Bowling for Cancer

In a struggling economy it has become increasingly difficult for local business owners to make a profit.  Despite such challenging times a business in our area did something this past weekend that made an incalculable difference to two children in our church.

As you may know the daughter of our Children’s Pastor, Julia Cobb, is at MD Anderson in Houston, TX undergoing chemo therapy for Ewing’s Sarcoma.  Julia was diagnosed the week before Christmas and since that moment life for the Cobbs has been truly turned upside down.  Jonathan and Jenifer have four children.  Jonathan is himself a cancer survivor so they are well acquainted with the road that lay ahead.  Until Julia is healed the family will be living 700 miles apart.  This will probably be the case for the Cobbs for most of 2012.  Though the family is concerned primarily for Julia there are other moments in a kid’s life that require celebration.  Cancer is no respecter of time or person and for the Cobbs it has already disrupted their children’s baptism, Christmas, and New Year celebrations.  But no matter how difficult life may be, we just can’t forget a kid’s birthday – that’s just wrong.

Julia’s older siblings, Jonathan and Jenna celebrate January birthdays just a few days apart.  When approached about the situation Lightning Strikes Bowling Alley here in Trussville, AL responded not by offering a discounted price (which is all we asked for), but by offering to host a full blown party for Jenna and Jonathan at no cost.  That may not sound like a big deal, but please don’t forget that Jonathan is our Children’s Pastor.  When the Children’s Pastor throws a party there will be kids – gobs of them.  The final calculation was three lanes, about 35 kids, and gallons of soft drinks for 2 hours.  I am not sure what that comes to in bowling bucks, but the bottom line for Lightning Strikes was that they gave this party to the Cobbs at a total loss.  This is not easy to do in any economic climate, but to be so generous to a community family at such a time as this makes the gift of these business owners that much more remarkable. 

If you are looking for something to do this week, go bowling at Lightning Strikes in Trussville, AL.  Their generosity will not be soon forgotten in our church family.  As a community citizen it is great to know that we have local business owners who are not here to simply make a profit from the community, but who want to make a contribution to the community.  Thank you to the ownership, staff, and management of Lightning Strikes – you helped bring celebration back into the life of a family and a church that desperately needed some good news.

Let’s go bowling!!!