My son wasn’t healed—not physically.
Steven was treated for leukemia, first with chemotherapy and then with a bone marrow transplant. He relapsed, and we were informed that he was terminally ill.
In the last weeks of his life, my faith was threatened. Did I still believe? Did I trust God’s love? I needed the faith of my believing friends to sustain me. Their prayers were vital.
Steven’s illness took place more than thirty years ago. My heart has healed with a little scar. There have been other health issues in our family and friends have prayed with us. The church, the community of people joined in faith and prayer, has been essential. Jesus instituted the church for our support and growth. In the New Testament, the church is mentioned 74 times.
The first mention takes place after Peter confesses with faith that Jesus “is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus says, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
The church is built on faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
In the book, Prayer in the Night; For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep, Tish Harrison Warren wrestles with times when God seems distant. She writes about the prayers and traditions of the church. When we pray the prayers we’ve been given by the church—the prayers of the psalmist and the saints, the Lord’s prayer, the Daily Office—we pray beyond what we can know, believe or draw up in ourselves.
In the past few weeks Warren’s book has been a soothing read. It has reminded me of ways that I have been blessed by the church.
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Hello, Carol, and thanks for allowing me to witness your faith amid intense sorrow. Your trust in prayer and perseverance in Christ is an excellent testimony of God’s incredible love. GBY
Carol, thank you for sharing your journey of prayer, loss, and healing.
I, too, was sustained by the prayers (love and support) of many when our son died. Healed in being taken to Heaven. Those prayers kept my faith from crumbling….and I am eternally grateful. Stopping by from FMF today –
We can give thanks for God’s love that comes through the hands of His people. We share a bond, a son in heaven. Thanks for visiting, Jennifer!
There aren’t words to express how sorry I am for your loss. My grandmother prayed for healing every day until her passing, and she got healing from her MS. In heaven, I know she is dancing around.
Carol, I’m so sorry for your loss, and awed by your courage in describing it.
The courage of the quiet kind,
that sheds but one wry tear
is greater, ‘least to my own mind
than the sort made to appear
theatrical, on spot-lit stage,
rehearsed to touch the heart
with little hooks on every page,
and fill-in graphs to chart
effect of words on audience;
“Did my sorrow make them cry?
In the future, going hence,
more bathos, maybe, I might try?”
And that is why, outside stage-door,
you affect me all the more.
It took me a year after Steven’s death to recognize all the ways that God had cared for Steven and our family. The Lord was near to us even when we
couldn’t feel or see His presence.