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When I drove back alone Thursday night after hearing the news, I spent a lot of time on the cell phone. I thought my heart had been completely ripped out that afternoon, but apparently there was some remaining because more was ripped out when my friend Bill told me that Al Groves had recently been told that his melanoma had spread to his lungs and that the doctors said it was incurable. Al got his news just two months before I got mine.
Al was a professor of mine at WTS. We have grown to be friends as he suffers from fibromyalgia, which drains him of energy as it does Christine, and he has been a faithful supporter of mine in prayer over my trial with cancer. Now we have more in common than either of us had hoped. I cannot tell you how encouraging it was today to talk with this brother who, due to his own trial, personally understands my situation and speaks with such wisdom to my situation as a friend.
He has a great balance of heart and mind in his service to the church. He has been a pastor as well as teacher and theologian. I had sometimes entertained the idea that I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Now he is applying his theology to suffering with cancer. Following him there wasn't what I had in mind!
Like me, Al has been keeping a blog. (www.algroves.info). I love one of the stories on the blog: Al is surrounded by a wonderful circle of friends and family. So when he was unable to walk due to chemo symptoms, the call went out for wheelchairs. This was the result.
Posted by Greg at March 25, 2006 12:25 PM | Comments (2)