"Everything Happens for a Reason"
By Amanda Wargo~ April 12, 2006
Many people believe everything happens for a reason. This was the belief of Sharon S. who in 2005 found herself fighting cancer.
It all occurred within a four month period, but for Sharon and her family time passed slowly.
Sharon had been a devout Christian her entire life. She had never turned her back on God even when times got tough.
In 1991, she married Tim S., who is currently a pastor at the Assembly of God church in Indiana. "Being a pastor's wife, obviously God has been a big part of my everyday life," Sharon said.
Not even being a pastor's wife could have prepared her for the series of events that would change her life.
"One day in August, my youngest child had just finished a bath and had left water all over the floor. I ended up slipping and falling on the shower door track. I thought I'd broken some ribs." said Sharon.
After a trip to the emergency room it was discovered that though the fall hadn't injured her, it may have saved her life. There was something else during the examination which caught the attention of doctors.
"They thought that my uterus seemed rather enlarged and perhaps I was 20 weeks pregnant. I knew I wasn't pregnant, I would have known if I was." she said.
Sharon was sent to visit an OBGYN and an ultrasound was performed. She definitely wasn't pregnant, but she did have a large cyst growing on her ovaries.
After further tests, it was noted that there was a solid mass within the cyst.
"All I remember hearing was the word cancer and then there was a lot of crying." she said.
An appointment was made with an oncologist in Indianapolis, but they would have to wait three weeks for the appointment.
"It was during those three weeks that I went through a very dark period. You think everything in your life is going just fine and then you get news like this and now you start thinking that you could potentially be facing death," said Sharon.
With finding out the unthinkable was happening to her, doctors prescribed medications to help her sleep. "It hadn't even been 24 hours since we had heard the news and they thought I was going into a stage of depression," she said.
The strange thing was that when I took the sleep medicine I still couldn't sleep. A friend of Sharon had given her a tape full of Scriptures on healing.
"It was when I'd listen to that tape, and only then, that I would be able to sleep," said Sharon.
In the next couple weeks many friends of the family would email her Scriptures about faith, healing and the power of prayer. It was those emails tucked away in her Bible that gave her the strength to push through each day.
"I took those with me everywhere. They'd go with me to the doctors, to the grocery store and just on car rides. Whenever I'd feel myself slipping away I could read those powerful words and they would give me strength," said Sharon.
If you ask her about those three weeks, she'll tell you they were filled with the worst and the best moments for her. It was during those weeks that allowed her to grow spiritually.
"It was a renewal of the mind. I was reminded to let God have control. He says, 'What does not break us can only make us into something new.' It was during that time that I learned to have a greater faith almost to the point that it feels like a blessing." she said.
According to Sharon, nobody wants to get cancer, nobody wants to face that kind of life changing event, but it is how you choose to deal with the situation that is the key to surviving it.
It was her faith in God that pushed Sharon through the next couple of months. In December, she underwent a radical hysterectomy.
"I believe the transformation that I went through prepared me for the surgery. I was at peace," she said.
Doctor's thought that the surgery would last at least four hours but it turned out to only last two hours for Sharon.
"They said it was flawless and that they were able to contain everything. The tumor that was removed from me was about three and a half pounds, the size of a small basketball," she said.
Before going into the surgery Sharon had one request, she wanted to make sure her doctor was just as much of a Christian as she was.
"It meant all the difference in the world to know that she had the same beliefs as me. Prior to surgery we all stood in the pre-op and prayed together," said Sharon.
It has now been four months since the tumor was removed and according to doctors there is a 95% chance the cancer will never return.
Sharon is still trying to find her new normal, but she knows that she wants to share with others how having faith in God can really make a difference when faced with the unimaginable.
"Others helped me by sending me the Scriptures and I want to do the same for others," she said.
Sharon has put together a couple different pamphlets listing many of the Scriptures that helped her in her healing process. She has been sending them to various churches in hopes they will help bring comfort to others.
She wants others to know that a strong relationship with God is important. To trust and believe and to be aware that He is able to help and it will enable the good to happen.
If you would like a pamphlet of healing scriptures that Sharon created, you may request one free of charge at expectantprayers@kc.rr.com. The pamphlets may be reproduced.
