from Heaven4sure.com
updated February 14, 2009
Battling Cancer
Patrick Swayze is Scared. Paul Prins is not.
Actor Patrick Swayze has Stage IV pancreatic cancer and things aren’t looking good. Recently he told Barbara Walters of ABC: "You can bet that I'm going through hell and I've only seen the beginning of it." (1)
Something’s Wrong
It was New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2007 and Patrick Swayze knew inside something was wrong. The champagne he was drinking was like pouring acid in an open wound. Days into 2008 he noticed more problems. “I started thinking, I'm getting skinny,” Swayze said and he continued: “I dropped about 20 pounds in the blink of an eye. And then when you see it in the mirror, when all of a sudden, you pull your eyes down and the bottom of your eyes go yellow and jaundice sets in -- then you know something's wrong. I started doing a little research and started realizing this is not pretty. This is not a good thing." (2)
Fame and Success
Patrick Swayze has a huge fan base. He’s starred in movies since the 80’s when he was catapulted into stardom with his lead role in Dirty Dancing in 1987. That movie became the first film to top 1 million in video sales. In 1990, he became more famous when he starred with Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost. In 1991, the People magazine listed him as ‘Sexiest Man Alive’.
Bad News
Over the years Patrick Swayze had a string of successes. And then the bump. The bad news. His wife of 33 years broke the news to him as he was recovering from a medical procedure. Determined to press on, in July 2008 Swayze started filming a new TV series ‘The Beast’ which made its debut in January 2009.
The Other Side - Scared
As for his cancer and the future, he told Barbara Walters: "I don't know what's on the other side. It tests everything I believe in … that there is something unique in all of us that does not, does not die." Walters asked Swayze if he was scared. "I don't know. I will be so either truthful or stupid as to say no. But then I immediately, when I say that, I have to say yes, I am." (3)
If you had to face the prospect of cancer ravaging your body and of ‘not making it’ would you be scared? If the reality of ‘the other side’ gripped you, how anxious would you be? If you hit the bump – if you got the crushing news how would you deal with it? Swayze told Walters: ‘You can bet that I’m going through hell and I’ve only seen the beginning it.” How do you think you would face terminal cancer?
Paul Prins' 49th Birthday Present
The same year – 2008 someone else hit the bump. It was a cold blizzardy night when Paul got the news. In fact, the life-altering news collided with his 49th birthday – February 12, 2008.
Paul Prins of Sarnia, Ontario (Canada) first visited a chiropractor for his painful back and ribs. Later a doctor ordered a CAT Scan and said: “I want to find out whether this is pneumonia or cancer.” Paul turned to his wife Stacey and said: “Did he say ‘cancer’?” And yes, it was lung cancer. Paul reacted to the news with acceptance and peace. “God’s will be done.”
Telling their Kids
It was hard telling their five children. There were tears and sobs. Paul prayed. Stacey and Paul assured the kids that God was in full control. “Our God has seen something more in you and in us than we can see ourselves - something special to be able to take this on. God knows we can face this with His help and no matter what, we have to give Him the glory.”
Enjoying the Lord
With chemotherapy, Paul was given 8 to 10 months to live. Throughout 2008, Paul read his Bible often and prayed frequently – spending every spare minute just talking to his Lord. Paul’s analogy was: “I’m just a passenger in the backseat; the Lord is doing the driving.” In the middle of the night, when his sleep was interrupted, he would list all the blessings for which he could thank God. After praying for his family, he would sit through the day and pray for his friends and their life situations.
Heaven is Near
The months have slipped by. It’s now 2009. The cancer has spread to Paul’s brain and further into his bones. He no longer has his driver’s license. He’s more forgetful and unsteady on his feet and very tired. His hearing is going and his eyesight is getting worse. Now he puts on the light, wears his reading glasses and picks up his Bible every morning and afternoon to read. Stacey said: “He can’t get enough of God’s Word and it’s promises. Heaven is near.”
Paul has never felt closer to the Lord than now. He has a greater sense of what Heaven will be like – knowing the Lord more each day.
Basis of Paul’s Confidence and Optimism
Paul recently reflected on the red-lettered day in his life. On January 21, 1981, at the age of 22, after some wild living, alcohol and drugs he trusted Christ as his personal Saviour. He was reading John Chapter 3 in his Bible when he discovered that Jesus died for his sins.
“…all I had to do was look to the Saviour to take my sins away and save me. When my eyes were first opened to this revelation, the most joyous relief came to me in the fact that the Lord Jesus would die for me and my sins alone. It was incredible that He would do it just for me. I thanked the Lord right then and there for His Son and for showing Him to me. I knew I was saved.” Then Paul added: “I have never doubted my Saviour, although I have doubted myself and the way I have lived.”
Twenty eight years later, Paul is thinking about Heaven. Heaven is near. When asked recently how the last twelve months would have been without Christ he said: “Miserable. Alone and without hope. It is hard to imagine facing this alone and empty feeling…knowing this was a dead end trip.”
Paul Knows for Sure – Do You?
Paul knows where he is going. Heaven is his home. He doesn’t look over the ‘brink’ with fear. He’s suffering but he’s not going through Hell nor will he ever be in Hell. He’s sure of that. Christ is His Saviour. He knows he has eternal life. (1John 5:12-13)
The Lord said: “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Would you like to be sure of Heaven?
We would love Patrick Swayze to be at peace with God and to know the joy of sins forgiven. Our prayer is that, just like Paul Prins, Mr. Swayze too will be sure of Heaven. Are you interested in having eternal life?
For God so loved the world
That He gave His only begotten Son
That whoever believes in Him
Should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
We don’t know Patrick Swayze’s email address but if you would like to personally communicate with Paul and Stacey Prins they would be pleased to hear from you: staceyprins@yahoo.com
To read Paul and Stacey Prins’ salvation stories click here: http://www.heaven4sure.com/MeandGodQuestions/PersonalTestimonies/tabid/62/ctl/ArticleView/mid/405/articleId/560/Default.aspx
(1), (2), (3) Patrick Swayze Hospitalized With Pneumonia, January 09, 2009, http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Story?id=6613510&page=1
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