair that must surround his beautiful wife and his two precious children at this time... and his parents... and his sisters... and the entire community of Vancouver Washington... and the people who didn't know him but only viewed his story from a distance.
It makes me reflective as a parent because I met Ryan through knowing his family at Church. When I was a student at Cascade my room mate and I went every Sunday night to the Woods home for C-Teams. We had planning meetings in which we saw Kevin dream up all sorts of ideas to share the Gospel with the teens in his youth group and we went on Wednesday nights to the school gymnasium to help with Souled Out. I saw the love that Kevin and Brenda have for each other and for lost souls. I saw the way they instilled the deep abiding love of Christ in the hearts and minds of their three children. And I've seen the way that Ryan has boldly proclaimed the Power of Jesus in his life and impending death. I wonder if I would be so bold. I wonder if my children would be. I wonder if I would be in the face of my child being called to such a testimony. (This link is to the "long version" of his story)
These are the thoughts that have been swimming around in my head all day. In all honesty, I don't even know how to end this post. There are just no words to describe my dispair for this family...so I'll leave you with a picture and a quote:
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