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Words always fascinate me. They can mean a number of things, all seemingly different, and, yet, oddly the same. One word that has interested me recently is the word, "terminal." While many of the applications refer to boundaries and beginning or end points, one refers to an assemblage of facilities for repair, maintenance and care of trains. As a former model railroader I had a terminal on my layout where I parked my engines and extra cars. It was representative of those units receiving care so they could continue to function as they were intended.

In the past few weeks I have become acquainted with another meaning of the word which is not quite so hopeful and encouraging. That meaning is "occuring at or causing the end of life." One and a half years ago I had surgery to remove a cancerous growth in my esophagus. This esophageal cancer resulted in the removal of eight inches of my esophagus and a large portion of my stomach. Through follow-up CTscans I was assured that there was no cancer in my body. The surgery, as well as the radiation and chemotherapy which preceded it, were successful.

On January 12, I went in for a routine endoscopy and esophagus dilation. My gastroenterologist, a wonderful man named Earl Robbins, discovered a growth in my stomach which distressed him terribly. Following the endoscopy he informed my wife and me that he had biopsied the growth and was 99% sure it was cancer. Two days later we were at my oncologist's office where Dr. Scott Pierce delivered the news, the cancer was indeed back. A pet scan was ordered for that Friday and the following Monday, January 19, with my family around me, Dr. Pierce gave us all the bad news. "It's terminal," he said.

"It is appointed for man once to die and then the judgment." Hebrews 9:27 That I have been dying since the day I was born was a given. However, to be told that the time of my death is now a matter of maybe a year and a half and perhaps even less than six months, well, that's a horse of a different color. All those things that were "someday when I have the time" are now, "wow, can I get these things done?" While I pray everyday for God to heal me, I pray harder for God to give me the strength to continue on and do what He has called me to do; to carry my cross with purpose and dedication.

There are things for which I beg of Him to give me the time I need to do them. The most important things relate to people and their need for a savior. How many people have you personally reached with the gospel of Christ? Not your church, or your family, or your small group; but YOU. Do you think you have time? So did I at one point. "Behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2 If immediacy was important for us and our salvation, did salvation's necessity suddenly diminish because it was now someone else's need and not ours? The world is terminal, and they could be eternally so if we do not shoulder the immediacy of salvation. Either we reach the world now, or they may enter eternity facing an everlasting terminal condition. It's up to us. Do you think you have more time than me?

"Voice of Inspiration" from Andy Castro

Drumbeat of Darkness-Drumbeat of Destiny