After my first exploratory surgery on October 19,2006, my doctor sent my biopsy to three different places in order to be absolutely sure of the diagnosis and tentative prognosis. Then he placed a call to me to say that I did in fact have thyroid cancer. Those of you who have ever been told you have cancer know the inexplicable fear that rushes over you. It sounds like a death sentence. You begin to feel like the walking dead. But, thankfully, God had prepared prayer intercessors even before we had received the bad news that unforgettable day. To God cancer isn’t any different than a cold. And, by His precious gift of grace to me, my bout with cancer lasted only a short period of time, for it had not come to stay but to pass.
Until this time of trial, I had felt in control of my life, and all who were within my care. As a wife, mother, and mamaw, I ‘knew’ how to take care of everybody and everything. But, this time I could not take care of this huge obstacle without God’s comforting Word and peace, and the love and support of my family, church, and friends. Their support was vital. With the continued calls, visits, and prayers of so many, I maintained a sense of connection to things stronger than my enemy.
One day while standing in the checkout isle after Christmas shopping one November day, the lady in front of me began growling and complaining, exclaiming, what an awful day she was having. Nothing was going her way. And, surely it couldn’t get any worse. I said nothing to her, but my thoughts raced within me. “Yes, it can get worse. You could get a phone call from your doctor breaking the news to you that you have cancer”. Now, THAT’s a bad day! But, if you knew me, you’d know that it is not my nature to wallow in such negative statements. My faith in the promises of God is very strong. And, my husband, Dick, and I refused to waiver at those precious promises. Yet, we also knew that God was more interested in our character development than in our creature comforts. No matter how good and wonderful things were in our lives, all could be changed by one phone call, one incident, one tragedy. But, thanks be to God, what the enemy meant for harm God meant for good. And, with fervent prayer and praise in the midst of my trial, our prayers, the prayers of my family, our church and friends, empowered by God’s Word and grace, cut off the enemy’s supply line. I had read in the Bible that a cheerful heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit makes a person sick. I continued to stand on God’s unchanging Word and fight with determined faith. I will confess that though there were days that life seemed to stand still for me, I never the less trained my thoughts on the power of God to heal me.
You know, there are strong links between our mind and our body. With the first news of my illness, I told myself, “this is going to be the Mother of all battles for me”. The enemy had broken through my defenses and we were headed into serious combat to beat and cut off its debilitating sentence of death. Cancer, you know, doesn’t just pack up its bags and leave your body on its own. I had learned by much reading since my first diagnosis that cancer is a degenerative condition where normal cells have become altered mutations. There are at least 250 different kinds of cancer. It takes anywhere from 1 to 5 years for a cancerous tumor to grow from the size of a pin point to a large visible mass in your body. Once it becomes symptomatic, the fight is on.
A second surgery was scheduled and performed on December 27, 2006. We rejoiced to hear that this time my biopsy came back clean; benign. As I said before, cancer doesn’t just go away. God had the last word and miraculously stopped the cancer in its tracks and healed me. My faith, now stronger than ever, and my life back on track, I cannot praise God enough for His tender mercy to me. I am so blessed, for my Father who is in heaven has saved me, not just once, but twice.