He said the disease caused him to ask where he would go with faith: "For a lot of us as kids, having faith is like sitting on Santa's lap; you pray because you want things and you want outcomes. But instead when you're faced with death, you don't really die, you get to go to a cooler place with maybe a sterner teacher. It's not that big a leap and you're going to see a lot of friends there." Now there's a sermon!
So, how do you approach God, he wondered? Do you ask for favors, or do you do something that is very hard in the modern era, "which is learn how to give yourself to God, to surrender. It's not just saying God, it's in your hands,' but understanding whatever may come afterwards is a matter of not trying to get God to do stuff for you, except maybe to mow down some of the barriers that separate you from God, because for all of us, our vanities get in the way."
Snow says his deepening faith didn't happen overnight. It began with realizing "how many people loved me." He said a lot of life is figuring out you're not in charge and figuring out who is. He started to pray, he said, and began to sense a growing presence of God in his life. He said after his first cancer surgery many people sent him letters that included Bible verses. Among his favorites was Psalm 91:2-3: "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.'"
After his first cancer surgery, Snow said he had to stay in bed and he began reading the Bible more, "learning to pray" and to ask God to "draw me closer, please, (which) develops a hunger that is also a form of joy."
He said colleagues frequently ask him what he will do after the White House? He says he might have had an answer before, but now he has no clue. "I put everything in God's hands."
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