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Allan Houston graced the front cover of the September edition of WebMD’s magazine. In a tell-all interview with the leading provider of health information, the two-time NBA All-Star opened up about his battle with prostate cancer. 

Houston was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023 and is now cancer-free. He struggled with whether to go public, and his doctor told him, “You’ll know when and how you want to be vocal,” WebMD reported. 

Houston began to open up and recognized the power in vulnerability, which leads into Allan’s Thoughts. 

Hey, it’s the author here. This is different. We usually have someone between 16 and 25 years old who isn’t on AHLF staff share their thoughts on faith, integrity, sacrifice, leadership or legacy. But Houston’s comments on his journey with prostate cancer prompted me to share something I recently read on legacy.

It was in John Mark Comer’s book, Practicing the Way. A good read. A needed read. He mentions NYT columnist David Brooks’ concept of resume virtues versus eulogy virtues. 

The former, the resume virtue, rules the conversation of our culture. It’s our achievements. What accolades we’ve earned. Where we work. What school we attended. The worldly things in which we boast. 

Eulogy virtues bypass status and examine the heart. It’s what others discuss when we die. For example, the people we were, our character, the relationships that defined and shaped our journey on earth. 

 Our legacy. 

And so, Comer implores the reader, “Live for your eulogy, not your resume.”

Contemplate Houston’s words to WebMD: “The world is not going to get any easier to live in. It’s not going to get any more comfortable.”

Life is feeble, a vapor. Death may not be imminent for you, but it’s inevitable. One minute you’re an All-Star. The next, you’re fighting for your life. 

So then, how do we leave a legacy amid suffering? 

We prioritize faith. 

May the witness see a man calm and settled. May they see a man who should be drowning in sorrow be at peace as he clings to Christ, his Savior, in complete trust. May they see a man like Wade Houston, who can boldly proclaim, “I’ll be alright” as prostate cancer raids his life.

So again, we ponder: How do we leave a legacy amid suffering?

In decay and when whole, praise.

In weakness and in strength, praise.

We rejoice in our tribulations.

At first, I wrote, “In good and in bad, praise.” My mind correlated “good” with no worries — Hakuna Matata, if you like the Lion King — and bad meant suffering. 

But then it occured. Suffering is a means by which the Father draws one to him. And for that, it is good. Because God, He is good. 

I once heard it said, “How could I ever ask a man with holes in his hands and pierced sides why he would allow me to suffer?”  

Friends, the Christian faith doesn’t exempt you from issues. This faith doesn’t promise the absence of problems. But this faith, rooted in Christ’s resurrection, promises God’s presence is with us through them. 

So let us not look upon the nail-pierced hands of Christ and yet still ask, “Why me?” when pain and trial arise. 

But may we join with the Psalmist:

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” 

Joshua Heron is a digital content manager at the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation. Joshua is also an enterprise and Indiana Fever reporter at the Indianapolis Star. He earned a Master’s in Sports Journalism degree from Arizona State University in 2024 and a bachelor’s in media, journalism, and film from Howard University in 2023.