Back on the field again...

I'm back. Well, I never really went anywhere, but you may have noticed a huge gap between this and my last post back in March. A lot has happened in that time. I moved to a new job and home. And in the midst of that, my 5-year-old son, Caleb, was diagnosed with cancer. With that, everything stopped. Paintball, the blog, anything of lesser importance - and that's about everything. He just finished his last round of chemotherapy and is doing amazing.

He had what was called a Wilms tumor. It's a tumor that develops on your kidney. It and his kidney was removed. The kidney was very large and the surgeon had to cut him from his right side, half way across to his left side. Caleb calls the scar his "line." He's very proud of it. I told him that not many people get a line like his. He likes to show it to people.

You know, since this happened, I've had a lot of time to think about life in general.

We play paintball often as a testosterone catharsis. We love the rush of the challenge and fight. But when you face something big - in real life - you realize that life is the real challenge and fight. And you realize how weak we really are - how utterly dependent on God. We see that we really can't do anything without His grace, help, and guidance.

Why did God let my son get cancer? You know, I have never asked that - not even once. What does it matter, really? Isn't God still God? Doesn't He still love me, my wife, and Caleb. Didn't Jesus die for Me and my family's sins? Of course. Instead, we kept our eyes fixed on our precious Savior and asked for His Grace every day. And He gave it to us in huge doses - everyday.

I'm so thankful for God's grace. Because of Him, Caleb is strong, vibrant, and healthy. And some day, I will have the pleasure of rushing enemy bunkers and holding the left flank with Caleb at my side.