The Last and the First

By Matt Branum

It was a year of firsts and lasts. In January 2004, my wife and I moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota to plant a church, a first for us. We were also expecting our first child, and purchased our first house. And if that wasn’t enough, our daughter was born eleven weeks early, at two and a half pounds, and spent the first 7 weeks of her life in the NICU, 45 miles from home. In September, we launched our church plant. Then, two months later, my 63-year-old dad was diagnosed with advanced cancer. When December came, we decided that we would spend Christmas with my family in Minnesota, as we had no idea how many more we might have with my dad.

The day before we were to fly out, our daughter came down with a fever. Concerned it might be influenza, which could be detrimental to my immune compromised father, we made a quick visit to the doctor. The rapid test showed negative, and we were cleared to go. So, it was off to the airport. It was our daughter’s first flight.

All went well on our flight, and my brother picked us up at the Minneapolis airport and drove us to my mom and dad’s. As we entered the house, we noticed how my dad looked like he had aged 20 years from the chemo and radiation treatments. We had not even gotten our shoes off when my wife’s cell phone rang. It was the clinic. The twenty-four-hour test came back positive, our daughter had influenza. 

Overwhelmed with concern for Dad’s health, we immediately voiced plans to leave. It was then that Dad spoke up, insisting that we stay. He was determined to spend this Christmas with his family regardless of the risk. In hindsight, I think he knew this would be his last Christmas.

Christmas Day came, and the house filled with family as Dad sat quietly in his chair soaking in every moment. There was more food than humanly possible to eat, a Christmas tree with a lifetime of decorations, gifts spilling out from underneath, and there was laughter as we reminisced of Christmases past. I remember at one point looking over and seeing a slight smile in his tired eyes as he watched his granddaughter celebrate her first Christmas.

As I reflect on that Christmas, my dad’s example continues to teach me, that in life and in ministry, more often than not, the risk is worth it!

Matt Branum is a church planter and minister of North Point Christian Church in Spearfish, SD.