Spencer Whitworth -- Man of Faith

Seven years ago, on February 9^th 2002 Spencer Whitworth began his fight with cancer. He went in Thursday, February 21^st for his surgery to remove his brain tumor, and the day before he sent a letter to his friends in the church. In this letter he says: “what my family and everyone here is praying, and what I am faithful about, is that come Thursday night I’m going to be there in the hospital, after the surgery, with my family, my incredible girlfriend (oh yeah I started dating the most incredible woman in the world on new year’s eve), and a bunch of my closest friends, and we are going to have a party because the news from the doctors is going to be better than anyone ever expected.” He signed the letter “Love your faithful, happy, and encouraged brother in Christ,” and his faith in God pulled him through.

Since that time, Spencer has not only grown in his faith, but also in his family size, marrying “the most incredible woman in the world” and adding his princess Angelina and his wild man Alexander to the Whitworth clan. He also finished his Undergrad degree from the University of Georgia and started to work on his Masters in Accounting after being accepted into the very tough Terry College of Business.

In November of 2008, the battle resumed—his tumor was back. Spencer’s love for God, for sharing the gospel and for loving others was evident even in his time of need as he confidently prayed with his friends, family, nurses, surgeons—even the janitors. Although he did not know what God’s plan would be, Spencer remained faithful like Abraham and, “without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead… yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Even though God never promised to give him a long life, he promised him eternal life…and that is what Spencer has now achieved!

On Thursday, July 16^th 2009 Spencer Whitworth earned his crown of righteousness after fighting the good fight, finishing his race and keeping his faith. Spencer leaves behind an example to us all of what it means to trust God wholeheartedly. He remained positive, caring, loving, patient, trusting, and above all, faithful during his battle. Cancer never got a foothold on Spencer, never made his faith waver, never made him doubt God’s love for him, and never stopped Spencer rejoicing for the time he was able to be here with all of us. Spencer prayed his life, his plight, would glorify God, strengthen other’s faith and bring new disciples to Christ. Spencer, in your life and death you accomplished all of this and more. You will forever be in our hearts and never forgotten.

The following is a touching letter from Spencer's wife, Brianne Whitworth

One week gone...

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 (From Spencer Whitworth’s CarePage)

Wow, I can't believe in just a few short hours, well about 16 to be exact, Spencer will have been gone for a week. It still seems surreal at times...like today when I saw that I'd missed 5 phone calls and instinctively thought "Why does Spencer keep blowing up my phone?". He used to do that all the time when he couldn't reach me, sometimes just to tell me something special about his day. Here's a letter I wrote to him over this past week. I'm cheating by letting you see it beforehand as it will be in the Memorial Program, but for those not able to attend, here it is in all its glory. Tomorrow morning I will read it to him as I spread his ashes over his favorite place...the St. Augustine beach.

My dearest Spencer,
My heart aches for you right now, I long to see your bright smile, hear your sweet voice, smell your cologne and feel your arms around me. I know that in this lifetime I will never get to experience these things again, but I look forward to meeting you again soon. There is so much I still have to say to you, things not said while you were here with me. You know my strongest love language was never words of affirmation. I was always game to spend quality time with you, plan an awesome surprise party, snuggle, or even buy lots of gifts. I apologize that I was not always able to fully express in words the extent of my love...but I know you felt it. Each day I had with you was a gift and I’m so grateful that God loaned you to me for 7 years.

Spencer, I know I might never find a man to love me as much as you did, nor do I know that I can love another as deeply as I loved you. Sure, we weren't perfect...we fought just like everyone else. We were polar opposites—my sanguine to your melancholy—but at the end of the day, I know we both loved each other “equally” as we liked to say. I know you did all that you could to make me happy—and despite all our drama—our 7 years together were the happiest of my life. You not only made me a better woman, you gave me my two most precious gifts, our children—Angelina, our passionate, strong-willed, dramatic princess and AleXander, our laid-back, sweet yet daring prince. As I raise them, I will make you proud—no Hannah Montana, no obscene rap music, no potty-talk (although we'll still laugh at the "tooting" jokes), no ballet for Xander, and I’ll do my very best to make sure they love each other and most importantly that they love God.

My love, although you've left me at such a young age, you leave me with so many memories, for which I am so grateful. More than memories, you leave me as a better person. You are my hero. Your life, your faith, your courage, your perseverance, your determination, your convictions...these I will never forget. My memories of our many adventures and journeys may fade (due to mom-nesia, but thank God for all our pictures), but your character will live on forever in my mind. You taught me to love God deeply, to trust Him with all my heart, to give of myself to others, to stand by my convictions and put God first, and to be gracious and kind. Our children will not know you physically as they grow, but I promise you they will know the man you were. They, like me, will be proud of their father.

Spencer, I will miss the simple things in life we shared: eating dinner together every night, praying with the children before bed and reading side by side on our own. I cherish our walks around the neighborhood, our trips to the library, always “doing too much”, and our many weekends at the lake. I won't forget the silly things either, like the way you blew your nose and maximized the use of a single Kleenex like I'd never seen before, nor will I forget (or understand) the way your eyes lit up when you got your new tax accounting textbooks. My first memories of you are of a faithful, strong and courageous man standing in front of the campus ministry preaching a sermon and praising God. My last memories of you are of a strong, faithful and courageous man sharing his life with the world, still glorying and praising God despite your circumstances. Although you may have written it, I can't remember a time where you questioned God about your lot in life. The situation perplexed both of us and we didn't like it, but regardless, we chose to trust God. We didn't get the answer we wanted—the miracle of a long earthly life. However, I do believe that God is using the life you lived, Spencer—your amazing, impacting, inspiring and convicting life—to bring so many people to Him. Even in your death you are glorifying God. I remember you and I talking about what would make all of this "worth it". You decided that if people would come to God because of your story, it would be worth it and more. Thank you for reminding me that this world is not my home. I can't wait to come home to you and God one day. Until then, I’ll keep living my life to the full, never giving up….just like you’d want me to.

You have my heart,
Brianne