Written by : My mother – Christine Wilcox

Original Image by: Andrea Rose

This testimony is for all of you who are facing a test that is trying your faith in God. I pray that this witnesses to your heart and encourages your faith in God’s love for you, for His love is truly everlasting.

The beginning of my test, and my victory, was in September of 2006. I was diagnosed with colon cancer. The news wasn’t delivered to me in the plush surroundings of a doctor’s office; rather it was given to me over the phone while I was in a classroom filled with busy three-year olds. That phone call would change my life forever.

God blessed me to maintain my composure as well as the strength to finish out my work-day. As you can imagine, on the inside, I was experiencing a roller-coaster of emotions! The inner stress I was dealing with pushed my body to its limit. However, I knew that I had to gain control of myself because I would have to tell my two beautiful daughters the heartbreaking news.

A mother’s thoughts ran through my mind. How on earth could I bear to see them in pain? Pain that could not be soothed by a mother’s touch or kiss. This kind of news required more comfort than I was able to offer. I wished that they were three again! That they could return to that time when I was still able to protect them from the worst of life’s sorrows. Those were the thoughts of a mother but the thoughts of a child of God recognized that this storm was one only He could calm.

And bless the Lord! He did just that. I broke the news to my girls and, it was as I’d feared, my oldest daughter took it hard. But, as I was telling them the full prognosis, something wonderfully amazing happened: God anointed me with a spirit of praise! Needless to say, it took my daughter by surprise. In the face of such despair, God blessed me to speak words of comfort to her heart. I spoke with the authority of the Holy Ghost, I would be alright! Her tears dried up and precious hearts, she never shed another tear after that day.

But that’s not all! My youngest daughter spoke with a gift of faith and proclaimed that I was going through a test so that I would have a testimony of God’s power and what He can do! This proclamation came from her mouth but the words were planted in her by God! Although the trial of watching me suffer was hard for her to bear – she never wavered in her faith that God would heal me. God was already at work!

Healing came but it was not instantaneous. I endured rounds of chemotherapy treatment and grew weak; my blood count was low and the need to have my blood drawn constantly sapped the energy from me. But, my spirit stayed high for the duration. I was and am blessed to have a Christian family of saved brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and most of all, my children. I never lacked for prayer or encouragement. I couldn’t give up if I wanted to!

However, I was not through being tested. A day came when I heard those dreaded words no cancer patient wants to hear, “We may have to go back in.” They said, “We’ve spotted cancer in your liver.” I was speechless. That day I left the doctor’s office angry. I wasn’t angry with God but I was angry at the thought of having to endure surgery and the subsequent hills and valleys of recovery. I didn’t want to have to go through the process all over again!

Oh I was fighting mad! I suppose people must have thought me crazy because I marched away from the office, talking to my God all the while. Who else could know my frustration so well? Who else could do something about it?! I’d listened to the doctor but it was time to get a Word from God. I talked to Him and spilled my heart to Him right there in the hallway (when you’re in desperate need dear hearts, you don’t care where you are!).

“I don’t want these people cutting on me again!” I told Him. That statement was my prayer. It was all that was required. That moment gave me the courage to reach out for my “not yet” faith, the faith that God was working to develop in me. My oldest sister had accompanied me that day. I relayed to her the doctor’s news once I’d reached the waiting area where she was sitting.

You may think it strange but, she broke out into a grin. It was a grin created by the “been there, done that” faith God had gifted her with in the midst of her own tests. She simply said, “You won’t have to have the surgery.” Her certainty helped me to stand firm on my faith. It was time for God to show up and show Himself strong.

As I waited for the next set of test results to come back I had an experience that was hard for me to believe: it was something I will never forget.

One day, while I was preparing dinner, I cut up a whole clove of garlic into a pot full of sauce. When I set down to eat I noticed that I didn’t see the garlic pieces or smell the garlicky aroma. I was puzzled to say the least. I knew that I wasn’t crazy! I saw the chunks of garlic fall into the pot but now…there was no sign of me having done so. What was going on?!

An hour later, still perplexed about the disappearing garlic, I was recreating every step I took during my preparation of the miracle meal (there’s just no other way to describe it!). It was then that one of my sisters called. I promptly told her about what had happened and do you know, the Lord used her to reveal the mystery to me. She said, “Just like you can’t find the garlic in the food, the test isn’t going to show any cancer in your liver.” I hung up from my sister rejoicing in the God of my salvation. He was reassuring me that I had the victory! How could I expect anything else when we have a victorious God who has never lost a battle?!

When the test results came in the doctor, bless his heart, shifted from one foot to the other with a puzzled expression on his face. He took off his glasses and kept saying, “This is unusual,” over and over again. The test showed that there was no sign of cancer in my liver! They would not have to go back in! The doctor called it unusual, I call it a miracle!

God has made a promise in His word that He will never leave or forsake us and He meant just that dear hearts.

God gave me a scripture during this time of testing that has stayed with me ever since:

Psalm 34

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
²⁰ He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.

God was with me then and has stayed with me through all the tests that have tried me since. He is with you too. Whatever the test, whatever the difficulty you’re facing right now, know that God has not forsaken you. He has not, nor will He ever! He will lift you when you are low, encourage you when you are despondent and will strengthen you when you’re weak. Do not lose heart dear ones, give it to God and He will surely carry you through to a victorious end. There are tests ahead of me to be sure, but where I once had a “not yet” faith I now know God better and I’m inching closer and closer to the “been there, done that” faith. Every round goes higher and higher!