My family got the news in about May that my mum's partner, Paul, would need to have a major operation to remove most of his oesophagus. This was obviously a terrifying prospect for him and for us, and things seemed to go from bad to worse as more tests and chats with doctors revealed that this operation might risk him losing his speech, swallow and ability to breathe without a tracheostomy. My mum was giving us regular updates about appointments etc. and asked my grandparents (also Christians) and I to pray.
I knew that my mum was praying too. The last several years had been difficult for her personally and she’s experienced some church hurt. I hoped that, despite the horrible circumstances, this time would draw her back to God. My mum and Paul were first in my prayer journaling every night, but, honestly, my faith was low that anything would drastically change. I could much more easily pray for wisdom for the surgeons than I could for Paul to be healed without intervention. I could much more easily pray asking God to comfort my mum than to ask that she follow Him again.
Amazingly, because God is so much greater than the box I tried to put Him in, my mum has begun to recognise His voice. She told me of a song that started playing randomly on her phone one day. The Lord's careful planning meant that her curiosity was peaked to keep listening, as this song was written by a boy from my old church. "Jehovah" spoke of some of the names of God and His characteristics. The Lord highlighting Himself as Jehovah Rapha - the God who heals - brought my mum so much comfort.
In July, Paul's surgeon decided that they would try a different approach — a laser treatment instead of removing his oesophagus. Still painful, still a big deal, but so much less invasive than the alternative. Hope. When my mum messaged our family group chat saying, "this is the miracle we've prayed for", I couldn't believe both what God had done, and that these words were being typed by my mum!
This story isn't quite finished yet as Paul is still waiting to have his laser treatment, and my mum too has been unwell the last couple months, but I'm already in awe of how God has moved. I would be so thankful if any of my church family would pray for my mum (Sarah-Jane) and for Paul.
Meaghan Nelson-Hughes
Re:Hope West End
Let’s join Meaghan in looking back with thanksgiving for all God has done so far, and continuing to pray in faith for more!
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