After a routine colonoscopy in March, my wife received a stage 3 cancer diagnosis...

Tim Vercellono

Tim Vercellono | Laconia NH

I grew up in a Christian home with wonderful parents and two younger brothers. My mom and dad loved the Lord and showed us how to follow Him with all our hearts. In 1993, I married the love of my life, who came from a family with nearly identical faith values. When we started our own family, we worked hard to blend the best of both backgrounds, creating a culture that would raise strong, faith-filled children.

Last year, my family and I faced the most challenging season of our lives. After a routine colonoscopy in March, my wife received a stage 3 cancer diagnosis. Sitting in the hospital bed, she looked at me and said with determination, "I don’t have time for this!" That unwavering resilience is one of the many qualities that made me fall in love with her over thirty years ago.

After processing the shock, we called our three adult children and their spouses. In that moment, everything we had worked for as parents came into focus. Dad Academy’s lesson on creating a healthy family culture had been a guiding principle in our home, teaching us the importance of raising confident kids who know how to lead and serve well.

My wife always emphasized deep conversations, constantly asking our kids "why" questions to help them process life intentionally. Not because she was a helicopter parent, but because we wanted our children to grow into thoughtful, strong individuals. Our kids always heard me say, "The only person you follow is Jesus. Everyone else, you lead."

So it was no surprise when, during that family call, our son immediately suggested something that would carry us through the next nine months. He proposed we have a nightly family prayer and communion until my wife was cancer-free. And that’s exactly what we did. Every single night. Through every hospital visit, chemotherapy session, and radiation treatment. Through every uncertainty, every small victory, and even the miraculous moments that left doctors without explanations. Those calls became the lifeline that carried us through 2024, making us stronger and closer than ever before. And just in case you’re wondering—the doctors confirmed what we knew from that very first night of prayer: my wife is cancer-free.

Creating a healthy family culture that produces confident kids is hard work, but it is worth every effort. In the end, we all want our children—and now our grandchildren—to do better than us, be better than us, achieve more than us, and be part of something bigger than us. If we do the work, the legacy we build will last for generations. And let me tell you, it’s worth it.