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A Search for Healing
by Michele Fleming As Tami sat on the crowded bus, she braced herself for the jostling of each pothole and turn. Closing her eyes, she tried to clear her mind of all the busy-talk around her by the other passengers, wanting only to concentrate on what lay ahead. This appointment had been weighing on her mind for months, but today, finally, she was going to find out if the treatments had worked. Tami had found out six months ago that she had breast cancer. One week later, she underwent a double radical mastectomy only to discover the cancer had spread to one of her lungs. As soon as her incisions had healed enough, she began chemotherapy and radiation treatments with hopes of obliterating the cancer left inside her body. With no family to speak of, Tami relied solely on the support of her church family to see her through this trying time. They were her rock, her shoulder to cry on, her counselors and her nursemaids on the days that the chemo attacked her very core. She praised God daily for each and every member of that tiny little church. She feels she would not have survived this ordeal without them. Even today, as she travels this road of uncertainty, her two closest friends, Faith and Hope, flank either side of her. Tami is relieved they were eager to make this trip with her. She needed their strength today, more than ever before. As the bus began to slow at their stop, Tami opened her eyes and looked to each friend, giving them her bravest smile. Despite her brave front, she was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane on the inside. On one hand, she could not wait to hear the results the doctors had for her. On the other, she was scared to death! A short time later, Tami found herself and her friends seated in a small conference room. Scanning the room, noticed some paintings on the wall beside her. One print depicted the hand of the Lord reaching down from the heavens to hold onto the outreached hand of one of some desperate soul. As she studied the painting, she felt her knotted muscles began to relax and then an overwhelming since of peace settled around her. Her body once chilled with nerves, now tingled from the warmth of the spirit of the Lord as He wrapped her in His mighty arms. As wonderful as this was, she was unsure if he was trying to tell her everything was going to be okay, or if He was only readying Himself to catch her when she fell. Either way, she praised the Lord for the knowledge that He was there with her. The sound of the heavy wooden door opening broke Tami from her meditation. "Ms. Thomas, sorry you had to wait." Dr. Myers, wearing his customary what jacket, entered the room with a team of fellow doctors. Each of them made their way to Tami's side and offered a hand in greeting. "It's alright, Dr. Myers. The nurse that called me said you had my results?" Tami clasped her hands together tightly and shoved them between her knees. "Yes, as you know we were hoping that with the chemo and radiation therapies that we would be able to shrink the tumor on your lungs. At the very least keep it contained." "Yes, so how is it now? What did my tests show, Dr.?" She wished he would just get on with it and tell her what they found. "Well . . .," Dr. Myers began, letting the word hang in the air for a moment, "we were all very astonished at what we found actually." Tami scanned the faces of the other doctors in the room. In each face, she found the same thing . . . shock . . . disbelief . . . amazement. She turned her gaze back to Dr. Myers who now had such an exuberant smile on his face that Tami was sure his face would crack from the wideness of it. "Dr. Myers?" "My dear, you had one of the most aggressive kinds of cancers there is and truthfully we didn't think this treatment was going to work. By some miracle, however, your tests came back completely clear! You are completely cancer free, Tami!" Overcome with emotion, Tami realized that God had dealt her a miracle. She and her friends began to rejoice. Truly astonishing! www.micheleflemingauthor.weebly.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |