It was my first visit ever to the gynecologist. I never felt so awkward and uncomfortable. But nothing prepared me for the words I heard the doctor say to the nurse standing by the door taking notes.
“blah, blah, blah, a tumor, about 10 centimeters, blah, blah, blah, blah…..”
Woah! Hold on there! Did I hear that correctly?
But the doctor wasn’t speaking to me. I might as well have been a slab of beef he was inspecting before throwing on the grill.
Later in his office, he explained that, Yes I had a very large (“the size of a small cantaloupe”) tumor on my ovary. It was almost certainly benign, but would have to be taken out the old-fashioned way with a slice across my abdomen, hip to hip. Really, God?
Through a series of events, misadventures, and clear leading by the Lord, I ended up switching doctors, hospitals, even cities (from NJ to NYC) just days before the surgery. I clearly sensed God directly me every step of the way and was practically floating as I experienced His peace that passes understanding in a whole new way.
While I was in the hospital for a week post-surgery, my new boyfriend (now my husband of 26 years) came to visit and shared a Scripture verse with me –
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God”. 2 Cor. 1:3-4
It was nice of him to mention it, but frankly I didn’t identify with it at all. In my hubris, I thought I knew all the Scriptures that would apply to my situation, and that one just wasn’t one of them. Or so I thought.
For the rest of the story, click here to Laced With Grace.
ps – As many of you know, I’m the co-founder of Justice Network, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of human trafficking and showing ways to make a difference from here. Our current initiative is a social media campaign using this Sunday’s Super Bowl as a way to raise awareness of the issue. We call it the #HTchallenge. We’re asking people to go to our website [www.htchallenge.net] and share our images, quotes, and stats on facebook, twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, your favorite social media using the hashtag #HTchallenge. All the information, talking points, etc. are on the website.
Part of the challenge is also to “donate” a tweet/post that will be published simultaneously with hundreds of others during the halftime show. To register:
1. Click here: http://bit.ly/1eFBIAI
2. Click the button for Twitter and/or Facebook
3. Click “add my support”
Thank you for helping in this worthy cause!
Of course I remember all too well that frightening time.
Its a miracle from God that you found the right doctor at that exact time and because of that you now have 2 beautiful children who have grown up to be caring young amazing adults. I will gladly pray for your friend.
love,
Maria