He Chose Joy!: The Story of Matthew Metcalf

By Dan Metcalf

God, this just doesnt make any sense! God, how can you let this happen? Have you ever silently thought something like that to yourselfor maybe even said it out loud? Dan and Sue Metcalf have. They know the deepest pain that life in a broken world can bring. Their beloved son, Matthew, was diagnosed with cancer. Surely he would get better. But he didnt. They realized the deepest pain a human being can ever knowthe loss of their son. But through Matthews courageous battle, they realized something elseGods sufficiency. Through the loss of their son they also realized great gainGods abundant mercy. This book is their story. Its Mathews story. But it is also Gods story. Its a story of Gods grace and a story of Gods sufficiency. Its about the discovery that God really is enough.

Phil Hopper, pastor of Abundant Life Baptist Church

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the Matthew Metcalf Memorial Scholarship Fund at Life Christian Academy in Tacoma, Washington, and also to St. Jude Cancer Research Center in Memphis, Tennessee.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 9, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449735418

Dan Metcalf

This is the story of Dan Metcalf and his son’s walk through cancer. He currently lives in a small town outside of Kansas City, Missouri, with his wife, Susan, and their son, Stephen.

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Copyright © Dan Metcalf 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011963663

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-3541-8 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-3542-5 (sc)

Printed in the United States of America

WestBow Press rev. date:12/28/2011

Contents

Foreword

Preface

God’s Surprise

The Terrible News

The Fighter

The Charmer

Student/Teacher

Reprieve

The Last Year

The Family

A Closing Thought

Reflections

For Stephen: The best brother Matthew could ever have

Foreword

My Very Special Friend

Matthew Metcalf

April 10, 1991–November 6, 2003

Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and from the most unforeseen places. When I first heard of Matthew Metcalf, the request for prayer was not unlike any other. Numerous times we pray and over time we forget, especially when there are many miles that separate us.

Matthew lived in Washington State, and I lived in Georgia. This prayer request was different. I can’t explain how, but it was. Through phone calls and his dad’s visits to me when he drove through Georgia as a long distance trucker, we managed to stay in touch. Three or