Real men…real discipleship
Blake Swoboda (MOBs)
My how the wheels of fortune turn. As most of us know, life can take a turn quickly for better or for worse. On March 10,2022, my life was literally flipped over on its side. My wife and I had just finished the Journey concert at the Houston Rodeo. We were crossing the street to get to my parked car when I turned to my right and saw headlights. I clenched my body and jumped as high as I could to absorb the impact as a red Mitsubishi hit me going about 45 mph.
My legs landed on the hood and my body was flung across the top of the car with my right shoulder going through the windshield and the right side of my head denting the top of the car. The car stopped and I rolled 10 yards down the street. My mind went dark. Three hours later I woke up in the cat scan tunnel in the hospital where the scan would later reveal stage 4 Lymphoma. With 3 fractured vertebrae, a traumatic brain injury, and a cancer diagnosis, all within a week’s time, my life would never be the same for me or my family. But our Good Lord had an amazing plan. Jesus said, “In this life you will have trouble (suffering), but take heart, I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33). To my surprise, I had been living with a tumor and Lymphoma spreading quickly throughout my abdomen area the past year with no revealing symptoms. The car hitting me was a divine appointment, a wake-up call. It was as if Jesus was asking me and my family, “Do you trust me?”
The hands of our almighty God are gentle and strong full of mercy and healing, if we are willing to believe in Him. Suffering comes like the seasons. Sometimes the winter is harsh but we know the harvest will come in the spring. As seeds are buried and trees die, they are brought back to life. My winter had come. Bodily injury, traumatic brain injury, cancer, chemo, all at once. Yet I was not meant to battle for recovery and healing alone. As the owner of Blake Custom Homes, I know the importance of a solid foundation. Jesus said, “Everyone who listens to my words and does them, is like a man who built his house on a rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall” (Matthew 7:24-25). A storm had come in my life like I had never experienced before, but the Lord was in the boat and in control. He had gone before me and prepared me to face the adversity by building for me a foundation of faith and fellowship. I wasn’t going to be able to see the harvest if I had to suffer alone.
The Lord took care of that by surrounding me and my family with His church through home visits, meal trains, and my MOB FIND group. After being hit by the car, my wife’s first communication went out to my parents and in laws and then to my FIND group. CS Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain.” Because of my foundation of fellowship, I never had to face a chemo treatment alone. My family never went hungry. My brothers were there by my side. God was shouting in my pain, “You are not alone!” Jesus’ presence was always realized through my brothers in Christ who put their lives on hold to help.
During my chemo recovery time I would spend most of my days laying down and my kids would join me when I would watch Wheel of Fortune every day. At the urging of my seven-year-old daughter Evelynn, I virtually auditioned for the show three times with producers and was invited to be a contestant this past year. The show aired on May 21, 2024. And the Lord blessed me by helping me solve a few puzzles, winning cash, a trip to Mexico for me and my wife, and a new car! And I was able to share my testimony with producers, make-up artists, Pat and Maggie Sajak, Vanna White, and the other contestants.
My recovery and healing will continue for years to come, but the Lord revealed I would never have to face it alone. That realization has brought me more peace and faith than I have ever had before. What a blessing it was for the car to hit me. What a blessing to face suffering and healing surrounded by my faith family. My testimony of faith, like all of you, is ongoing day to day. The only constant is that Jesus is the same yesterday and tomorrow and forevermore. May He be praised and glorified by our faithfulness in suffering! His joys are new every morning. Amen!
Blake Swoboda lives in Wilchester and has been married to Julie for 20 years. They have 4 kids, Jonah and Elizabeth (Stratford High School) and Micah and Evelynn (Wilchester Elementary).They worship at MDPC. Blake has been the owner of Blake Custom Homes since 2015 and graduated from TCU in 2000. He also graduated from Westminster Theology Seminary with a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling and Fuller Theological Seminary with an MDIV. Blake has been a member of the FIND group MOB for the past 12 years.
FIND seeks to transform men through Jesus Christ in authentic, weekly Fellowship in Discipleship. Real Men…Real Discipleship
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