Walking with the Lord through sickness: Answers to prayer

by Shelagh Gray - 30 September 2020

Life doesn't always work out as we would like or as we expect does it? We make plans and sometimes anything but the plan happens. Things come along out of the blue. Sometimes nice surprises, sometimes not nice surprises and sometimes very difficult situations altogether. The corona 19 virus is one of these very difficult and life changing situations that have suddenly overtaken most of the world. I am sure not many people could have imagined such a thing could possibly happen. How do we cope with these things in life?

There is a verse in the bible which says All things work together for good to those that love God. It’s found in Romans 8:28. I have found that God has an amazing way of turning difficult (and what appears to us to be even wrong) situations for good.

A small example of this happened to me recently. I am undergoing my second chemotherapy treatment. There were no complications first time round so I didn’t expect any this time but after the first treatment I didn’t pick up as I should have done. I had pain and a temperature and felt very unwell. The medical team advised that I went to the outpatients’ department at Clatterbridge hospital the next morning. It was a long and uncomfortable night!! I went to the hospital as early as possibly expecting to see a Dr and receive medication before returning home. It didn’t work out like that!! I was shown to a day ward and started on antibiotics for an infection. My husband, who couldn’t come into the hospital because of the covid 19 restrictions, was waiting for me in the car park. The nurses said it would be about a two hour wait while blood tests were taken. However the two hours stretched into four.

I wasn’t responding to treatment as the Drs hoped and they were not happy for me to be discharged. I spoke to my husband and we decided he should return home. We also had a click and collect order to be picked up!!! I am a slow reader but that day I finished a whole book before bedtime!!

My hospital stay stretched into three nights and I was taken to a single room with my own bathroom. What a blessing that was as I hadn't been sleeping very well. It was a hot summers day but I was very cold and sat wearing a big jumper. Then I discovered why. I had a very high temperature and it wasn’t responding to treatment. I knew my family were praying and I wasn’t disturbed by this. “All things work together for good to those that love God”. As always in hospital regular checks and tests are taken and suddenly in the middle of the night my temperature had returned to normal. However blood tests had to show that the infection was under control before I could go home. The following morning I was feeling much better when the cleaner came in and we got talking. This lady told me what a difficult couple of weeks she had had as her son was in hospital and she was extremely worried about him, unable to tell her work colleagues about the situation she was going through which was obviously a personal nightmare. I explained to her that I knew people who would pray for her and her son and asked if she would like me to ask them to pray. This lady used to pray and go to church but had got discouraged. Later that afternoon the lady came back to say she had a call from the hospital, her son was to be discharged with ongoing treatment. She was so excited to see that God had heard the prayer for her family and had moved on their behalf. Out of my experience with the infection had come good. I was in the right place and able to help someone else see that God is real and will answer when we call out to Him in prayer.