the hits kept coming
THE HITS KEPT COMING…Bronwen’s first person narrative of her Unfinished journey
On August 16, 2022, Chuck was hospitalized for multiple symptoms that didn’t make sense. Test results were all over the place. All we knew was that Chuck’s gallbladder needed to be removed.
Chuck and I had been praying all summer about how we would be involved in the Unfinished initiative, and this unexpected hospitalization took us by surprise.
My husband, Chuck, and I first heard about the Unfinished initiative in May 2022. We heard about the plans for each campus and were challenged to participate. So, that’s when our conversations really began.
Immediately I had a number in my head about how much we should commit to Unfinished. My husband, on the other hand, wasn’t sure. He was looking at things from every angle, considering all the what-ifs. We continued to go back and forth on a number through all of June and July.
What was our number? What would we give? We had no idea how God would lead us.
Family came and went that summer. We spent the last two days of July with my brother’s family on a pontoon boat on Long Lake (Minnesota). And we still debated – what was our number? What would we give? We had no idea how God would lead us.
The morning of Chuck’s gallbladder procedure I received a call from his brother informing me that their mom had unexpectedly died. I headed to the hospital and kissed him as he went into surgery, dreading what I would have to tell him when he came back to the room.
When the surgeon came out he informed me that we were dealing with stage 4 metastatic esophageal cancer. Like Gene has said, “ The hits kept coming.”
In the coming weeks we were in and out of the hospital. I remember one day driving in the car, Chuck told me that he truly felt that the Hand of God was working in our lives.
You see, the inheritance Chuck received from his mom, if tithed, was the exact amount of money that I had in my mind for Unfinished, and it also happened to be the amount that Chuck had in his mind.
He simply said, God is at work through all of this. We decided to give with a joyful heart and praise Him even in this hard time.
Chuck died in November 2022, and I still felt God’s hand at work. I decided to walk in faith, and be grateful for the unknown journey. Gene spoke at Chuck’s service. He spoke about Faith, Hope, and Love. It was exactly what Chuck wanted people to hear! Our worship team lead the most amazing praise time. Chuck planned the entire service before he died and wanted it to be a clear statement of his beliefs.
Even though Chuck’s journey is finished, I choose to walk in faith, and I’m grateful for the unknown, unfinished journey. My name is Bronwen, and I am unfinished.