Last night we attended a fund raiser for friends of ours who suffer from Lyme Disease. Some other wonderful friends of theirs took on this project of helping them raise money by having a concert and a silent auction. They raised over $30, 000 so I think it was a huge success - including one little boy who dumped his whole piggy bank for this family.... so sweet.
This family has to go down to the states for their treatment as, no joke, many doctors in Canada do not believe Lyme exists. They are Lymeists (I just made that up.... it means they do not believe in Lyme, you know, kind of like atheist...!). Any treatment done in the States is going to be expensive, so off they have to travel this June. It will cost them nearly $300,000. It was our pleasure to be a part of helping, however small.
This family of two boys are a small group of geniuses.... literally - both parents have their doctorate degrees and both sons have been diagnosed as prodigies. One is an artist, Josh Tiessen, known by Robert Bateman himself and I believe the other, Zac, is a composer if I remember correctly. They are well known in the art community and the homeschool community as they homeschooled both their children. Yeah! It always helps to meet a few home schoolers that are successful along the way!
Yet, who has $300, 000 lying around.... not many. As a believing family, they have had to rely on the Lord for years now. Through misdiagnosis, after misdiagnosis, doctor after doctor, no work, no income, not too mention all the Lyme symptoms.... they've relied on the Lord for all these years and are a testimony to those who know them.
The devotional readings from this week have been about standing firm and waiting for the "deliverance the Lord will bring you today." Cowman writes, "despair will come, whispering 'give up - lie down an die'. But even in the worst of times, God would have me be cheerful and courageous, rejoicing in His love and faithfulness." That's what I saw last night in this family... cheerfulness and courage, in the face of despair and an amazing sense of unity amongst them.
But now, I must talk about the acts we saw. Oh my - I loved them. Jacob Moon and Desire (a U2 Tribute band). They were absolutely fantastic and were such an inspiration.
Watching Jacob Moon was like watching my husband. That might not make sense, but Jacob Moon is a one-man band - just like my husband is a one-man show with his business. Moon puts on the most amazing show and has to be one of the most talented musicians I know. He uses his musical equipment in such a way that it sounds like 4 artists are on stage with him. He creates "loops" that play while he is singing that he can turn on and off as if there is a bass player or a drummer or another guitarist. It is a marvel to watch, so impressive. It must take a ton of practising to get that all right, all the time. Not only that, he mans his own booth after the show. He clearly has taken the time to create marketing material, websites, t-shirts.... He has 9 cds that all take time to produce. He does all his own take down and set-up (or so it seems). And through it all, writes songs that are from the heart that could move you to tears.
I was so encouraged to think about it later. There are probably people in Jacob's life that say to him, "Don't you think you should hire a drummer?" "How can you do all that on your own?" "You should consider hiring some of that work to others so you don't have to do it all yourself. You're just going to tire yourself out." These are all things my husband has heard many times over the years and yes, I'm sure Jacob Moon does hire photographers and t-shirt makers. Obviously he doesn't do that himself, but for the most part he does everything and manages to do it all well. My husband also has sub-contractors for a lot of his work as he also can't do everything himself, but for the most part, he does everything himself, from his own website, to marketing materials, to manufacturing in our shop..... you name it, he does it. But, when you do it all yourself, you don't have to pay anyone! Therefore the money stays in our bank account! We don't have to share it! The pros and cons are definitely there, but for the most part, any "con" is quickly turned to a "pro" when we analyze the results of bringing others in.
I wish I could meet Jacob Moon's wife. She is probably his biggest advocate. Yet, she probably needs to be his biggest encourager, too, as, no doubt, he fights discouragement, as does my husband. Many people have never heard of Jacob Moon - how can this be? He's amazing! It's because he's a decidedly Christian artist and in the secular world it is just harder to be successful. It is harder to "make it". I'm sure he is providing for his family, but perhaps they aren't swimming in money. I'm sure he wishes he could be more well-known just as sometimes my husband wishes he were more successful at times. Perhaps to Jacob's wife, and even to me to some extent, it seems unfair when we see how hard our husbands work. Jacob Moon is clearly very diligent. My husband is diligent. Yet God keeps both of us in this humble place.
I'm actually enjoying this place more and more as God continues to show us His faithfulness daily. As Cowman says in the remainder of that devotional, "The Lord's divine decree has commanded me to go from 'strength to strength'". So, even though my husband is the lead guitar, the bassist, the drummer, the sound guy, marketing guy, tech guy, set up/take down guy, we are ok with that. I feel like God allowed me to see Jacob Moon for that very reason last night. Moon had a contentment about him and all his songs talked about looking beyond, having an eternal perspective, asking the Lord to help us through each moment and yet living in each moment, seeing it as a gift.
I was so encouraged and will keep being my husband's biggest fan.
No comments:
Post a Comment