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By Jacqueline R. McEwan
God Still Heals
So you shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread, and your water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of you. (Exodus 23:25 NKJV).
It was during my tenure as senior pastor. For several months, I experienced some annoying physical discomfort and sought medical attention. After enduring extensive diagnostic tests and visits to doctors at several medical facilities, the day came for obtaining the results of the findings. A few days prior to leaving home to attend our church’s annual convention, the telephone rang, at about 10 o’clock in the morning. It was my primary physician. He quickly stated, “You have cancer.”
No one expects to get this kind of news; especially not me and certainly not at this time. How does an ambassador for God – one who prays, speaks and walks by faith, one who believes in healing, and one who watches God heal others, subsequently, now deal with her own illness? I will never forget my immediate response to the doctor’s telephone call, “Oh Jesus.” The tears began to well up in my eyes while I struggled to listen to what else he had to say. He described the location of the cancer and provided me with further instructions to follow for the next few days. In all that was stated, I vaguely remembered him saying that a cancerous mass was found. After hanging up the phone, I allowed the tears, held back as he spoke, to flow freely.
Too often we put ourselves and families on the back burner so that we can meet the needs of others, however, this time, in my mind, I needed to walk out the scriptures for my own personal challenges now staring me in the face. I wanted to say but could not, “I can’t deal with your problem right now.” In the minister’s state of mind, no way could I open myself up to this vessel of God. My thought was, “I don’t think you can handle what’s going on with me right now.” In the conversation with this minister, although the devastating news I had just received was upsetting to me, I dared not mention it.
I needed to hear from someone who had already gone through and show me how to get through this. As suggested by my oldest daughter, Fredjural, I was so blessed to connect via telephone with a colleague of hers, Dr. Denise Smith at Howard University Hospital. Dr. Smith had gone through a similar procedure and was able to ease my mind somewhat and respond to my many concerns. God knows just what to do when we don’t know what to do. He is the one who makes available individuals who can speak right into our circumstances, while we are in the worst of times. The person God connects you to may not always be within your local church community or immediate family. Here again, that someone may not always understand the spiritual aspect, but their knowledge of the natural position is so rewarding.
Just prior to the scheduled surgery date, an unexpected call came from the surgeon’s office. The operation was rescheduled for a week earlier than previously stated. Oh God! So much was on my plate to be completed in a shorter time frame. In my small thinking, I didn’t envision God’s providential way of getting me through the surgery earlier. This was so He not only would get the glory for the healing, but I would be up and about a whole lot sooner than planned. Praise God, the surgery went well, the patient survived and the final results were expected in a few days. God was completely in charge. He had everything under His control.
After going through a week of minor discomfort, no pain and much needed rest, I received another call from my doctor. This time he stated he had some bad and good news. Of course my heart began to sink. He continued to say, “The bad news is really not all that bad”. And in my mind I was saying, “You are talking to someone who is recovering from major surgery”. He continued to say further surgery was necessary in order to remove additional infected tissue. However, he promised it would be a minor and brief procedure. Preparation to undergo this procedure was recommended for the next day. Here again, God was still in control and I was still believing Him for a quick and complete healing. Two weeks before my youngest daughter’s wedding, I was going under the surgeon’s knife once again.
With only a few people with some knowledge of my medical ordeal, I made it through the wedding of our youngest daughter. There were no visible signs of my condition or operations that had occurred just a few days before. The wedding turned out perfectly.
I was informed that in the next month, radiation treatments would commence and continue over the course of six weeks, five days per week. Completing the first four days of radiation and experiencing the effects of the treatments, enabled me to then schedule my daily activities. Though, somewhat fatigued as a result of the treatments, God gave me strength to maintain most of the tasks normally necessary to accomplish. After each treatment and usually about three or four o’clock in the afternoon my body would begin shutting down; thus, allowing me to perform only minimal task.
To add to my plight, my husband was now scheduled for major surgery in the upcoming month. Once again God overshadow him with his healing. We can turn over to Jesus our burdens and cares of this life and know that He will carry them. He cares about us and will heal and free us from diseases. If God does not heal, we know He can. You can expect to receive new mercies not only in due season but in the morning. Know that God’s morning comes at any time of day. At the writing of this book, several years later, I am cancer free and so is my husband. Praise God!
Sincerely,
A Survivor
Jacqueline McEwan is a retired Health Systems Specialist. ordained by the United Holy Church of America and affirmed by Kingdom Fellowship Covenant Ministries under Archbishop Ralph L. Dennis, Towson, MD. She has written a series of pamphlets that minister to the Body of Christ, entitled “Simply the Truth and is the author of two published books entitled, “Women in the Pews” and “New Mercies.”
The opinions on this page are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the AFRO.
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