A few years ago, I developed a version of Lupus, an auto-immune disease, that affects the skin – Discoid Lupus or DLE for short. This included sensitivity to the sun, the tell-tale mark is a butterfly rash across my face and swelling. It was very uncomfortable.
During Covid, I had a small lesion on my right cheek and a spot on my nose which never healed. I had various appointments in Dermatology but these were telephone consultations, with 4 different consultants in around 3 years, so there was no consistency.
My husband and I were getting fed up with the lack of progress and satisfactory treatment so we prayed, along with our housegroup, that my next appointment would see a significant move. Boy, did God answer our prayers! It was a different doctor who stopped what he was doing immediately he saw me, thoroughly examined the patches on my face, went off to grab the consultant, consulted my results and arranged for a case conference with the Oral-Maxillo consultant. He promised to call back after the conference, which he did.
Within a few weeks I was given a date for a procedure to remove the growth patch on my cheek. In a follow up letter, I was informed that the growth was cancerous, as was the spot on my nose. Two more procedures followed. The nose procedure finally came; that involved three operations. There followed a diagnosis of further cancer in my breast, involving another two operations and radiotherapy. Prior to the first op on my nose, the consultant asked how I was. ‘I have come on a wave of prayer.’ Her response, ‘I pray for my patients before and I pray for them afterwards’. Waiting in a room afterwards she came with the result ‘Answer to prayer, all of the cancer has been removed’.
I had said to my Pastor that I wanted to take Jesus into the operations and for the staff to encounter Christ. I believe that even for one life changed, then it was all worthwhile.
Before, during and after each operation there were great opportunities to share my faith and have good conversations. Each time I received such an overwhelming sense of God’s peace. God’s peace did not leave me but carried me through and enabled me to talk about my faith and how other Christians were praying for me.
This was a mission field I did not seek but The Lord had prepared the way and gave me the right words at the right time. There has been so much prayer, love and concern for my husband and I and I want to say a huge Thank You to everyone and especially to The Lord.
*Photo Credit: https://www.pexels.com/@cottonbro