Some people come into your life even in a very short window of time, and they leave a deep and lasting impression. Sen and I met only 9 months ago and from the first moment, his resilient spirit immediately impressed me a person on a mission to beat this illness. Oh how he endured so much pain – yet with such grace. I held his hand once in the hospital and he asked about a band aid for a tiny, tiny cut on my thumb. Here he was with his entire body in the battle of this life and he had the sense to ask about my little thumb. You need to know I have zero pain tolerance (as my wife can gladly affirm). But where Sen get such a fighting, yet sensitive spirit? Some might attribute his Asian heritage. I think it just might be the green tea. Nearly every time I visited I was served green tea (a simple, yet nice reminder now of Sen??)

 

While his lymphoma eventually cut his life short, in no way did the cancer either define his life nor defeat his spirit. And Sen fought so very, very hard. He fought for his two sons. I remember visiting Sen only as the secondary point of interest in the room while Sen played Sabastian in a competitive game of chess. Sometimes graciously losing. Or I would ask about Edmund and get a full-on description of his ever improving basketball skills. He was so very proud of both of you, two.

For Ning, his loving wife – whose determination found the Car-T treatment in Seattle which likely served to extend their time with precious days, weeks and months together. I was so very impressed by Sen's sisters - Rong who flew from China to donate her bone marrow. Theresa who spent months caring for her brother's daily needs. Sen loved his sisters so very much. For Ning's parents – lovingly serving the needs of the family. And he fought hard for sake of his own parents whom he held in great honor and we now extend our deepest wish for comfort as they grieve Sen's passing from across the ocean.

How did Sen Lin impact me? He helped me rethink my priorities. On one visit – after green tea – Sen said while he would not wish cancer on anyone, he appreciated the lessons it taught him. It humbled him to a place where his heart was tender – to see that being driven and obsessed with the pursuit of wealth and a successful career really didn't matter all that much. He said he gained a deeper love and appreciation for his wife and for the value of time – especially time with his sons – seeing that life is so very short. Sen would say that his cancer actually gave him the time to reconsider his life and, yes, even death.

Sen would look at me with an earnestness and ask “Teach me to pray!” Once on the hospital bed, Ning said, when you pray, Sen, think about when your boys would fall gently asleep on your shoulder. What a beautiful image of prayer. It's not about saying the right words or having all the right answers – it's about finding rest in your heavenly father's arms. The image gave Sen great peace. And me, too.

Yes, knowing Sen changed me as I watched him discover that God shows up in our suffering because in Christ, God suffered for all people including Sen, and made a way that Sen might know his life's purpose and identity as a child of God.

 

It was November 12 – just 5 weeks ago now, that Sen stood at this spot to be baptized. He said he was worried about saying the wrong thing. Well, he told his faith story in a way that caused many, including me, to unsuccessfully fight back tears. Later he said that as he knelt, his senses all but faded and it was almost like a death. A death to the old but a rebirth from within. That day, Pastor Doug quoted an ancient mystic saying that “one's death at baptism is the only death that matters.” Sen held on to those words as his condition quickly got worse the very next day – almost as if his body was striving to stay alive until Nov 12 th.

 

I'm so grateful for knowing Sen Lin. We laughed. We prayed. We drank a lot of green tea. And saw life from a new perspective with hope and a new faith that God loves us and wants us to enjoy God's presence in this life – and the life to come. Sen is now finally relieved of his suffering and sees Jesus face to face. This gives me hope. And as Sen quoted at his baptism from Romans 5 - “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint.”