~Something To It

During the seven weeks of Radiation, Joshua met with the Radiation Oncologist at least once a week. I was with him for some of the appointments, and like any other medical professional, Joshua was always eager to tell Dr. Garren about how Jesus was his "superhero" and would take care of him. I had actually noticed that Joshua continually referenced Jesus, as opposed to God, whenever he spoke with Dr. Garren, but at the time, I did not think too much of it.  At one appointment, Dr. Garren told us about his first miracle patient. A young woman had been through one cycle of Radiation Therapy. Unfortunately, not only had it not worked, but another tumor had formed.  As the doctor relayed the bad news that there was nothing else he could do to help her, she and her family silently cried. She left his office that day, and he assumed she would be dead within three months.  Not sure how to spend her remaining days, she decided to help someone worse off than herself, and she became a caretaker for an elderly individual who was dying.   After their death a few months later, the girl was still feeling well, so she proceeded to care for another terminally ill patient.  She was still alive, so why not?  During this time, she also found meaning and value in life through a relationship with God. In a miraculous turn off events, she continued to live, and tests eventually revealed that both tumors had disappeared.  She told Dr. Garren that when she gave her life to Christ, He, in His mercy, gave her more time. Joshua's doctor had met many Christians throughout his career. Some were healed, and some died clinging to their faith in Christ, but he said that they all impressed him with their joy and positive outlook.

At one particular appointment, Dr. Garren was discussing a book he was writing, and he advised Joshua that if his hair-loss prevention technique worked and Joshua's hair came back completely, he might be a case study in the book.  Joshua persisted in telling him that he would not only keep his hair, but that he would also live a regular lifespan. The doctor advised that maybe Joshua would be one of the miracle patients that he would write about, and Joshua agreed that it would be alright, under one condition: that he give credit to Jesus. At that point, Dr. Garren became serious, and remarked, "You know, I'm Jewish, but the more I see and hear, the more I'm starting to think that there might really be something to Jesus." Instant chills. All the times Joshua had talked about Christ . . . little had he realized how strategic his wording had been, how much God was truly speaking through him.  It just goes to show how extravagantly God loves us. So much that He will allow His beloved children to experience a horrible diagnosis that places them directly in the path of a doctor who desperately needs to hear that there is something to Jesus. You just never know. I do not know the future, but I have faith that one day Dr. Garren will call Jesus his Savior, and God will have used the faith and obedience of many brave patients to help make it happen.  That day reminded me that we never really know just how much God could be working through a situation.  Our worst nightmares can be used according to His plan.  He can take a scary, terrible situation and turn it into something beautiful.