“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”       – 2 Corinthians 4:16 (NASB)

Frisco, Texas, native Seth Elliott was focused on his athletic future coming off a strong freshman season with the Dallas Baptist University men’s soccer team. A new beginning, followed by bright hope for what was to come, he just wanted to continue to work on his skills and enjoy college life.

But, after battling an unknown sickness for four months, his doctor ordered a CT scan.

It was the second day of the spring semester when the doctor called with a diagnosis: Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Elliott was nineteen years old and overwhelmed.

When his dad called shortly after, the conversation about doctors’ appointments seemed surreal. Emotions were high for the father and son. Tears mixed with “I love you” at the end of the call.

“I couldn’t wrap my mind around it,” he said. “I hung up the phone and the weight of everything just came down.”

Elliott’s life was turned upside down. Everything changed, and hard decisions had to be made. He moved home and left school and soccer behind, which brought plenty of alone time to wrestle with his faith.

“I remember thinking, what did I do to deserve this?” said Elliott, reflecting upon the start of six months of chemotherapy, followed by five weeks of radiation.

It was during that time that his faith was deconstructed and reassembled as he stepped off the shore of faith and swam into open water.

Elliott struggled to understand the why, but in the midst of his treatments, just before returning to campus, Elliott chatted with a good friend from home who wasn’t a believer. The friend asked how the cancer journey had affected his faith.

“It was that moment I realized that if I didn’t go through having to be alone and be in tremendous physical and emotional pain, I wouldn’t be able to have the opportunity to sit down and share my faith with someone I care about,” he said.

“I hung up the phone and the weight of everything just came down.”  -Seth Elliott

Broken down and pieced back together, God brought purpose through his pain. An arduous journey that shook Elliott to his foundations, God healed him spiritually and physically until he returned to school in the fall and finished radiation eight months after the battle began.

After his last treatment, he found his way down the corridor of the hospital marveling at the magnitude of the moment. He exited the elevator, turned the corner, and was shocked to see his entire family standing in the lobby, ready to revel in the celebration. In their midst, a sign with three simple words that said it all: YOU MADE IT.

Like in the beginning, Elliott was overwhelmed. But this time, in a completely different way.

“I still have the poster,” he said. “It’s probably one of the most powerful things I still have hanging up in my closet.”

Elliott came back with a full doctor’s release in the spring of 2015 as a Patriot defender, his life and sports career taking on new meaning.

When his collegiate career began, Elliott performed for the praise of himself. Stepping back onto the pitch, his priority now is to point people to Jesus.

Seth Elliott (third from right) and his family after his last radiation treatment.

“He has restored my health and given me the energy and ability to go back and play soccer again,” he said. “I feel like at this point, every time I step on that field for practice or a game, I know that He is the one who has blessed me with that, so every part should be for Him.”

He’s also leading this semester, taking the helm of DBU’s FCA Huddle. In addition, Elliott’s looking for more ways to serve in his church and on campus, and especially in the realm of people who have been diagnosed with cancer.

There are still good days and bad days, but Elliott recognizes God’s refinement as a way to closer connection and deeper purpose.

“He has called me to be different, to ultimately use it for His glory and for His purposes and for His good,” he said. “As long as I give 100-percent effort, I’ll be good with it.”

This roller coaster of a road will forever be branded on both Elliott’s body and soul. But there is a vision mirrored with God’s plan that grows from the suffering, one that begins with his lobby room reunion and ends with the beginning of forever.

“There are things in life that are terrible and tough,” he said. “But there’s going to be one day—after all the hurting and brokenness and pain—where we’re going to step off the elevator and turn the corner, and this time it’s going to be Jesus holding a sign that says, YOU MADE IT.”

Photos courtesy of Seth Elliott and DBU Athletic Department