<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no maverick molecules in the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through tears and a catch in his throat, those are the words former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) told CBS News host Scott Pelley on an emotional episode of \u201c60 Minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he\u2019s known for his status as \u201csenator,\u201d Sasse made clear early in the conversation that his accomplishments on Capitol Hill\u00a0pale in comparison to the other titles he holds: a husband of more than 30 years, a father of three children, a neighbor, a friend.<\/p>\n
The 54-year-old Nebraska native told Pelley it was his December diagnosis with five different kinds of cancer \u2014 chiefly, a late-stage battle with pancreatic cancer \u2014 that illuminated his life\u2019s most important work in an undeniably palpable way. That, he said, has been a \u201ctouch of grace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pelley asked Sasse, a reformed Christian, why be believes \u201cGod has put you to the test.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeath is wicked, death is evil, death is not how it\u2019s supposed to be,\u201d said Sasse. \u201cAnd me getting a cancer diagnosis, again, is pretty small on the grand scheme of things. But it\u2019s a touch of grace, because it forces me to tell the truth. And the lie I wanna tell myself is that I\u2019m the center of everything, and I\u2019m gonna be around forever, and I can work harder, and store up enough, that I can atone for my own brokenness.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cI hate cancer. But I\u2019m also grateful for it. I tell a lot more truth to myself than I used to do it when I thought I was super omni-competent and interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sasse also told Pelley his fight against such aggressive cancer \u2014 an illness so painful he tried repeatedly to scald his back in the shower to relieve throbbing pain from tumors pressing against his spine \u2014 has \u201cdefinitely\u201d made him closer to God in ways he would not undo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can acknowledge my dependence [on God] in a new way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pelley, who made clear he was making no comparisons between their stations in life, said he recalls a moment in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, when he thought his own death was certain. In that split second, the anchor said, all he thought about was not wanting to leave his family behind.<\/p>\n
He then asked the former lawmaker how he reconciles that feeling as he faces his own mortality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am incredibly blessed,\u201d began Sasse. \u201cMy wife, Melissa, has \u2014 we\u2019ve been married 31 years. \u2026 We\u2019re gonna be apart for a time. But she\u2019s tough and gritty and theologically rooted, and she\u2019s gonna be fine. My daughters are 24 and 22. And they\u2019re extraordinary. I wanna walk \u2019em down the aisle when they get married. That\u2019s not likely to be; that\u2019s not the math on my time card.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sasse then turned to talking about his \u201cprovidential surprise,\u201d his 14-year-old son.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s gonna be fine,\u201d Sasse said with a smile, his voice beginning to shake. \u201cHe\u2019ll have other wise men and women to put a hand on his shoulder. But I\u2019m super bummed to not be there, at 16 and 18 and 20 years old in his life. I wanna give him more advice than he wants, and I wanna put my arm on his shoulder \u2014 and I want his shoulders to get taller. But it\u2019s not a surprise to God.\u201d<\/p>\n
At another point in the interview, Pelley asked Sasse if there\u2019s anything in life he\u2019d do differently if he had the chance to try again.<\/p>\n
Without missing a beat, Sasse said he would have wanted to have more children and wished he would have spent more time at home and fewer nights alone in hotel rooms.<\/p>\n
But, in the end, the CBS News host stated, somewhat quizzically, \u201cGod, you believe has a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d Sasse replied confidently. \u201cThere are no maverick molecules in the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Please sign up for\u00a0Faithwire\u2019s daily newsletter\u00a0and download the\u00a0CBN News app\u00a0to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThere are no maverick molecules in the universe.\u201d Through tears and a catch in his throat, those are the words former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) told CBS News host Scott Pelley on an emotional episode of \u201c60 Minutes.\u201d While he\u2019s known for his status as \u201csenator,\u201d Sasse made clear early in the conversation that his<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[3984,110,3026,3987,2911,139,3985,4704,167],"class_list":{"0":"post-27802","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jesus","8":"tag-ben","9":"tag-calls","10":"tag-cancer","11":"tag-diagnosis","12":"tag-explains","13":"tag-grace","14":"tag-sasse","15":"tag-terminal","16":"tag-touch"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}