I still remember the look on the team doctor’s face when he announced that I had Multiple Myeloma, a deadly cancer that had claimed the life of my sister only four years prior. Up to that point I had been pretty lucky in that I had always been reasonably healthy. Now it looked like I would have to give up coaching. Worse yet, I probably had only two or three years to live.

Encouraging news

Things looked pretty bad, but my doctor told me not to worry about dying just yet. He prescribed a regimen of chemotherapy and arranged for a stem cell transplant. ‘That will keep you around for the next four or five years for sure,’ he said. ‘By then, they’ll have come up with some new things to help you. I was really encouraged by this news, especially once I found out I could keep coaching for the next two or three months.

Relying on God

It has been a year now since I was diagnosed with cancer. I am in remission and off all medication. The most important thing that got me through it all was my faith in God. There were many times I laid in the hospital wondering if I would ever get out. I would cry out to God and ask for His help and I always knew I could always rely on God.

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Suddenly finding out that you have cancer is tough. However, as a Christian, I know that no matter what I go through God is always with me. I know that if I trust in God then I don’t have to worry about the future because it is in His hands.

I have been a Christian since I was a young kid and I have always felt that death is not something to be afraid of. Knowing Jesus means that when I die I am going to heaven. I have a place to go when it is all over.

In tribute

About 1,400 mourners attended a 90-minute tribute to Roger Neilson, at the Northview Pentecostal Church in Peterborough, ON {Canada } on Saturday June 28th, 2003. The 69-year-old former NHL coach died on June 21st, after a 3 year battle with cancer.

In December 1999, he had been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and had a successful stem cell transplant in March 2000. He was also diagnosed in January 2001 with malignant melanoma, the worst form of skin cancer. Roger Neilson 1934 – 2003.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.