More Than Conquerors: Help Our Family Through This

Asking for help has never come naturally to me.

If I'm being completely transparent, part of me would rather figure out just about any other way to get through this than put our family in a position of having to ask other people for help.

But maybe there's some pride in that too.

And one of the things God continues to teach me is that we were never meant to carry every difficult season by ourselves.

Earlier this year, our family moved to Birmingham believing we were beginning a new chapter. I had accepted a new job that I was genuinely excited about, and we were looking forward to what was ahead for our family.

Then life changed pretty quickly.

Just weeks after starting the job, I ended up in the hospital. Doctors discovered that my heart function had dropped significantly. Because of my previous heart history and a rare autoimmune disease I've dealt with for years, what initially looked like one problem has turned into a much bigger investigation.

I'm now being treated through the UAB Advanced Heart Failure Clinic while doctors work to understand exactly what is happening and what comes next.

There are still more questions than answers.

More testing is ahead, including a cardiac MRI, heart catheterization and heart biopsy. My doctors are trying to determine whether the autoimmune disease may be affecting my heart again and what that means for treatment going forward.

Because my cardiologist could not clear me to return to work, I also lost the new job I had just started.

And that's the part that has put our family in a position we simply weren't prepared for.

The bills didn't stop when the paycheck did. Rent. Utilities. Transportation. Groceries. Medical expenses. The ordinary things it takes to keep a family moving forward while we wait for answers.

That's why we're asking for help.

Our goal is to raise $15,000 to help provide some breathing room for our family while we navigate the medical decisions ahead and I work toward figuring out what the next chapter looks like.

But there's another reason I chose to share this here.

There's a Greek word that has meant a great deal to me for years:

Hupernikao.

It comes from Romans 8:37, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" and is commonly translated "more than conquerors."

I've always loved those words.

But I'm beginning to understand them differently.

Being more than a conqueror doesn't mean the battle isn't real.

It doesn't mean you're guaranteed the outcome you want.

And it certainly doesn't mean you have everything figured out.

I know I don't.

For me, it means the battle doesn't get the final say in who you are.

Our circumstances are real. The uncertainty is real. The fear can be real.

But none of those things get to define us.

Our faith is in something bigger.

So yes, we're asking for financial help. If you're able to give, our family will be incredibly grateful.

But we're asking for something else too.

Please pray for us.

Pray for wisdom for the doctors. Pray for answers. Pray for healing. Pray for peace for my wife and our children. And pray that whatever this next season looks like, we'll have the faith and courage to walk through it well.

And if giving isn't possible, sharing this fundraiser can help more than you probably realize.

Thank you to every person who has prayed for us, checked on us, encouraged us, supported our family, or simply reminded us that we aren't walking through this alone.

We're grateful.

And whatever comes next...

Hupernikao.

More than conquerors.

— Erich