Dear readers – I received this update today on The Myriad’s drummer, Randy Miller. I wanted to share it with you because I know some of you have been praying for Randy as he has been undergoing treatment over the last year for a rare form of bone cancer.
The letter reads:

Just days after The Myriad played their last show of 2008, Randy Miller (drummer) went in for a surgery to have a lump removed from his shoulder. Shortly after that he was diagnosed with an incredibly rare form of bone cancer called chondrosarcoma. Statistically speaking things looked incredibly challenging, but Randy had youth and determination on his side. Starting almost immediately he would begin an incredibly intense season of chemo-therapy; every 3 weeks for the duration of 2009.

Randy was doing so well that towards the end of 2009 he was able to tour with the band for a month long run with Tyrone Welles in support of the Humane Society of the United States. The tumors appeared to be shrinking and it looked like he was heading towards recovery and remission.

Last week Randy received the devastating news that the tumors are back and growing. Because of its intensity, they can’t continue the chemo. It doesn’t appear that there are any medical alternatives left. Please join us in praying for Randy, his wife Krystin, and their two children Conner and Jillian during this trying time for their family and loved ones. To quote Randy, “I don’t always understand God, but I have to believe. No one can take that from me.”

If you’d like to find out more info on Randy, you can watch the video on Youtube. There is a giving option for the family’s growing medical costs set up as well through Randy’s home church The Stirring in Redding, CA. You can access that my going to thestirring.org and navigating to the online giving tab. On behalf of the Miller family and The Myriad, thank you for your prayers and continued kindness.

Makes you think about your own mortality, doesn’t it? God knows the number of our days, and nothing is a surprise for him. And while the thought of a young husband and father leaving life early is too much to bear, the reality is that someday we’re all going to die.
Really. None of us gets out of here alive.
Have you taken time to think about what happens next? If you were to meet God, how would you explain to him what you’ve done with the gift of redemption he’s given you? Did you open it and put it on, wearing it faithfully and proudly? Or did you kick gift under a bed, thinking you could open it later? Or did you spit on it and leave it in God’s hands, rejecting it without even considering what the gift might entail? (And yes, this analogy is very much inspired by Glenn Beck, who does a wonderful job painting the picture of redemption through the story of a Christmas sweater.)
Please pray for Randy and his family. Even if today God performed a miracle and Randy’s cancer was completely gone, there are financial burdens the family is dealing with. Please pray for healing, for strength, for the children and his wife, and his band mates.