Scottie

In February of 2004, while living in PA, I made a trip out to Bloomington, MN to be the speaker at a combined youth group ski trip. At the time of the ski trip, I was under all kinds of personal mental anguish. Back in PA, I had a contract sitting on my desk that needed to be signed in a week or I was out of a job in three months. My dilemma was I sensed God was asking me to begin working for Consumed Ministries full-time. The problem with that scenario is Consumed had about this much money ---- $0. After a few unsuccessful trips down the bunny slope, I found myself in the ski lodge talking to a man I just met named Scottie. Scottie is the type of guy that almost immediately you feel you can share anything with him...so I did. I told him about the decision I needed to make. I shared this information with him while spattering it with "spiritual" language like "God is big," and "He can do anything," etc. I'll never forget what Scottie said to me that day. "You know Jamie. People say God is a big God and He can handle anything until it comes to finances...then God isn't quite as big anymore." At that moment, while I looked into the eyes of Scottie, I knew what the decision was. I went back to PA, pushed that contract away, and chose the unknown financial future over the comfort of the guaranteed contract. God spoke to me personally through Scottie. That conversation was one of the most influential conversations of my life. At that time, in February of 2004, I didn't know I would end up living in Minnesota and having the privilege of getting to know Scottie and his family more. He has been a wonderful friend to my family and an incredible ally to Consumed Ministries. Tomorrow morning, Scottie will have surgery to remove the cancerous tumor on his pancreas. 95% of pancreatic cancer is inoperable. Scottie falls into the 5% that is. The surgery itself is very extensive and will most likely last all day. As I was thinking about Scottie tonight, his words to me that freezing cold day in February came back to my mind with a slight switch in words. "You know, people say God is a big God and He can handle anything until it comes to cancer...then God isn't quite as big anymore." I'm confident tonight Scottie knows God is big enough. He wouldn't believe it any other way.