Wynne C
I continue my story from my article in March, where I was waiting to know if I had lung cancer.
After speaking to my mum and being reminded of our family’s unwavering belief in God’s faithfulness and goodness, even if I was diagnosed with cancer, it felt like the reassurance and reminder I needed to carry on in my day-to-day life, especially when anxious thoughts pop into my mind. I would pray to God, “I choose to praise you even if!” and peace would instantly set in. This could be at any time of day, for example, while driving, in the shower or at work.
This peace kept my heart still and my mind focused on God’s faithfulness and away from the lies of the devil. Instead of hours of anxiety, palpitations and spiralling thoughts of panic, these moments of anxiety were short-lived for a few minutes each time I declared Jesus’ victory over all darkness that seeks to overcome my mind.
My mum had planned to spend a month with me in January quite some time ago, so it was perfect timing that she could attend the appointment with me. I arrived at the lung cancer exclusion clinic on the morning of the appointment and went for a CT scan of my lungs. Two hours later, I was called into the clinic room to see the consultant.
When I sat down, he gave me a smile and showed me my CT scan results on the computer screen. He said, “Your CT scan looks absolutely fine.”
He then proceeded to show me the abnormalities on the chest X-ray with the corresponding lung zones on the CT scan. “You can see a few abnormalities scattered on your X-ray here, but your lungs look absolutely clear on the CT scan, which is more accurate.” He could not quite confirm what those earlier abnormalities were on the X-ray, but he could confirm my lungs were absolutely normal on the CT scan.
I cannot say for certain that it was a miracle of healing. It may have just been an overzealous radiologist who reported the X-ray and an overcautious GP who referred me to rule out lung cancer. But I can say with absolute certainty that the peace I felt each time fear and anxiety crept in is the biggest miracle of this story.
This is the same peace I had when my life unexpectedly fell apart four years ago. The same peace I had when I had to move to a new city after the breakdown of an important relationship in my life. It was the same peace I had when the pandemic hit England in March 2020 and it felt like I was in the middle of a battlefield with a very real threat of death working in the emergency department seeing COVID patients before the vaccines were introduced.
With this peace comes hope. And hope is the single most important thing we could have in times of desperation and in the face of the unknown. This hope has a name. And His name is Jesus.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.” -1 Peter 5:7-9
