A Freeper's last days...

kixx ^ | 11/17/04 | jrhepfer

[jrhepfer]

A long time lurker and 3 year Freeper is in his last days. Freeper "kixx" known as Chip to his friends will draw his last breath in the next few days after fighting spreading lung cancer. I'm going to pass along an e-mail he wrote to my family (addressed to my wife Kim) just a few days ago when he was still alert and able to read/send e-mail.

Please pray for Chip's comfort in these last days. FreeRepublic was his home on the internet and gave him so much hope!

The little girl he speaks of in the e-mail below is my daughter.

God Bless,

Jim ---------------------------------- Kim, If I had to, I would dedicate all the time I have left re-assuring my friends that all will be okay. The saddest part of this for me is the sadness that I will eventually bring to my friends and family. I can only hope that this sadness will be a short-lived one as everyone realizes that I have gone on to a better place. A place I expect to see all my friends again one day except that I'll have a hard time recognizing any of you since you'll all be old and hunched over by then. :-)

I am at peace with my situation. A peace developed by seemingly unrelated events of the past couple of years. A peace brought on by a journey back to God undertaken years before, almost without my realizing it. Some of the "unrelated" events that brought me to this place were: Country music, 9-11, the presidential election of 2000, the act of forgiving, removing "poisonous" relationships from my life, gravitating toward like-minded, family-values friends, and culminating in the profound affect a little girl with cancer has had on one man's life.

And that very last one was the most important. Everything before got me on the road back to God. Rhiannah put me on that road for good. I had already come full circle, from my Christian youth, through my rebellious and doubting 20's and 30's, and back to believer. But Rhiannah's cancer diagnosis pushed me to the point where I had to put ALL my faith in God and Jesus.

There was no way I could allow my heart to believe that this little girl was not going to make it. And I prayed accordingly. I let God know that I truly believed that Rhiannah's cancer was, indeed, a temporary thing. And to this day, when I tell you I truly believe Rhiannah is cured, now and forever, its only because I know its so.

Little did I know, as I lay in bed at night praying for Rhiannah, that this little girl was already paving the road that would eventually lead her "Uncle Chip" to heaven. Long before I ever thought I would have a need for it. So, thanks to my little hero, when the news came that my time on earth was quickly fading, I was ready. I had the faith that everything was safe in God's hands, I had a peace overcome me that could only come from a divine source, and I'm assured that my sins have been forgiven and paid for.

I also trust that there is a purpose for my cancer. Maybe not, I don't know. But if there is a purpose for me being here at this time then I guess I'll be around till that purpose is fulfilled. Until then I'll just do what I did a few years back, put it all in God's hands and not worry about it.

My biggest regret through all of this is the trouble I've been putting my friends through. I also regret that day when so many will grieve my death. I've never thought of myself as a very significant person and if were to able to watch it all from the next life I know my reaction would be "What's all the fuss about?"

I hope this sets your heart and mind at ease.

I'll talk to you later, Chip

[Dad2Angels]

My last day of smoking, after 25 years of it, was the day I held my Mom's hand while she took her last labored breath, in part from smoking.

If not for yourself, for your family.

[jtminton]

Prayers for you and your family, jrhepfer. Save me a good seat up there, kixx!

[azhenfud]

I've been quit now for seven years after 23 of puffing better than a pack a day. It's not been without its tough moments, but the way I've come to see it is another minute without a smoke adds to another hour and that to another day and that to another......for seven years.

The best Quit Smoking program is "DETERMINATION". Here's hoping you best success on your venture to quit!!

[go_W_go]

I'm sorry for the coming loss. I lost my mother to lung cancer on January 11 this year. I had the privilege of leading her to Christ in Nov. of 2003. I was there when she took her last breath... I told her as she faded, that soon she would be in the arms of God, and I'd be with her again one day.

For those of you who still doubt the REALITY of God, and Jesus Christ (I don't really believe ANYONE really doubts it, they just deny it), I would point to the fact that the scientific world now, more than ever, is coming closer and closer to the conclusion, that, the universe was CREATED... empirical science now takes the stance that evolution is IMPOSSIBLE, and the current trend is that evolution as a theory, is dying! Believe, repent, and receive the salvation that is available through Christ Jesus, you can not earn salvation, it is a free gift. With that salvation, comes grace. Grace covers us regardless of our sin, and continues to cover us throughout our lives. We are justified by the finished work of atonement of Christ, then we are sanctified daily, by the power of His Spirit. You cannot earn favor from God through your works, your works are performed in gratitude to the salvation you already have. You'll never be perfect while still in this world, however, you'll be daily conformed to righteousness, until YOU take your last breath.

God's love and peace be with you all,

Jeff

[JudyB1938]

Thank you, kixx, for sharing those words. I truly believe there's somebody who really needed to read them. I believe your peace and your faith have taken away their fear.

JRH, please get the family's permission to give _JHoffa the necessary information for the FR Memorial Wall. I think kixx will be pleased to know he will never be forgotten by his fellow FReepers.

[gridlock]

Prayers for Chip. Thanks for sharing this with us. Also, prayers for your daughter. I hope she is doing well.

[jer2911tx]

prayers for Chip, family, and friends

[chapin2500]

Done.

[2nd amendment mama]

I too am sitting here with tears flowing. Prayers on the way for Chip and his family. Prayers also for Rhiannah's complete cure from her cancer.

[jeremiah]

To the greatest adventure of them all, he goes before us. God bless him, and know that people care about his having been here with us.

[fastattacksailor]

A sad farewell ping for Chip

God Bless

[sockmonkey]

Prayers for kixx from his extended freeper family offered from deep in the heart of Texas.

[weshess]

May GOd wrap Chip and his family in his loving arms and give them peace.

[cupcakes]

God's blessings and peace on this man's final days. Prayers for those left behind as well.

[FourtySeven]

God bless him and you and yours.

[jrhepfer]

I should pass along some other info about Chip. He was treated for tuberculosis many years ago. He has endured to rounds of kidney failure and two kidney transplants. Often he endured times in intensive care alone, perhaps by his own choosing. He has never been one to ask for help.

Due to his health, he could have spent much of the last fifteen years on disability, but wanted to work and do his fair share. He has been a disk jockey for many of those fifteen years and for the last several has enjoyed every moment of that job working for a country station in Harrisburg, PA. In fact, just Sunday night, he recorded his last two shifts that ran Monday and Tuesday...he loved to work.

When my daughter was in the hospital for chemotherapy, Chip left home up to several hours early each of those days so he could spend an extra hour on the road to visit my family in the hospital. He never came empty handed. My little girl looked forward to his visits so much that, if she felt well enough, we would take her to the part of the floor where she could watch the cars coming in to try and catch a glimpse of "Uncle Chip's" car. As much as Chip brightened every day of my little girl's hospital life, he gave my wife and I the interruption in worry that we so desperately needed. He spent more time by Rhiannah's bedside than anyone other than her mother and I.

Chip never had much. He was blessed with the opportunity to purchase a home from his family last year. A small house in need of much work. It is his pride. Chip, my wife, myself, and many of our other friends worked hard on this house. I'm sorry to say that it is not finished yet. But it is the only material thing is is proud of. We continued to work on Chip's home after he got sick, often with our own money. But his joy is and always will be worth more to us than green paper.

Chip taught us about faith, about being humble, how to appreciate what and who we have in our lives, and to never let the praises of others fail to pass our lips.

Thanks to all for the wonderful prayers and words of kindness.

God Bless,

Jim

[Textide]

I made a promise to my father on Father's Day this year that I'd never take another puff off of a cigarette. Shortly after quitting, there were strong urges, but thinking of that promise to my Dad was always enough to stop me. It's been six months and there are no cravings.

Maybe your boyfriend can try something like that to help him quit. It took something as strong as the love of a son for his father for me to stop. It's one hell of an addiction.....

[reagan_fanatic]

Wow. What a fantastic and beautiful tribute to this man! I take great comfort that he has made his peace with God - out of all the decisions we make in life, that is by far the most important one.

May the good Lord take this dear man into his arms and wipe away his pain and suffering.

[Constantine XIII]

prayer bump