I grew up in a Christian home. My parents took our family to Church and were active in our lives. Being a Gen X kid, maybe they weren't as present as today, but I was happy with the independence I had throughout my childhood.  I remember my Dad attending my little league baseball games. He would sit quietly in the stands and root for me. Occasionally, he would come out with us and shoot the basketball in our driveway "basketball court".  I remember my Mom playing hide and seek with me when I was around 5 years old. One thing that stands out in one of those games. She took off her slippers and stuck out her toes to make it look like she was hiding behind the wall. When I thought I had caught her and looked around the corner of the wall, I just saw her empty slippers. She would make chocolate chip cookies, where I would snatch a dozen and eat them with milk. For special occasions, such as birthdays, we would eat at Mario's Pizza in Galveston, TX. ​

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​I accepted Jesus at a relatively young age. I remember sitting in the pew when the pastor provided the salvation message, and that you could pray silently to accept Him. Then, he asked if anyone who accepted Jesus to come forward. I was too shy to come forward. I didn't tell anyone, and later my Dad arranged for his 3 boys to be baptized. I don't recall him asking much about when we accepted Jesus or the details of our salvation journey. I think he assumed, and I think later he regretted "pushing" us into getting baptized. Needless to say, I had assurance of my salvation for a period of time. But, as I got older, that began to fade. I remember in my early 20's I doubted my salvation many times. I probably prayed over a dozen times the sinner's prayer. I was baptized a second time, still without the assurance I was seeking. I lived my "Christian" life with doubt and uncertainty. I never felt comfortable giving my "testimony" with the doubts that always seemed to be there. I went to Church on Sunday and then kind of did my own thing.

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About 13 years ago, I got out of Church. This was a turning point for me. I felt somewhat "free". I didn't want to hear about going to Church or reading my Bible or doing the things "Christians" were supposed to do. I felt kind of relieved from all of this and not having to worry if I was "saved" or not. About 2 years ago, I turned into an agnostic. That agnosticism began to turn into atheism. I thought about throwing my Bible in the garbage. I was content with doing things "Jon's" way. I wasn't really happy, and this caused me to become less present in my family's lives. My wife and I struggled in our relationship, and I think we both contemplated divorce. We persevered even though we had our issues. My desires became my own as I spiraled to please myself.

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THEN, this past May '25, my life was completely flipped upside down. In the Spring, I developed a persistent cough. I thought it was seasonal allergies. In addition, I found myself getting off work and falling asleep on the couch. I was quite exhausted a bit. As the cough worsened, I went to the urgent care clinic. The clinic did X-rays and told me it was likely pneumonia. They provided me with an antibiotic and sent me home. The next night, I was violently coughing in my bed, and then I felt this intense pain in my back. I thought it was a pulled muscle due to the coughing, but my daughter immediately called 911.

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At the hospital, they began doing their test and found out that I had cracked 2 ribs in the posterior region of my back. They continued to treat me for pneumonia. The next day, the general hospital physician came to my bedside and told me something wasn't right and wanted my permission to run a CT Scan. I was fine with doing any test so that I could feel better. After the scan was completed, I received a message from the network's App. It had the results in medical terms, but I saw enough to know it was not a good report, and I knew I had cancer. The physician came in not too long after I read the results. As I was sobbing and on the phone with my wife, who was on her way back to the hospital, telling her I was going to die. The physician tried to reassure me that they didn't know for sure it was cancer, and they would have to do a biopsy. The next day, both the physician and pneomologist treid to calm me and say they didn't know for sure until a biopsy was done and would then go from there. About 2 hours later, an Oncologist came into my room and said, "Jon, you have cancer".  It wasn't rude or inappropriate. My wife said he had a tear in his eye when he told me. I was grateful that he was upfront with me and just told me. He didn't need to see a biopsy to know it was cancer. He is my Oncologist to this day.

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This brought me to a crossroads. What was I going to do? I believe God posed this question to me: Do you want to be bitter and live alone and die, or do you want to come back to me?  I quickly decided I did not want to live by myself and be bitter and angry in my remaining days. I prayed to God and repented. I asked God to forgive me, and I wanted to know him more than I had before. I believe God put this diagnosis in my path for me to make a decision. Not as a punishment, but to give me a chance to change the direction I was heading. After some time had passed, I noticed I had a peace I had never had before. This may seem odd, but I'm grateful for my diagnosis. I say this because it has turned me back to God and given me a peace that I can't explain. Would I like to be healed? Sure, if that's what God has in His plan for me. My #1 prayer request is that I know God as I have ever known Him before crossing over to Heaven. I want Him to use my life for His Glory. I know I can't make up for lost time, but I can use the time that God allows me to stay on this earth. I hope he lets me stay here for a while.

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