I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma under my thumbnail on July 21, 2021.  For those of you who have been following my cancer journey, you know that I am a surgeon who became at patient and then documented my journey in this blog.  After undergoing surgery, I completed a yearlong treatment plan of chemoimmunotherapy infusions, having completed my last infusion on June 29, 2022.  So far, I have remained free of any recurrent cancer, and my next set of comprehensive imaging studies are scheduled for January 26, 2023.

 For Christians like me, the Advent season, in preparation for Christmas, brings lots of emotions.  This past weekend, I was overwhelmed with many emotions, one of which was simply gratitude for another year.  My wife Kellee and I attended a Zach Williams concert this past Saturday, like the Zach Williams concert we attended a year ago, on November 28, 2021. However, the circumstances were very different a year ago: I was in the middle of chemoimmunotherapy infusions and had just been involved in an accident with broken ribs and a collapsed lung for which I spent 3 days in the hospital.  I was weak and barely able to even walk, but I was not going to miss Zach Williams, whose music had been so comforting to me during my treatment.

For those of you who know me well, you know I love the state of Tennessee and that I love music. Living in “Music City USA”, we have a great place to hear live music, and Kellee and I have taken full advantage of that this Christmas season. Music sometimes helps us see life through a different lens, giving us a different perspective. Kellee and I have been blessed this year by the hearts of entertainers we have heard this year. Starting the week of Thanksgiving, we heard Tracy Lawrence and friends at his annual Mission Possible Benefit concert. Tracy Lawrence has a big heart, and raises hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to help a population of people who are less fortunate. He believes that in the United States that no one, no matter what their circumstance, should go hungry or without a roof over their head. 

Next, we were in Las Vegas at the National Finals Rodeo, usually an annual trip for us. Kellee and I first started going with my buddy Daryle Singletary, a great singer and good friend who we lost in 2018… I still miss him dearly. In Vegas, we saw George Strait live. The lyrics of his song “I Saw God Today” always move me:

“I’ve been to church
I’ve read the book
I know He’s here
But I don’t look
Near as often as I should
Yeah, I know I should

His fingerprints are everywhere
I just look down and stop and stare
Open my eyes and then I swear
I saw God today”

On that same trip, we also attended an Aaron Watson concert, whom I have heard several times. He always talks about God in his concerts. He sang a song he wrote about one of the best bull riders ever, Lane Frost, who died in the arena at Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is called “July in Cheyenne (Song for Lane’s Momma),” and he shared that Lane’s mother’s best memory of Lane had nothing to do with bull riding, but about Lane’s decision to become a follower of Christ before he died.

Our musical journey this Christmas season continued this past week back in Nashville at Christmas at the Ryman with Amy Grant and Vince Gill. At one point, the whole audience stood up and sang Christmas hymns together at the “Mother Church” of Country Music.  Finally, we attended the Zach Williams concert this past weekend at the beautiful Fisher Center at Belmont University. Ben Fuller opened and shared his testimony.  Zach Williams always shares his testimony at the concerts we have attended. They both talked about finding God and their faith after trying just about everything else for satisfaction to no avail. But a unique event happened at the end of the concert. Celebrating the end of their tour, they closed with a Communion service for the whole audience and the band onstage. Wow!

All this is to say that I am grateful for another year, grateful for music, grateful for singers with big hearts, grateful for my health care providers, grateful for my family, and grateful for God who gives me peace and reassurance. Christians are far from perfect people, but we do have comfort in Christ who was born to live in perfection, and save us for from our sins, with the promise of an eternal life.  Christians come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, but really are together as one in the body of Christ. If you are hurting, suffering, feeling ashamed of your past, or whatever it is, just know that God is way bigger than all that, and can wipe it all away and give you peace and comfort.  This past Sunday, at Brook Hollow Baptist Church in Nashville, TN, Pastor Tom Gholson preached from Matthew 1:18-25, a passage where the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, told him not to be afraid, and revealed the coming birth of Jesus, Immanuel, “God with Us.” During the Christmas season, I choose not to live in fear as we celebrate the birth of Christ. 

Thanks for all the kind words and prayers. I will continue to keep you updated on my progress!