Miracles!

A few weeks ago, I was with my doctor’s nurse practitioner (NP) who was in a talkative mood. (Sometimes that is good; sometimes not!) She explained a lot about the cancer I once had and where “we” are now. I’m at No Evidence of Disease again!

The NP continued . . . “But your cancer will return.”

She didn’t blink. But I did.

She could have stopped with the information that I was NED, but obviously thought a good patient is a well-informed patient!

Over the last few years, I have seen God work in amazing ways in my life and the lives of others! Don’t ever count Him out! I certainly don’t wear a big “C” on the front of my hiking shirts, but cancer, whether it is here or not, is now a part of life’s testimony.

One of Two Choices

I’m not going to sugarcoat life, but I don’t want to be the person who sits around worrying and stressing through every moment. I’ll admit: It’s hard. Tests every three months make me feel more edgy than they do secure!

Most everyone that faces things like this understand.  So, over the last few weeks I have turned to truth:

• God is greater than anything we face!
• God’s Word changes darkness into light! (Currently, I’m camping out in the Psalms.)
• God’s Word brings clarity and hope instead of foggy, stormy feelings of doubt.
• And finally, the big one: Prayer is a cornerstone. C.S. Lewis is right: “Prayer doesn’t change God; it changes me.” My prayers are an anchor to my soul. The prayers of friends are priceless gifts. They are like Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’s hands as the battle raged on. (Exodus 17:12) So, thank you!

So, what did I reply to my informative NP? I said, “Really?” She said, “Yes. Once you have had a reoccurrence, then we look for it to return. But don’t worry, we have other options we can give you! You only have had two types of chemo!”

Just yikes!

Chemo has been used to chase my cancer to the end of the earth, but it’s not my Savior!

My thoughts turned to Christ and how He calmed the raging storm on the Sea of Galilee.

“What about a miracle?” I asked. She answered quickly, “Yes, we have seen many miracles. We like miracles! So, there’s a chance that could happen.”

What I Remember—

A miracle, if I remember from what I learned in college, is something that takes place outside the natural realm. You can’t explain it because you can’t do anything to make it happen. It’s God Who steps into the pool of humanity and works (not his magic) but His miracle.

Currently, the display of Rembrandt’s portrayal of Christ in the storm on the Sea of Galilee is in the Frameless Immersive Art Experience in London. It’s breath-taking to watch, and if you want to take a look, it’s posted on YouTube.

In it, the disciple’s small boat is overwhelmed with monstrous waves. Everyone in that little vessel was frightened by their circumstances. Yet, Jesus, was asleep in the bow of the boat!

Rembrandt’s painting is of the moment the disciples wake the Savior up shouting: “We are about the perish!” I don’t know about you, but there are times when I have wanted to stand up and shout the same thing! “I’m about the perish!”

Jesus knew Who was in control of the wind and the waves and the sea. A big Miracle took place! He stood up, commanded the wind and the waves to be still, and suddenly, everything became calm.

Living with Miracles

The same Person, who was in that boat, is in my boat and your boat today. He’s aware of our circumstances and needs. He watches over the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, and my life and yours.

My doctor is not writing the ending to my story. He doesn’t get to say how my life will go forward.

Before her death, my dear friend Doloris Burns sent a message to me saying, “Tell Angie God will do for her, what He did for me.”

In her lifetime, Doloris witnessed miracle after miracle. She was a missionary to west Africa and was trained to stand firm in her faith, which she did through many personal tribulations. She lived through two bouts of breast cancer, the tragic loss of her husband, and bladder cancer. Those are just a few of the trials she faced.

When she stepped into God’s presence 2022, she was in her ‘90’s!

Cancer was not the reason she left this earthly abode. She was a living miracle; and I have a strong feeling that if she were here today, she would say, “I simply believed and trusted my Savior.” That’s really the end to the discussion!