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James Van Der Beek, who died Feb. 11, left a remarkable last testament on finding his identity and purpose in God during his long battle with cancer.
Who am I? What is the purpose of life? These questions, as articulated by the late James Van Der Beek as he came “nose-to-nose with death,” speak not only to a deep wound of how we self-identify in the world, but to its answer.
In a social media post that has been making the rounds since his Feb. 11 death from colorectal cancer at 48, Van Der Beek says of his illness, which he said had stripped him of his ability to be present as a husband and father: “I was faced with the question: If I am just a too-skinny, weak guy, alone in an apartment with cancer, what am I?”
Van Der Beek, a TV star of my generation, was known for his titular role in the teen drama Dawson’s Creek, as well as the lead in the football flick Varsity Blues, among others. I hadn’t followed his life and career after these early successes, but I have since discovered he had taken a path that was unconventional for many successful mainstream actors. At the time of his death, he was living on a Texas ranch with his wife and six young children, and had embraced a life of faith.
Continued below.
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Who am I? What is the purpose of life? These questions, as articulated by the late James Van Der Beek as he came “nose-to-nose with death,” speak not only to a deep wound of how we self-identify in the world, but to its answer.
In a social media post that has been making the rounds since his Feb. 11 death from colorectal cancer at 48, Van Der Beek says of his illness, which he said had stripped him of his ability to be present as a husband and father: “I was faced with the question: If I am just a too-skinny, weak guy, alone in an apartment with cancer, what am I?”
Van Der Beek, a TV star of my generation, was known for his titular role in the teen drama Dawson’s Creek, as well as the lead in the football flick Varsity Blues, among others. I hadn’t followed his life and career after these early successes, but I have since discovered he had taken a path that was unconventional for many successful mainstream actors. At the time of his death, he was living on a Texas ranch with his wife and six young children, and had embraced a life of faith.
Continued below.
‘Worthy of God’s Love’: The Powerful Witness of ‘Dawson’s Creek’ Star James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek, who died Feb. 11, left a remarkable last testament on finding his identity and purpose in God during his long battle with cancer.
