Meet Lee Caterson
by on Sep 1st, 2010 at 10:45 pm
About four years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Lee Caterson when he came to live as a freshman college student in one of my dorms. Though he was a well-respected person in our community from the beginning, the trials that were about to come upon Lee’s life and college career would cause us to esteem him highly.
I have asked Lee to join the Making of Men writing team for a number of reasons:
First, he is a young Christian man who wants to pursue God-honoring manhood for the rest of his life.
Second, he has refused to join many of his Christian and non-Christian peers in prolonging (or even entering) adolescence.
Third, I want to have peers speaking to one another through this site and Lee is a leader among his peers.
Fourth, I have personally watched Lee live under great stress, the kind that even adults would fear, and he has shown me that his trust in God is real. I have learned from him what confidence in the Lord means in the midst of trials.
Fifth, I believe that Lee needs an opportunity to be stretched and mentored. This ministry of writing will allow him to grow as a communicator to his generation.
Sixth, he actually has something to say.
Seventh, he would be embarrassed at this list, which is an indication of his humility.
So, in the months (and hopefully years) to come, Lee will be offering occasional thoughts about life as a young man in this culture. Hopefully, you will find that you are not alone in trying to pursue manhood. I’m praying that God will grow Lee through this experience and that his words will encourage you. So, let’s meet him!
Lee, tell us a little bit about yourself (background, current status, etc.):
Well, I am a senior (finally) Comprehensive Bible student at Cedarville University. I grew up on a farm 20 minutes outside of a middle of nowhere town called Montrose, PA. I love to do anything that gets me outdoors: Camping, hunting, hiking/backpacking, kayaking, mountain biking…ANYTHING really! I’m a bit of an adrenaline junky and I also love playing music, especially jazz.
Please share your journey to Christ. When did you become a Christian?
I had an interesting conversion when I was 15 years old. I do not come from a family of believers like many of my peers. I was a very different person before I was saved. I was engulfed in deep and at times debilitating depression and hatred for everyone and everything, especially Christians. I had been going to church and AWANA against my will for many years, even making a profession of “faith” at the age of 8, but I rebelled against everything that was related to the Christian faith in my early teens.
Around my 15th birthday, I was interested in becoming a Satan worshipper because it’s what all the cool heavy metal bands I listened to claimed to be. I never did worship Satan (PRAISE GOD I was afraid to!) and one night in the living room of my house when I was alone, my life was literally spared. I tried to commit suicide and God in His infinite mercy and grace allowed my life to be spared. I remembered the words that my pastor had preached in church about Jesus and salvation, and right there that night I joined His family of saints! It’s been a wild, but fun ride ever since!
Lee, one of the reasons I respect you so much is how you have allowed God to be glorified through a particular set of physical difficulties. Would you be willing to share what happened and what God has taught you through this series of trials?
Again in the long list of abnormal things that have happened to me, I have been diagnosed with cancer five times since I turned 18. I was diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma in May of 2006 while I was trying to finish up my high school career. I was in shock for quite awhile about it, and I was diagnosed again in March of 2007 with a tumor on my left arm. I was going to be part of an experimental vaccination trial in May, but at the check up to see if I was eligible, my doctor found yet another tumor. I was presented the option of Biochemotherapy, the most aggressive chemotherapy there is, and decided that was the best choice. I spent that summer in and out of the hospital for treatments, blood work, and other things. I could go into details but it will make some people sick to their stomachs to describe the regimens of medications.
I grew bitter with God that summer, even shaking my fist in rage telling God to kill me because I couldn’t live like that any longer. God smiled at me and probably said something along the lines of “you fool, I have better plans than that for you” and I was allowed the privilege and honor to be diagnosed with two more tumors only 2 months later, something that is unheard of with the biochemotherapy regimen. One tumor was in my shoulder and the other in my loser spine, but it somehow was not on any of the organs in between. I smiled when I was diagnosed because I knew that God was not going to let me die from my own body, but that He would also provide me with whatever it took to get me through that trial. Since then, I have been in a holding pattern making sure that the cancer has not come back, and to God’s glory, IT HASN’T! Through that trial, I came to form my life’s motto: “The worst thing that can happen to me is that I continue to live.” Remember, to live is Christ and to die is gain!
From the beginning of this blog, you have shown a strong reaction to the issue of manhood, why?
Being a male, I would love to be a man someday. I would not say that I have arrived at the status of “Real Man” yet, as if it were a rank, but I am on the same journey many of the young men are on who will read this blog. I want to help them, inspire them, push them when needed and if I have to I will carry them. I look around at the world and there are not many men out there, just ask any young woman on this campus. The lack of truly masculine, Christ centered men is appalling and I refuse to let anyone be left behind because they’re too lazy to man up and be what they are created to be.
As far as you can tell, what are your plans for the future?
Long term goals: Become a good husband and a father. I know that’s not impressive to some people, but it’s a real passion in my heart to be that someday. In reality that’s what all men are called to be, but so often fall short.
Shorter term goals: Graduate college and begin a career, hopefully in ministry of some form. I am tossing around ideas about possible ministries I may start, all centered around serving men and families and helping them become more like Christ. Until God opens up a ministry opportunity, it’ll be using the hands and talents He gave me to work 4 jobs and pay off student loans!