“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior
~Isaiah 43:1-3
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior
~Isaiah 43:1-3
When I was 12 years old I developed a lump on my throat. It started off kinda small, but quickly grew to the size of a soft ball. I lost a ton of weight and was already a string bean (tall, skinny, and going through that funny age of sort of looking funny.)
My parents took me to the doctors, where they did a few exams (blood test, x-rays, and the last one an ultrasound) Our family doctor thought is was a cyst and told us it would be an easy thing to take care of. She thought is was unusual for a 12 year old to have, especially with no family history of it, but wasn’t too worried about it.
About two weeks later when all the results come back from the test and exams, the news shocked my family and I. It was not a cyst, but a tumor.
I was scheduled for surgery a month later (I live in a small area with only one doctor who specialized in this) I was scared and confused. Why did I have a tumor? Do I have cancer? What happens if I do? How is surgery going to be? Am I going to die?
So many unanswered questions ran through my mind. I was old enough to understand what was going on and old enough to know that this was indeed serious. I prayed everyday for the tumor to disappear, until the day my surgery came. I begged God to not let me go through this scary situation.
When surgery day came, I remember the most painful thing being the IV... I really hate those things. Being put under for surgery is such an odd thing and kinda hard to put into words. I remember it was very cold, odd (80's music playing), and a really kind nurse. My hearing went hollow and then I woke up in a different room. All that wait of worry and it was that fast... for me. (My surgery was over four hours long, but felt like a few minutes to me.)
It was over... so I thought. The doctor told my parents and I that the tumor was unusual and needed to go to a special lab to make sure it wasn’t cancerous. We had God’s loving peace over us and just knew no matter what, everything would be okay.
Two weeks later a phone call came in and I was cancer free.
No, God didn’t exactly heal me the way I had prayed for and wanted, but He did perform a miracle...
Imagine if I didn’t live in a time with the technology our doctors are blessed with. Imagine if I didn’t live in a place with good medical hospitals (like certain places in Africa and India).
God didn’t make the tumor disappear, but he did make it go away and with it I was given a great gift. I learned that I hold courage, especially when I drew near to him and I learned how to pray... something I didn’t comprehend. I learned to trust God and understand that He is always near.
I am grateful for the tumor and the reminder of the scar I hold... (People always assume I was in a bad car accident. I tease them and say if was from a shark and then tell them the truth... it helps ease the seriousness of it all.)
God performs healing miracles everyday... we just need to open our eyes and see it. Open our ears and hear it. Open our hearts and receive it. Sometimes it’s in a different way than we expect it.
“Just because God doesn't answer your prayers the way you want Him to, doesn't mean He doesn't care about you.”
What is one of your healing miracles? I know you know one, either from yourself, a friend, or a family member... perhaps even a stranger? Feel free to share your story in the comments below.
Wow Ryan!! That's quite a story. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI once had a tooth infection that swelled up one side of my jaw. I was in a lot of pain, and I couldn't eat solid food.
ReplyDeleteI was like that for more than a week (I don't remember how long it was, it may have been more than one week), but I didn't want to "seek to the physicians, and not to the Lord" like King Asa, so I prayed about it. I said something along the lines of, if you want me to go see a doctor, I will, but if not, let me know.
One night after that, I had a dream where God said he would heal me. My part was to wait. So with that kind of answer, I waited. I still did things like putting ice on the swelling, or rinsing with hydrogen peroxide, but I didn't see a doctor. And it took several days, but the infection went away.
As I recall, I was able to eat solid food on my birthday (for the first time since the infection), which was also the first day of a family vacation to Canada. It was a big relief to not have to worry about how I was going to eat on our long trip. :)
It's been years since then, and I haven't had another infection like that, and I'm very thankful.