A very dear friend of mine is currently in the fight of his life right now. Aaron Smith, high school friend, motorcycle riding buddy, and as of three years ago, brother in Christ, is battling advanced prostate cancer, which has spread into his bones and lower spine. It tears me up to see and hear him struggle in agony and exhaustion.
Aaron and I go way back, to our freshman year in high school, 1977. We met our first day of school. I had difficult middle school years, as many kids do, and my first day in high school was not starting well. I had no classes with my friends, and by 3rd period was hopelessly lost in the bowels of this huge new world called high school. Overwhelmed, I stood in the back corner of a bathroom, quietly sobbing, embarrassed to go any further. Suddenly, a blond-haired kid with braces and a 9th grade "bro-stache" walked in, looked at me and asked, "Dude, what's wrong?" I told him my dilemma, he looked at my schedule and replied, "Hey, you're in my class! C'mon, I'll take you there." No ridicule, no ignoring, he just offered help. His name was Aaron. He was the first friend I made in high school.
We stayed friends, but our lives took different paths toward the end of our school years. His parents divorced, and Aaron sank into many of the pitfalls that so many teens succumb to. I came to Christ by 11th grade, and got very involved in church. After our school days, Aaron joined the Air Force and found an aptitude for flying. He later became an airline pilot, living the "glamorous" jet-setting life for the next several decades. I went to college and seminary, got married, started a family, and pursued a calling of serving God in full-time ministry. Except occasionally at class reunions, we lost contact with each other.
Our paths crossed again almost 4 years ago, when through another old high school friend, Pat Davis, we reconnected on Facebook. The three of us began meeting up and going on motorcycle rides, and spent much time talking and catching up with each other's lives and experiences. They both knew I had become a Christian back in school and was a minister now, and we shared many conversations about spiritual things. The years and the miles apart had made all three of us very close once we reconnected.
One Sunday afternoon, I got a call from Aaron, who said with a wavering voice, "Rob, I have something to tell you. I've been going to Dr. Stanley's church, First Baptist Atlanta, for the past month, and this morning I gave my life to Christ! I wanted you to be the first to know." Words can't describe the joy I felt, and I choked up with emotion. Within a couple of months, I had the privilege of baptizing Aaron, at FBCA, with his mom, sister, Pat & Karen, and other family and friends all present. In the years since then, I've seen Aaron grow in Christ dramatically, devouring God's Word, getting involved in ministry at his new church, and sharing his new-found faith in Christ with people at every opportunity. We have continued to take motorcycle road trips together, enjoying our renewed friendship and shared faith after all these years.
I got a call from him last month, beginning almost the same way one did over three years ago- "Rob, I have something to tell you..." What he told me this time made my heart stop. "I have prostate cancer. It's highly advanced, stage 4, and I'm scared." I was stunned. Not Aaron! The last few years flashed through my mind. We prayed together, shed some tears together, and I pledged, along with Pat, to do whatever possible for him as he goes through this fiery trial. After a battery of tests and scans, the cancer has been found in his bones as well, the pelvic region, in his lower spinal vertabae, and now his liver. The outlook is bleak, the road long and torturous.
Aaron is considering his options, looking at various treatments and aggressive measures, even considering natural approaches such as macrobiotics. My aunt Judy is a 21-year stage 4 cancer survivor, and I've put them in contact with each other. God only knows where this will all go, what the outcome will be.
So I'm praying for my friend and my brother, asking God for his healing and wholeness. I'm reminded how fragile and short this life is, "like a vapor" as the Bible states. God has not promised us smooth sailing and clear skies in this life, but no matter what we face, He promises us His presence and grace. And whenever our end here is, those of us who know Him and have entrusted our lives to Him await the promise of the real life to come, never to struggle and suffer again. That is our great hope. That is Aaron's great hope. That is my great hope.
Pray for Aaron- my friend, my brother in Christ.