Bonds that can Never be Broken...

Many of you know Leigh Anne Brooks, and have read this already.  But for those of you who never had the blessing of meeting her, I wanted to post this in honor of her upcoming birthday.  Leigh Anne is now living with her Heavenly Father.  We miss her more every day.  This was written for a message I gave to teen students at a girl's retreat in 2009.

Her daddy’s princess and mommy’s little girl, Leigh Anne was born to her proud parents, Paul and Ann Sebert. She grew up in Orlando, graduated from Boone High School, and Florida State University.  She went on to teach at Orlando Christian Prep.

Leigh Anne married Dale Brooks in 1995, and wanted two things in life: to be a teacher and a mother.  God answered both of these prayers, and in September, 2001, she drove to Miami, FL to begin the adoption process for 2 month old William Paul Brooks (aka Will).

Dale became the Pastor of Avalon Church in June 2003, when Will was only two years old. Leigh Anne took on the role of Pastor’s wife with grace and confidence.

If you were around Leigh Anne for any length of time, you would find out a few things about her.  First of all, she was FUN.  She made everything she did fun and looked at everything with a sense of humor.  If Leigh Anne was there, you knew you were going to have fun.

She was also very competitive and hated losing. If you played a game with her, and she won, she was known to stand on furniture, point a finger at you and say, “YOU ARE the LOSER!!! I’m The WINNER I WON, I WON, I WON…!!!” 

Leigh Anne had a sweet spirit.  She loved her family more than anything. Her dad was her hero.  Her mom was her best friend. Even in high school, she never went through that stage of not liking her parents.  She honored them by loving them and not being embarrassed of them or ashamed.  As an adult, she put her husband and son first, while remaining close to her parents, and the rest of her family.

When Leigh Anne was only 35 years old, she was diagnosed with colon cancer that had spread to her liver.  The doctors told her at that point that they could do nothing to save her: there was no surgery to cure her, no chemo to make the cancer go away.  They told her she had no hope, but could undergo chemo treatments and possibly live another 14-18 months. 

Leigh Anne went home and immediately, with her husband, opened the Bible and poured over Scriptures and God’s promises to her and all believers.  The word HOPE became her favorite word; because where the medical field was giving her no HOPE, God was pouring HOPE in her soul continually: HOPE for healing, HOPE for more time, HOPE for a better life and future.

Leigh Anne underwent chemo treatments for 2 ½ years.  For a while, Leigh Anne was blessed to keep up a quality of life that only comes from God.  Some people that get the type of diagnosis Leigh Anne did would throw in the towel and give up.  Some would go ahead with the treatments but be depressed, complain about the pain, and make it all about them.  Not Leigh Anne.  She spoke at ladies retreats and meetings, not to give her personal testimony, but to point people to God.  She never shared from a public platform the details of her battle with cancer.  This was not because of shame or embarrassment: it was because she never wanted it to be about her, but about the God she served.

Leigh Anne was able to travel to Greece and Israel, run in two triathlons and numerous 5ks, all while battling cancer and undergoing chemo treatments.  Even in her weakness, God made her strong; physically and spiritually.

In June of 2008, God changed the course of Leigh Anne’s race once again.  Here is an excerpt from an email dated June 17, 2008:

Hey everyone,

Romans 5:3-5a is one of my very favorite passages of scripture.  It has become such a source of comfort to me these last two years.  It says, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us…”  I can rejoice because I know that suffering for the Christian is not meaningless and holds great value.  Well, God is going to allow more hope into my life.  J 

My latest CT scan showed, for the first time since I started treatment, “progression of the disease.”  While there did not seem to be more tumors found on my liver, some of the tumors that are still there increased in size.  While admittedly I was disappointed with the news, the fact is God is still on his throne, He is still in control and the size of those tumors did not surprise or shake him one bit.  J  Dale and I even talked last night that this was a wake up call for us.  I have felt (and still feel) both privileged and humbled by the fact that God chose me to run this race.  And to be honest, I am somewhat embarrassed of how I have so quickly and easily slipped into “marathon” mode - running my race with a steady, even, maybe even slow pace; when God has so clearly called me, at least for now, to a sprint.  I have spent too much time lately jogging with the pack and I am committed again to running a good race.

In the 12^th chapter of Hebrews it says, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  That is my prayer and what I would ask you to pray for me.

I have more faith and more hope than ever and I am still anxiously awaiting my healing miracle.  Until then, I will run my race with much more urgency and encourage you my sweet loved ones and friends to do the same.  I love you all and wish I could adequately express how much each one of you means to me. 

The summer of 2008 was full of pain and hardships for Leigh Anne. But she still did not complain; still did not lose HOPE; and still lived life.  She hosted the annual 4^th of July get together at her house, just like every other year.  She did not stop living, did not stop smiling and did not stop having fun.

The cancer continued to grow; the chemo stopped working.  By January of 2009, the doctors again gave her no HOPE.  And again, Leigh Anne turned to God.  Here is an excerpt from an email dated January 17, 2009:

Hey Everyone,

I wanted to give you all an update from my doctor’s appointment today.  According to my blood work, my tumor marker is up once again.  Which in the simplest of terms means this latest round of chemo did not work either.  My doctor no longer has any “tricks up his sleeve” and recommended today that I stop all chemo.  He encouraged us to research alternative methods and that he would be more than open to discuss them with us.  In the meantime, he will be searching for a clinical trial.

 With that said, the reality is, that tumor marker is nothing more than a number on a page.  It does not determine or impact my future, nor does it cause my faith to waiver.  My faith and hope are still found in God and He is still bigger than any of this, He is still on his throne and He is still in control.

 Recently, He has given me a peace about resting in Him.  This battle has never been mine to fight.  This is my opportunity to experience God in a greater way than I ever have before, to see Him work, to feel His love, comfort, peace and hope, and to hopefully be a testimony to just how awesome He is; but He never asked me to take this on myself and “fix” it.  And even though it is hard to admit, I have been wearing myself out trying to fix it.  (The illusion of control can be so strong sometimes.)  I’m tired, and ready to rest now.  I want to accept His invitation to just sit in His lap and watch Him go to work.  Please don’t misunderstand, I am in no way giving up, simply letting go. 

I’m not sure what God has planned, but I am excited to be a part of it.  And, thankful that you will be a part of it too.  I love you all and I am so thankful for your support, encouragement, love and most of all prayers.

I’m letting go,

Leigh Anne

As you can see, Leigh Anne never gave up HOPE: not one time.  In February, things again took a dire turn.  Leigh Anne’s liver was failing, and she was hospitalized.  The doctor told her she had one week to live; maybe two.  They sent her home to be more comfortable.  Three weeks after that, I wrote this on my blog:

I truly believe God still performs miracles, even when the situation seems hopeless. That is when His glory comes through. Everyone thinks it is impossible, but God comes through and proves them wrong. I hope in these times we give the honor where honor is due, and we don’t look to ourselves to be prideful.
As Leigh Anne lies in bed for the third week, some have given up hope for her. I can say that she has not given up hope. She is resting in God in a way I have never seen before. Her room is not a sad place to be. She is not worried, not depressed. She has been emotional at times, and the pain sometimes is hard to bear. In each moment, though, she has this faith that I cannot explain.
I was telling her Saturday about the Live Love conference we took our students to this past weekend. Her eyes lit up as she said, “Can you believe how big God is? Doesn’t it just blow your mind? Man, I wish I could have been there!”
Knowing Leigh Anne has not given up hope, how could I? If I truly believe God can do a miracle, that He works in impossible situations, I believe that if He so chose, she could be healed at this very moment.
He has already increased her days beyond what any doctor told her: when the prognosis was cancer, it was “let’s do what we can to keep you alive for 14 to 18 months.” 2 1/2 years later, she is still with us. Other times, they have adjusted the “time.” Most recently, two weeks ago, it was said you probably have a week…maybe two weeks. And here we are, two weeks later, and Leigh Anne is having a good day. She is making jokes and singing silly songs.
So this faith thing is awfully hard, and I know that Leigh Anne has it down. You see, she is going to be sad not to live, but she is not thinking God made some kind of mistake in allowing her to have cancer. She has never complained, but sees it as a blessing. And whenever she got a bad report, her faith never waivered. She believes God can heal her.

Time and time again, doctors gave Leigh Anne days to live.  Her family never stopped praying for that healing miracle; and neither did Leigh Anne.  And God did perform miracles for us, for Leigh Anne; he gave her 8 weeks when the doctors gave her one; He gave her time to talk to her loved ones and share cherished memories.  He gave her more time to laugh and smile and teach those of us around her again how incredible her faith was in God.

One day as I sat by Leigh Anne’s hospice bed in her home, she wondered out loud if she should be getting her “thoughts” together for a funeral for herself.  She then turned to my mom and I with tears in her eyes and said, “I just don’t want that day to be about me.”

Although this whole thing I have read has been Leigh Anne’s story, in honor of her, I don’t want you to walk away thinking of how great she was.  We are honoring her as a Modern Day Wonder Woman, and she really is.  But the reason for that is not because she had superhero strength.  She was a normal, everyday person just like you.  She loved shopping, loved watching Biggest Loser and American Idol, and her favorite place was the beach.  What made her a Wonder Woman is that she allowed God to work in her life, she trusted Him, never turned away, and was never mad at Him for giving her cancer. Instead, she saw it as a blessing. 

So how can you be a Modern Day Wonder Woman like Leigh Anne?  Realize what Leigh Anne realized a long time ago:

God is on His throne. 

Nothing surprises Him.

He is in control.

And although Leigh Anne is now resting with God in Heaven, I believe if she could talk to us tonight, she would say:

Run your race with much more urgency! And never, ever, ever stop HOPING in Him!