Posted on 11/17/2004 6:57:42 AM PST by 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
The Lord be with you Chip. I pray that you go into the presence of God with ease of heart and mind.
You have left a beautiful statement of great dignity.
Prayers for this freepers comfort and for his family.
May God Bless him and welcome him home.
In addition to the devotional instruction we can gain from this moving account, we also gain a view into the nature and potential of this site in general. I have long held that the fellowship of participants, across all spectrum of belief and views, is the most powerful thing here.
In part, the strength, as shown here, also can explain, and perhaps mitigate the reaction to, the often troubling depth of feeling on disputes as well.
May God send His angels of comfort and peace to loved ones and family as Jesus wraps His arms around kixx.
Prayers
May God give him peace and comfort. God Bless.
A beautiful testimony. Thanks so much for sharing Chip's letter with us.
May God welcome him home with loving arms, and may He bless and comfort all of his friends and family.
Extra prayers for your daughter's continued recovery.
The converse as well...Don't Go without God. (Prayers forthcoming.)
Prayers of comfort and strength for your family, my friend.
Blessings, Mel
What a beautiful expression of this mans faith.
This is my first post although I have been lurking for several years.
My soninlaw is also terminal with lung cancer, we got the news in July and it has been a heartbreaking time for all of us.We are praying he will live until Christmas. He and my daughter have 3 young children, the baby, not a year old yet.
Our only comfort is that he too has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and he has peace, but the saddness is sometimes unbearable.
Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone. My prayers go out to Chip, his family and the little girl too.
Bump and a prayer.
Three years after my husband had quit a 3 pack a day habit his lung suddenly collapsed. He ended up having half his lung removed. He spent a month and a half in the hospital. The surgeon told me he had never seen a worse lung in his life. My son is 22 years old and just started smoking. I pray he will quit.
My prayers for his family.
I am reminded of how very lucky I was to have had two teenage daughters who hounded me relentlessly to give up "those stinky cigaretts".
Pray for W and Kixx
Prayers on the way for a good transition from this life to the next
My late Father told me once that a man must spend most of his life worrying about living well, but then must spend the last part of it dying well. Your words are an inspiration to us all and if I may be so forward, you are showing God's purpose in your conduct.
God Speed to you and may we meet some day in a better place.
John aka Redleg Duke
My goodness. What a strong, courageous gentleman Chip is. He has taken the right road in believing he is going to a better place and yes...he will be joined again by his loving family and friends. The peace he experiences now makes sense. He has nothing to fear and looks forward to meeting his God and will wait until it is time for his loved ones to join him. I can certainly see how he would feel the peace from within.
I pray for him and I pray for the little girl that she will be cured and live out a healthy, happy life.
Prayers for them both. Strong and courageous both of them as well. He will be missed by his family and his friends and yes, they will all grieve but because they miss him. They know he will be in a special place and for that I know they will be thankful. But...us humans still cry even when we know something or someone is better off. It's those tears and that terible ache in our heart that help us to heal.
So, whenever God sees fit to call Chip home...we should rejoice that he is more than ready to go and that he will be free of all pain and suffering.
God bless you Chip...we don't know you but you are an inspiration to others and obviously someone who loves and cares deeply to be able to comfort family and friends at this most difficult time in your life.
God speed on your journey home.
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