Called to serve God, now tested by cancer
Success seems to have come easily to Matthew Peterson.
When he decided to become a cop, he got a prestigious award from the police academy and a job in Glen Ellyn.
When he went to work in finance, he got many opportunities for advancement.
When he went to college, he met and married a beautiful woman, eventually had two adorable daughters and moved into a dream house in Schaumburg, his hometown.
"I was always good at what I did," he later wrote, "but never had peace."
Then the deaths of his in-laws, both to cancer, sparked what Peterson called a "monumental life change."
Eventually realizing he was called to serve Christ, Peterson sold the dream house and enrolled in seminary. God seemed to smile on him again, and he was thrilled in July to be assigned vicar at St. Peter Lutheran in Schaumburg, the church where he grew up.
Then came the real test.
About a month after returning to Schaumburg, Peterson went to a chiropractor for back pain. The eventual diagnosis: multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. There were two tumors around his spine, and the cancer had eaten away at some of his bones.
Peterson, who's 39, is now in his third round of chemotherapy, to which he's responded well but whose side effects he called "brutal." In a couple months, he's due for an auto stem cell transplant, which his doctors hope will extend his quality of life. But the long-term prognosis is uncertain.
"Of course we're praying to God for a total miracle to take it away," said Peterson's wife, Janet. They're also realistic, and have explained the possibilities to their daughters Elissa, 11, and Sara, 7.
"We talk about death a lot and about God's will ... that even if Dad doesn't pull through, it's OK. We'll be with him someday," Janet Peterson said.
But while his body may be weakened, his spirit, his faith and his compassion for those to whom he ministers have only grown stronger.
"I'm finding ... that God's moving me in a whole different way," he said. "For the most part, it's been a very great opportunity to further the kingdom of God, and also to be humbled, to be served. That's something I've not had to deal with.
"It's not the easiest thing to let others serve you. My wife and I are so overwhelmed by the outpouring of God's love."
That has included people cooking meals for the family, walking their dog, and leaving bags of groceries and gift cards at their home on the church campus. Sunday morning, the church will hold a pancake breakfast to raise money for the many expenses not covered by Peterson's insurance.
His illness has also been another test of faith for St. Peter's, which is still coping with the deaths last April of two active members, 18-year-old Laura Engelhardt and her father, Alan. They were murdered in their home along with Laura's grandmother. Laura's mother Shelly, also an active church, survived the attack.
JuliAnne Scully, a church council member, said the community's support of the Engelhardts and Petersons shows its strength and faith.
"Our whole motto, if you will, is share the caring Christ," she said. "(Peterson's) illness is a horrible thing, but it's just another way we can help each other get through all these things that happen to us."
For now, Peterson - a Conant High School grad whose parents are Dr. Bruce Peterson, a local optometrist, and Lynne, a Schaumburg police commissioner - continues to work when he can, running the church's youth group and ministering to the needs of others. His positive attitude alone has inspired many in the church.
"The last thing I want to do is get so down in my own situation and so self-absorbed that I forget who I belong to," he said. "When I'm serving, I almost forget the illness."
<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p> <p class="News"><b>What:</b> Pancake breakfast fundraiser for Vicar Matt Peterson of St. Peter Lutheran Church.</p> <p class="News"><b>When:</b> 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25; attendees also invited to worship services at 7:45, 9 and 11 a.m.</p> <p class="News"><b>Where:</b> St. Peter Lutheran Church, 202 E. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg.</p> <p class="News"><b>Suggested donation:</b> $10 for adults, $5 for children; donations matched by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Northwest Cook chapter.</p> <p class="News"><b>Info:</b> (847) 885-3350 or e-mail <a href="mailto:churchInfo@stpeterlcms.com">churchInfo@stpeterlcms.com</a>.</p>