My Dad the Encourager

By Stephanie Snyder

My dad was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer my freshman year in college. It was out of the blue the day before finals started my fall semester and I received a phone call from my mom that said they had just come from the hospital and that my dad found out he had a T3 tumor, an advanced form.

My life screeched to a halt. I completely tanked all my finals, withdrew from my new relationship with a boy I had just started dating, and completely avoided interaction with my friends. I was heartbroken and distraught.

I remember coming home that day to my dad and recall promising myself I had to stay strong and be the encouragement that he would need. I was running through my head all the things that must’ve been going through his. I came home ready to see my dad somber and sad, but to my surprise, he was smiling and gave me a great hug and asked me how I was doing!

The next 6 months were life changing for me. I was living at home as a commuter student at CNU. This was a blessing in that I was able to be home with my mom, dad, and little sister and was able to help take my dad to his treatments and cry and talk with my mom and sister.

The thing that surprised us all was how positive my dad was. Immediately after he found out he had cancer, he had a fighter’s spirit. Anyone who asked him how he was, he said God was good, life is good, and that even if he would not have chosen cancer, he knew it was God’s plan and there was a greater reason beyond our own understanding. I saw how my dad used something that threatened his life to bring life to others.

While we tried our hardest to be encouraging to my dad, he turned out to be the encouragement for us. Everyday we wanted to cry and our spirits were down, he was the one to pray with us, to encourage us with scripture, and to lighten the mood with laughter. I remember that I had hit rock bottom and my saving grace was my dad. It has now been 5 years, and my dad is still cancer-free. I look at him everyday and reminded of what it is to live life fully, to fully trust God, and to always believe that God has a bigger plan than I can imagine.