I’m not sure how many of you know about this, but I wanted
to share with you something really personal that I went through back in April
of this year.
to share with you something really personal that I went through back in April
of this year.
At the beginning of my month in India, I discovered a small mass on one of my breasts after a shower one day. I didn’t think much about it, but rather mentioned it to my teammates and went on my way. Through all of the changes of the move from Chennai to Bangalore, I realized it had grown even larger to the size of a [flattened] golf ball and hurt a lot. I was losing sleep at night from all of the pain.
One morning, when we went to spend time at a park with handicapped children, I shared with Anita (the wife of our contact Paul) what was going on and she told me that she would go with me to the doctor that afternoon.
While waiting for my appointment, I had a few of my squad-mates pray over my body. One of them had me pray aloud over myself as well and, something I wouldn’t normally ever do, I put a time limit on it and declared that in 30 minutes my body would be healed. I became really distraught after that, wondering why on earth “30 minutes” could out of my mouth. So I spent the next 30 minutes in prayer and worship.
As the minutes ticked on my watch, I became more and more nervous.
I was scared what people would think if my body wasn’t healed after the 30 minute time frame.
The lump hadn’t gone down though, so I held my breathe & humbly admitted that I “wasn’t healed” and headed back over to Capstone that afternoon so Anita could take me to the doctor.
The hospital she took me to just so happened to specialize in women too…perfect. After an anxious wait in the waiting room, I finally met with the doctor. After she examined my breasts, there was an awkward tension that arose in the room.. The doctor seemed unsettled and told me that I would need some other tests run by the surgeon.
Yep, my head went spinning.
Initially I thought, “I have heard that mammograms huuuurrrrt.”
My head kept spinning…
“I am only 21 years old, why in the world do I have to be dealing with this right now?!”
and
“whyyy do I have to be dealing with THIS on the World Race in India annndwithout my mom and ‘doctor dad’???”
But let me tell you about Anita…
She held my hand through everything.
She prayed for me constantly.
She never left my side and never gave up hope with me.
She was my mom.
She was my best friend.
She was my sister.
She was everything I could ever want and need during those moments and God knew it.
That’s why He gave me her.
I wouldn’t have chosen to deal with this issue at any other place or any other time than with her right there in the middle of India.
After the meeting with the first doctor, I remember sitting out in the waiting room again and Anita handed me her cell phone and told me to call my mom. I didn’t want my parents to find out about this because I didn’t want them to worry. But when Anita handed me her phone, I knew they deserved to hear what was going on with me on the other side of the world. I went outside to call my mom and when I heard my mom’s voice over the phone line, I broke down crying. Luckily she was at a conference surrounded by women who were amazing prayer warriors. Isn’t it funny how God takes care of you and your family when you need it the most?! :]
I was quickly filled with peace that all was going to be OK.
I had some tests done and soon left the hospital with some medicine to help reduce pain so I would be able to sleep at night. I was also given another appointment to come back after the pain had hopefully subsided to have further tests run.
At church on Sunday, God brought another woman into my life named Julie [an American, by the way] who just so happened to be a nurse and had a better clinic she wanted to take me to.
The next day, before Julie even picked me up to take me to the doctor, I woke up to realize that the lump had shrunk to the size of a pea!
When I made it to the doctor this time, she looked at my breasts and gave me a quick sigh of relief that everything was “A OK” and no need to worry.
I can stand here today to tell you that the mass is nowhere to be find on my body anymore!!! :]
If there is no other reason for this incident to happen to me other than the face that I got to spend extra quality time with Anita, then so be it. I would do it all over again just for that. I love that woman so much and am excited how God joins us together somehow in ministry to women in the future. :]
I am also convinced that God brings me so far into situations that women get into just so that I can experience the emotions, the feelings, the hurts, the joys, etc etc, in order to only empathize with other women even more. And the good thing about that is that He only allows me so far into situations as to not be completely effected by them. Incidents such as this and other “womanly issues” involved in my testimony are only preparing me and leading me into my ministry to women today and in the future.
God’s so good to me. :]
