“It’s not about me.”

The irony of featuring Tom Blossom on the cover of the Mission News stems from those four words. They could be Tom’s life motto. For Tom, it’s no longer about him; it’s always about God.

And he’s right. Still, he is featured here, as other residents have been, because his story reflects the power and the grace of God. The writer, Frederick Buechner, put it this way: “My story is important not because it is mine, God knows, but because if I tell it anything like right, the chances are that you will recognize that in many ways it is also yours.”

Many of the residents at the Union Gospel Mission can see their lives in Tom’s story: failure, brokenness, prison, homelessness. The plot, however, takes a radical turn, and the climax finds Tom at the end of his life – facing death – with courage and absolute peace. Such an ending gets the attention of those still in the midst of the battle, and once he has their attention, Tom can do what he loves best: proclaim the goodness of his God.

Tom has terminal cancer. In July, after surgery on a brain tumor revealed the cancer had spread throughout his body, the doctors gave him a life expectancy of just two months. Tom faced the news with his characteristic unsinkable spirit: “I told them, ‘That’s not a bad report. Going home to be with the Lord is not a bad report.’” However, he also told the doctors he wasn’t sure God was finished with him quite yet. Tom is bold in his faith and resolute in his belief that there is hope for every man, no matter how far he has fallen or how much shame he bears. Tom knows because he has been there, and he sees his diagnosis as just one more opportunity for him to spread the good news.

“The old Tom used to be self-centered. I had an ego as big as this room, and it was all about Tom. That’s why I left my family in 1983 because it was all about Tom and what he wanted to do. Well, God destroyed that in me. Now, all the compassion is for other people.

“When you see the men here and meet them and see how they’re hurting . . . A lot of them did it to themselves, there’s no question about it. But they’re hurting people. Who’s praying for the man who walks in the east door? Who’s here to minister to him and tell him, ‘You’re not the only one who made that mistake. You’re surrounded by people like that who are trying to get well.’”

Tom came to the Mission from prison in 2001 and spent ten months working in the kitchen. He moved from the kitchen to the fitness center, where he taught guys how to lift weights. From there, he spent two years helping to establish God’s Garden. Tom’s eyes light up when he talks about the 12-foot-tall tomato plants and the 400 tomatoes the garden produced. How did he do it?  “I didn’t. God did.”

After the garden, Tom started driving the donations truck for the Mission. That position became permanent in 2004. Tom had found his niche.  When he started, the truck had 36 regular stops – businesses who give surplus food to the Mission. When he stopped – just a few months ago – the number had more than doubled.

Tom attributes all his success to his willingness to listen to and follow God’s leading. Unquestionably, however, God also used Tom’s friendly demeanor and his penchant for old-fashioned courtesy. While training the new driver who would take his place, Tom asked him, “When we go out today, Paul, how many people can we make smile?” Paul wasn’t sure, but Tom replied, “All of them.”

Being joyful in the midst of adversity comes easily, Tom says. You just have to realize – “It’s not about me.”