But For The Grace of God... Someone once said, “Where there is hope, there is faith. Where there is faith, miracles happen”. I’m not sure who to attribute that quote to, however I am sure they hit that nail on the head. Faith is the belief of things unseen. Faith is placing trust in God to help overcome obstacles and to move mighty mountains when necessary. Faith is finding light, when all your eyes see is darkness. Faith cures. While many in today’s world would argue that last point, I have personally witnessed miracles happen through faith in God. Many others have also seen the awesome power of our God, the great physician, make miracles happen. Just ask Harnett County resident Keith Tripp. Just to look at Keith you would never imagine the road he has traveled to get where he is today. I’m not talking about his position in his community or his job, rather I speak of his health. Keith Tripp is the type of man everyone loves. With a heart of gold and a wonderful sense of humor, Keith has always enjoyed life. He is a loving husband to his wife Susan, as well as a great father to his three children Taylor, Mary Catherine and Kyle. He enjoys his job as General Manager at John Heister Chevrolet in Lillington. He loves God. If you don’t know Keith he might just blend unnoticed into the crowd around you. However, Keith has an amazing testimony. The story of Keith’s testimony began on January 3rd, 2013. That is the day he was hit with horrible news. On that day, he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Moving quickly doctors removed his entire right lung in February, followed by precautionary chemotherapy. Just four months later in June, doctors once again delivered devastating news to Keith and his family. Additional cancer had been found in his kidney and adrenal glands. This resulted in more surgery to remove the tumors, followed by more precautionary chemotherapy. In December of that same year, a PET scan revealed cancer had returned to the area where Keith’s lung was removed. Despite the best efforts of his doctors, the tumors kept growing. As well as receiving treatment at Duke Raleigh Hospital, Keith spent eleven days in Chicago at the Cancer Centers of America. The news wasn’t great there either. Doctors there determined the risk was too great to operate. Additionally, Keith was told by doctors here that additional chemotherapy might result in the loss of his one remaining kidney, which would mean lifelong dialysis. Keith was unable to accept that risk and chose not to pursue the chemotherapy. “They pretty much told me I was going to die” said Keith. But as a man of faith Keith knew of another option. page By: Rick Myers “One day while sitting in my office I started to pray and asked God for guidance” he said. He spent a lot of time thinking of things he was going to miss. He thought about his wife being left alone, his children without their father. “I thought about things like not being there when my little girl walked down the aisle in marriage” he said. Keith spent many hours in prayer seeking God’s divine intervention in his situation. “I told God I accepted His will. If it was to die, I was okay with it, but I also asked for healing” Keith stated. Upon his return to Duke Raleigh for follow up in December, Keith received amazing news! The tumor, once the size of a grapefruit, was completely gone! The doctors were baffled. “They said they knew it was nothing they did” said Keith. “I told them I knew God had done this, that He has healed me!” he exclaimed. Since June 2016 Keith has been declared cancer free. He freely credits God’s grace for this. “In every situation, all we can do is pray and have faith in the Lord” he says. While none of this has been easy, Keith credits God for giving him the strength to persevere. Keith has also learned other valuable life lessons as well. He doesn’t take things so serious anymore. He lives life day to day and doesn’t take one minute for granted. He treats every day as a true gift from God. When asked Keith is happy to travel to area churches and give his testimony. “It says in the Bible that when God does something good for us we are to share it, so I do” he says. Through this entire ordeal, Keith has maintained his wonderful sense of humor. When asked if his life is back to normal he said, “I can do anything. The only thing I can’t do since my surgery is run, and I never ran before anyway!” Keith Tripp in his office at John Heister Chevrolet in Lillington. 14
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