The Been Briefing

Brad

Early, early this past Tuesday morning, January 25, 2011 my wonderful brother-in-law Brad Been went to be with the Lord. Many of you have been praying for our family through this process, and I wanted to thank each and every one of you who have been part of the support network in this time of crisis.

Brad discovered he had colon cancer almost 6 years ago. He beat it and was in remission for several years. The summer of 2009 he discovered, however, that it had returned but had spread to his whole abdominal cavity. He took a risk and decided to apply for a surgery in Pittsburgh. He was approved for it, and he and his wife Lindsey went to Pennsylvania for the surgery in August of 2009. We all thought that he'd beat it again, and though he had to adjust his diet a great deal and seemed a bit more fragile, we were thankful for every chance we had to be with him. Then, this past October 2010, we heard the news that the cancer had returned once again, and that Brad had decided to stop fighting it.

Christmastime was a wonderful time to see him and Lindsey, but we realized that there might not be much time left. Jody decided to see if Denver Seminary would work with him and allow him to do classes long-distance. He got 5 credits approved and after a week of getting things in order, he returned once again to Texas.

I am so thankful that in the few weeks Jody had with Brad, they were able to talk about hard stuff, deal with the finality of death and the importance of surrendering to the Lord despite all the hang-ups we all have about life, suffering and death. In the end, Brad surrendered to the Lord and was able to pass into eternity with his wonderful wife Lindsey and his brother Jody right next to him.

Please continue to pray for all of us as we grieve. I have returned to CO to get back to work, but Jody will remain in TX as long as he feels he needs to.

Love,
Jody and Ruth