"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."—John 14:27
I had this week’s blog post already written and scheduled to post, but God had other plans on what I should write this week as well as what my memory verse should be for the month of September.
If you were wondering what the “C” is, it is cancer. No, I don't have it, but we received a bombshell this week that my 21 year old daughter has papillary thyroid cancer. When she went for her biopsy this week, we were both convinced that it would come back inconclusive and we would follow up over her Christmas break. We were both pretty surprised when she was told it came back with cancer cells.
Despite hearing the word, "Cancer", God has given us both peace. Not only is that peace from the many, many prayer warriors praying specifically for peace for her but also because of how God has orchestrated every detail the past nine days.
She found out she needed a biopsy on a Thursday. I was able to get her into the specialist for that the following Monday. A biopsy where the doctor was skeptical that she was able to get enough cells for conclusive results, yielded results in three days. The same day she got the results, she was also able to get into the endocrine surgeon’s physician assistant for a consult. The next day she was able to get the second ultrasound of her lymph nodes to see if the cancer was contained. Those results were sent to her in less than 48 hours on a Saturday evening! How does that happen?
God and faith is how this happens. As I was at the start line for a 5k the day after her second ultrasound, I said, “Lord, I am running this for Danielle.” I turned to my right and the man standing next to me had a tattoo on his bicep that said, “10-11.” My daughter’s birthday is October 11th. Tears filled my eyes because I knew God was telling me that she was going to be okay. Affirmation was received that evening that her lymph nodes were clear. Praise God!
This week I thank God for the power of prayer, the strong support system that our family has, and for the doctors and medical personnel put in her pathway. I am thankful that there are finally some answers for numerous health issues that she has been battling for a few years. When you have normal thyroid numbers, it is not the norm for a doctor to order a sonogram of your thyroid or test for Hashimotos Disease. A chronic sore throat is what led her to the student health clinic and a doctor concerned about her swollen thyroid.
Prayer, knitting and writing have been what has given me an indescribable peace. I will lean on the Lord my God, who is my rock and my foundation. He does not want me or my daughter to be troubled or afraid. He wants us to trust Him even when things aren't going according to our plans.
Will you join me for the month of September and memorize John 14:27, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
I plan on writing this scripture out on whatever pattern(s) I am working on this month. Because September is also Thyroid Cancer Awareness month, I decided to make some of the washcloths featured in this photo. The pattern is a breast cancer awareness pattern (link to it is on my pattern ideas page) where I used the colors that symbolize thyroid cancer instead of all pink.