On this day one year ago, I was wheeled into the operating room at 8am. It was a Monday morning. I woke at 8:30pm, one-lunged. The nurse called Joanne so I could talk to her for a moment. I made a joke, but I can't remember if it was funny.

That day was the culmination of a whirlwind of activity and uncertainty. Almost two weeks before, I had booked a same-day flight to Toronto on my doctor's advice. We spent those weeks making travel plans for Joanne and the kids. Some days were pretty quiet. I spent one Saturday making pasta sauce for dinner (it turned out great). Other days were pretty hectic, like the day I asked every car rental place in Toronto whether they had any eight-seater vans. All but one of them put me on hold, then came back with a question: "Would a seven-seater be ok?" Afraid not.

When the family arrived, we had a weekend together before the surgery. At church that Sunday, we sang "He Will Hold Me Fast" during communion, and I felt in my bones that it was true. That night, before hugging the kids goodnight and saying goodbye for (we hoped) a little while, we sang Psalm 103 together. "All your sins the Lord forgives," we sang, "all your sicknesses he heals." We were praying for healing in the short-term, but whatever happened, we could be certain of healing in the long-term, because sarcoma is no match for the grace of resurrection life, the inheritance of all who trust Christ's gospel promises.

One year later, these memories and countless others are crowding our minds and spilling over into conversation. I was told that it would take about a year to recover from surgery, and that has turned out to be true. Recovery has not happened in a straight line, but I have clearly made progress. First, daily walks by Lake Ontario, then some setbacks during summer rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. In August it was time to start training, and I immediately gained a new appreciation for very small weights! I'm still training these days, and the weights have increased a bit.

My hair has been an amusingly accurate indicator of each stage. I embraced baldness at the start of 2024, and then in April my hair came back quite black. Baldness returned in July with new rounds of chemo, until about September. This time my hair was dark brown and curly, and it gradually grew into a look that has been compared to Keith Green. I finally got a proper haircut a couple weeks ago, and it is safe to say that I'm still making progress in this department as well!

Today, our family is taking a little time to remember God's goodness through this past year. That includes all of you, whose prayers, love, and help got us through this challenge. As Psalm 103 says: "Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits."

In that spirit, you are all invited to a celebration this summer. It will be here in Sunnyvale on Saturday, July 19. It will be my 35th birthday party, and also a way to celebrate a full year since the end of my treatment. The main event will be a concert. One of our family's favorite musicians, Wendell Kimbrough, has agreed to come and sing!

We first discovered Wendell's music when he released "Psalms We Sing Together" (that's a Bandcamp link, but he's also on Spotify and Apple Music). These are wonderful folk settings of various psalms. Our favorite, Eternal Weight of Glory is based on passages from 1 & 2 Corinthians, which reveal our resurrection hope:

All our pains will be transfigured, Like the scars of Christ our Lord. We will see the weight of glory, And our broken years restored.

You are all invited! At your convenience, please fill out this very simple RSVP.