Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart
At 13 years of age, I determined I didn’t have much of a testimony. I had asked Jesus into my heart at the age of 10 and I’d lived a pretty sheltered life. I would hear people share about how they had been saved from this or that, or how they’d had some disease and God had healed them, and my testimony seemed pretty lame in comparison. I’m not saying that’s why what happened next happened, I’m just saying that it woke me up to the fact that not having an exciting testimony, is a testimony in itself!
It was winter and I came down with a horrible case of the flu. After a day of dealing with “normal flu symptoms,” I found myself unable to go to the bathroom. My mom insisted I must not be drinking enough fluids and had me drink more. I watched as my stomach swelled up like a balloon. The pain became unbearable. I couldn’t lie down, I was walking all hunched over and my eyes had huge dark circles under them.
Finally, I couldn’t take the pain any longer and I walked into the living room where my parents were seated. My dad asked where the pain was and I showed him. He pushed on my stomach and I nearly went through the roof. Concerned it was my appendix, he rushed me to the doctor’s office.
The doctor was very concerned and told my dad to get me to the emergency room right away and that he would meet him there. I was burning up with fever and the pain was agonizing. It seemed my stomach continued to grow!
I will always remember the drive to the hospital, the roads were icy and it had started snowing real hard – rough conditions for a quick trip to the hospital – and it felt like it took forever.
The next few days are kind of hazy. I remember lots of tests and having a tube put down my nose into my stomach. The tests revealed a tear in my duodenum, which was causing a bowel blockage. The doctors determined that if they operated, the sutures probably wouldn’t hold and I would either have to wear a colostomy bag the rest of my life, or worst case scenario, I could die. The only other option was to continue to use the drain tube, remain on IV fluids only and monitor the situation.
My parents opted to trust God and wait.
I remained in critical condition for several days and then the doctors began to see an improvement. The hole was closing up! I was in the hospital for a total of 13 days. This was the first time the doctors had seen anything like this and somewhere, my case is written in the medical journals. Waiting had been the right decision, God had healed me.
One of the greatest testimonies we can have is that God is faithful. In the big things and in the little things, God is faithful. We don’t have to have a dramatic testimony to share His love with others.
I am so thankful today for watching over me and my family, for God’s provision, His protection, and His love. He is amazing!
