“Do not fight our illnesses but lovingly submit to the lessons to be learned from the temporary condition. Hating or being angry about the situation just makes us weaker. Being loving and treating ourselves with tenderness makes us stronger.”
Laura Lane from ‘I Touch the Heavens’
As Steph Catudal points out in her book Everything All at Once, our innocent belief that “Heavenly Father heals the sick if you ask just right” is far from a simple truth.
Sickness in our life or the lives of our loved one is far from simple. While Heavenly Father has the ability to heal everything – broken bones and backs, leprosy, cancer, and broken hearts both figuratively and literally, it’s not about whether we ask in the right way or if we are deserving enough.
As I think of those I know who have been afflicted with illness and bodies that are far from perfect, friends with cancer, mental illness, who have been rendered quadriplegic, lost their hearing or sight, have been born with developmental disabilities, brain injuries, auto-immune diseases, or developed dementia, strokes and diabetes, all these have given each individual an opportunity to show their true character strengths and resilience as well the opportunity for those around them to as well.
Sickness is not a punishment or nor an enemy with one way to defeat it – a miracle from God. It can be simply a challenge placed in our path to teach us resourcefulness, strength, resiliency, patience, humility, kindness, empathy and a myriad of other positive traits.
I have seen miracles: miracles of complete healing, miracles of strength given, lives lengthened, reprieve given and miracles of help provided at just the right moment and the miracle of being released from pain and suffering. Each one of these miracles is beautiful.
We need to be mindful that while we may ask for one type of miracle, the Lord may have another type of miracle in mind for us or our loved ones. Healing may in fact bring transformation not just of physical cells but hearts and minds and souls.
Can we look at the benefits of illness as whose heart was brought closer to God, who became more compassionate, who learned courage through vulnerability, who learned to receive help from others and who learned how much they were loved by others by the lengths people went to serve them on a daily basis, who learned to put others needs before themselves, who went out of their way to be there for someone in need, who comforted the weary and afraid, who learned trust and forgiveness and divine perspective?
God counts all those as miracles.
I don’t think I will ever know the number of miracles that happened in the two short years that my daughter had cancer or in the years since she passed away. A decade later, I still have people come up to me and say how they were impacted by Celeste and her cancer journey.
The ripple effect has been huge. I am so fortunate to have been near the epicenter. Blessed to have had a daughter who was willing to face such immense difficulty in this life, to face it with such faith, courage and strength. I have been blessed to see a divine perspective and received healing for my grieving heart. Those are just a few of the miracles and healing I have witnessed in retrospect.
What have you learned as you or a loved one have faced illness? What miracles have you witnessed as a result? How has it transformed you and your loved one?
“Celeste’s cancer diagnosis has put everything in life in sharp perspective. Now my biggest priority, after looking after her, is to discover what faith really means and how faith creates miracles.”
Laura Lane from ‘I Touch the Heavens’