MY TESTIMONY: IT WAS ALL GOD
If you've never heard the word "testimony" before, it's simply someone sharing the story of what God has done in their life. This is mine.
I debated whether I should share my testimony publicly. Writing something this personal feels vulnerable. But this story isn't really about me. It's about God and His faithfulness.
In early 2024 I was diagnosed with cancer, I was told it was advanced. I had treatment, which was brutal and although it had worked, it didn't work enough and I would need surgery. The surgery would be major.
But I trusted in God.
I was so thankful for everything that he had done in my life so I chose to get baptised before my surgery.
After my surgery I was in ICU, while recovering I met an administrator who wanted to take my details. She asked me a series of questions. We started talking and she was from India, I told her that we lived in India before coming to NZ.
She asked me what my religion was and I said Christian, she said she was too. She asked if she could pray for me and I said yes. We prayed together and talked more about God and she told me how she always prays Psalm 91 over her family.
I told her how we pray that Psalm in my family too.
Once I was moved to the normal ward a week or so in I had a complication. My CRP levels were climbing.
A normal level is under 10 mine was over 230, which could mean a significant infection. The doctors were trying everything but it wasn't working.
On the day it reached its highest level, the administrator I'd met came to visit me. She had just decided to stop by. I told her what was going on and she prayed Psalm 91 over me.
And when I say pray, I mean she did it with such feeling and I truly felt God’s presence in the room.
The next day my CRP levels were down to a 100 and kept coming down.
A few days later my neck swelled, they didn’t know why and were about to wheel me down for an ultrasound and at that moment a chaplain came to see me and she prayed for me.
The ultrasound revealed I'd developed a clot, and I was put on blood thinners.
None of this was a coincidence.
It was all God.
Looking back, I can see that God wasn't just healing me physically. He was constantly reminding me that I wasn't alone.
Finding a church that is all about community.
Having these amazing women, women I didn't even know at the time praying for me throughout my journey.
Women who have now become family and are one of the first people I reach out to for prayer or go to for advice.
That was God.
The administrator I met – India is a huge place, yet somehow I met someone from the same city, even the same suburb I lived in.
She prayed Psalm 91 over her family – the same Psalm that changed my life and brought me back to God.
That Psalm already held such meaning for me.
Years earlier, when I was in a terrible place in my life, distant from God, distant from my family, and distant even from myself, my mum gave me Psalm 91.
I began reading it every day and, little by little, my life started to change.
It's a Psalm our family prays over people in need.
And then, in hospital, at one of the hardest moments of my life, God sent someone to pray that very same Psalm over me.
That was God.
The chaplain coming to see me at the exact moment I was being taken for a scan. That was God.
I have two ostomies, but apart from managing them, my life hasn't really changed at all - I'm able to work, travel, serve at church, and live a full life. That was God.
My surgery being a massive success with clear markers and clear histology results. That was God.
It's been two years since I was diagnosed with cancer, and today I'm still in remission. That IS God.
I don't know what my future scans will show, but I do know this:
every promise God has given me so far has proven true.
He promised never to leave me nor forsake me, and He didn't.
He promised to be my refuge and my shelter, and He was.
He promised His presence, and I experienced it in hospital, through strangers, through prayers, and through His Word.
So whatever the future holds, I'm trusting the God who has already proven Himself faithful to me.
Before you go...
If this post brought you hope or met you where you are today, you're welcome to let me know below.
Share your thoughts
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You are an incredible, courageous daughter of the Most High. An example for us all on what it looks like to walk in faith. May God bless you abundantly
ReplyDeleteAsh, this is beautiful. God is SO good, and His hand has been over you every single step of the way. What an amazing testimony seeing how He brought Psalm 91, His Promise, full circle in that hospital room. God has always held you in the palm of His hand. I am so incredibly proud of your strength, your beautiful faith, and the way you honour Him through your journey. I am the proudest mum in the world watching your faith, seeing how you live out His truth and sharing His goodness with the world! I love you always xx
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