Make Every Day Countಮಾದರಿ

Take Each Day as It Comes

My wife Lindsey’s cancer journey wrecked me in the best way. I’d always believed I had broad shoulders and resilience, but I realized this wasn’t about me—it was about her. With my neck injury and recovery and getting let go by ESPN, those were my battles. I couldn’t fix Lindsey’s cancer diagnosis, and I couldn’t make her better. My initial reaction was that I wanted the cancer. Give it to me. I want to fight it. God reminded me: “She’s mine before she’s yours.”

Each morning, I reminded myself, “I’ve trained my whole life for this season. I’m strong enough because God is my source of hope and true love.”Without daily prayer and time in the Word, I would have fallen apart watching Lindsey struggle.

One of the most amazing accounts from the Bible that stuck with me during this time was Simon of Cerene, which documents Jesus’ purple robe, and the mockery and beatings he endured during his journey to the cross. As Roman soldiers were marching the badly beaten Jesus to the site of his crucifixion in Golgotha, which was just outside Jerusalem, the weight of the cross he was carrying became too much.

The soldiers found Simon of Cerene, an onlooker in the crowd. Simon of Cerene’s two sons, Alexander and Rufus, watched how their father literally carried the burden of Christ in one of the most important moments in history. That’s our lives in so many ways. At some point, you’re going to be forced to pick up a cross you didn’t ask for, one you don’t want, and then you have a decision to make.

Simon of Cerene’s two sons were standing right there, watching how he carried a cross that wasn’t his. You better believe people are watching you too, especially your kids. How are you going to carry that cross? You didn’t choose it. You might not think it’s fair. It’s been put on your back, however, so how are you going to react?

It has been an amazing experience for our family to learn that every day is a gift. Sometimes we take that gift for granted. Lindsey has taught us to take every day as it comes and to make it count. Tomorrow’s irrelevant, yesterday’s in the past, and today is all we have. I think her continuing to walk out her faith, remaining positive, and loving everyone around her is contagious. It’s making our family better every day, and I think it’s going to make our community better because she’s going to continue to impact people. She’s already started a cancer ministry, reaching out to people who are fighting the disease and need support.

If that’s not every day counts, I don’t know what is. That’s exactly what it is, that’s what we want it to be, and what we want it to stand for.

Thank you for reading!

This plan was adapted from Every Day Counts by author David Pollack with Mark Schlabach. Click here to learn more or purchase your copy.