I’m writing this short article as a departure from my usual fare of book reviews and theological presentations. Several days ago, I came across a “tweet” on twitter (a microblogging service) pointing to the blog of a man named Dr. Dan Crabtree. According to his bio on the blog, Dr. Crabtree describes himself as a “Physician and friend to many wonderful people, Follower and servant of Christ, Elder of Tabernacle Church, Student and teacher of His Word, Lover of His people, Beneficiary of His mercy and grace. On January 23,2008 I was diagnosed with advanced stage IV Malignant Melanoma, forced to give up my practice, and currently under the care of the Melanoma Center at UVA”.
I read his latest blog post dated April 21st called THERRAPPY in which Dr. Crabtree describes his 6th gamma knife procedure, which he had undergone the previous day. I’ll let his blog article speak for itself rather than repeat his words, but he just seems like a person who truly lives out the heart of God and even when under dire circumstances, honors the life and will of Yeshua (Jesus) before all else. Reading of his amazing faith, I’m reminded of the prayer that Yeshua prayed at Gethsemane the night before his execution:
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” -Mark 14:32-36 (NIV)
“Yet not what I will, but what You will”. The words are haunting, not just because they were spoken by Yeshua hours before he was to be literally sacrificed as our “Lamb of God”, but because of all of the faithful people, including Dr. Crabtree, who have spoken them since. Our dear sister Cyndy Stucker might well have spoken those same words and truly, her heart was and is as faithful as Dr. Crabtree’s and as Yeshua’s. There are many other friends and loved ones among our congregation who have left us, who were of the same spirit. We mourn their lost, sit shiva for our departed, and await our reunion with them in the Messiah.
Dr. Crabtree is still here. He’s still living his life faithfully. He still exhorts the rest of us to a life of faith, just as Cyndy did, just as Naomi did, and just as Darlene describes how her sister-in-law Christie did before she was taken. I write this in the hopes that we’ll all take a moment out of our lives to stop and consider people like Dan Crabtree, Cyndy, Naomi, Christie, but mostly, Yeshua, our Savior, Master, Shepherd, and Lamb. In the midst of our own very human struggles and heartaches, I hope they can be an inspiration to us as to what it really means to live a life of faithfulness.
Blessings.
