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Testimony - Sheri Peters
57 Plays4 years ago
Testimony
Sheri Peters
Sunday Message recorded 19 September 2021
by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Speaker Introduction
00:00:02
Speaker
Good morning. I am truly glad that you're here this morning. We have a special guest speaker that's going to give her testimony. I want to also say good morning to those who are watching via Facebook Live. I appreciate both of you, both groups, watching this morning and listening.
Encouragement from Scripture
00:00:19
Speaker
You know, when I think about someone's testimony, there's a certain passage that comes to my mind. It's found in 2 Corinthians 4,
00:00:27
Speaker
Twice in this one passage he says, do not lose heart. Maybe there's somebody that's here this morning, someone that's watching this morning, and you've been losing heart. I really believe that what you will hear next will encourage and strengthen you down deep within your heart. It says in 2 Corinthians 4 verse 7, but we have this treasure in jars of clay.
00:00:54
Speaker
to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down,
00:01:15
Speaker
but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. That's why God has given us life and breath.
00:01:34
Speaker
He's given us life and breath so we could glorify him.
Meet Sherry Peters
00:01:38
Speaker
Sherry Peters is a member of our church. We appreciate her so much. She's also very active in our community for many years. She taught as a school teacher at Columbus High School. Some of you may know Sherry from that angle.
00:01:52
Speaker
Others may know her from the Zach's Hope that we have each year. It's coming up October 9th, so that'll be coming just around the corner. Hope you'll join us down at the track at the football field. It's always a fun time together as a community.
00:02:07
Speaker
But then others may know her from a servant's heart ministry because God has done things in her heart. And so she has joined a group from our church, a team, and they're trying to minister to cancer patients and to caregivers of the cancer patients. And so it's just a real joy to invite Sherry Peters to come this
Testimony of Faithfulness
00:02:30
Speaker
morning. I know that she lives what she's going to say.
00:02:35
Speaker
And so what she's going to do, she's going to describe God's faithfulness, God's goodness, God's greatness. She'll describe how God has been there with her through all that she has gone through. And so wherever you are in your journey, I know that you're going to be able to connect to what God will say through Sherry Peters. So let's pray, and then we're going to welcome Sherry Peters to come and share with us. Would you join me one more time as we pray?
00:03:04
Speaker
Lord, I thank you so much for Sherri. She is such a blessing to our church and to our community. You've given her a tremendous heart, a heart that cares for people. Lord, thank you so much for all that you have walked with her through. We know that her life has not always been easy, and that will be part of what we're here today.
00:03:27
Speaker
But as we hear all that she's been through, I pray that we would not miss the big story, the story of what you've been doing in her life and through her life. May we see the goodness of God and the faithfulness of God. May we see your power fresh and new. Some may be needing hope.
00:03:48
Speaker
And so I pray you would extend hope to them through what they were here today. Thank you for the power of a testimony, as a Christian describes how the true and the living God has been at work through their life as they are following Jesus Christ one day at a time. So bless us now and speak to each heart. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Would you join me in welcoming Sherry Peters to come and share a testimony?
Zach's Battle with Cancer
00:04:24
Speaker
Good morning. That was really a really sweet introduction. You know, it's hard, and all of you have a testimony, every person does, and it's often hard to get everything that you want to say in one session. So what I'm going to try to do is kind of skim what I consider to be kind of the high points. If I lose my train of thought, there are two things to blame. One,
00:04:48
Speaker
chemotherapy because chemo brain is real and it seems to have a very long life span. The second thing is age and honestly I'm not sure which one of those is worse.
00:05:06
Speaker
Most of you know that Leonard and I had four beautiful kids, three sons and a sweet daughter. And you know that our youngest son, Zach, when he was 16 years old, was diagnosed with a rare form of a childhood cancer. Now, like a lot of people, we didn't know very much about childhood cancers. I want to pivot for a second because I do want to talk about that subject.
00:05:30
Speaker
This is September and September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. You may not know that because it doesn't always get all the attention that breast cancer does. We know that it's a pink ribbon in October and for September it's a gold ribbon when you see that.
00:05:50
Speaker
We learned a lot through that walk with Zach. And it was his oncologist, Dr. Winston Hudd, MD Anderson, who made us aware of the need for finances for childhood cancer. And he really explained it very easily. He said, children are the smallest group diagnosed with cancer. So they get the least amount of funding.
00:06:11
Speaker
You know, statistically, that's great odds for most parents. But if you happen to be the parent of one of those kids who's diagnosed, it suddenly becomes kind of devastating.
00:06:24
Speaker
And it was MD Anderson who introduced us to an organization called Cure Search. They worked with them. And what Cure Search does is they collect money through fundraising or you can go online at any time and give money to them. And then they will redistribute that funding amongst hospitals that are trying to find a cure for childhood cancer.
00:06:47
Speaker
And it was from that that Zach's hope was created. And part of the reason honestly also came from Zach. Because he told me at one point that he didn't want another child to have to go through all that he went through.
Zach's Hope Fundraising Effort
00:07:01
Speaker
It was born in 2012. I have on last year's Zach's Hope shirt. The names that are on the front of my shirt are the names of children who lived in Colorado County who were diagnosed with cancer. Their parents gave us permission or they are adults today and they gave us permission. On the back of the shirt are the names of individuals and businesses who chose to sponsor Zach's Hope.
00:07:28
Speaker
If you looked at the newsletter then you saw that last year we were able to send a check to CURE search for over $11,000. That's a really substantial amount and I am always amazed at the kindness and the generosity of small town America and so many individuals within this church.
00:07:49
Speaker
If you were one of those people who supported Zach's Hope by buying a shirt or being a sponsor or giving a donation or just coming out and walking with us on the day of the event, on behalf of my family and the families of all these kids you see on the front of my shirt, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. A lot of these kids are doing well today in case you're wondering, and some, well, their healing took place.
00:08:18
Speaker
in the presence of God. Going back to that May of 2011 when our world got turned completely upside down, I think of all of our kids and Leonard would probably agree that Zach was the least likely one we thought would have something like that.
00:08:36
Speaker
His type of cancer is in a classification called a sarcoma. Sarcoma means aggressive cell. Sarcomas affect babies all the way up to the elderly. The specific type of sarcoma that Zach had was a bone cancer called Ewing's.
00:08:57
Speaker
Now Ewing's has been known for a very long time, almost 100 years. It was given its name in 1927 when a Dr. Ewing's using early X-ray technology found a tumor on the leg of a 12 year old boy.
00:09:15
Speaker
The cure for sarcomas is the same today as it was almost 100 years ago. And that is surgical removal or if it is a bone cancer, amputation of part of the limb or if necessary, the entire limb.
00:09:35
Speaker
The problem with sarcomas is that they often will metastasize. And their favorite place to go are the lungs. And they don't make one nice convenient tumor to be removed. No, they make hundreds. And they're peppered all throughout the lungs.
00:09:52
Speaker
Surgical removal is no longer an option.
Sherry's Cancer Journey Begins
00:09:56
Speaker
And the only thing doctors have really to fight with is chemotherapy and radiation, if that type of tumor will respond to it. When Zach was diagnosed, he had a 13-inch tumor that went from his upper left thigh to his knee.
00:10:16
Speaker
It did metastasize. He probably had 100 or more tumors. And his orthopedic surgeon from Anderson called me to tell me that in addition to that,
00:10:29
Speaker
The tumors had gone into the plural lining of the lungs. And she explained that that made this especially difficult because it's hard for chemotherapy to get into the lining of the lungs. Despite all of that, he was our son. He was 16. And it was my prayer, Leonard's prayer, his brothers and his sisters' prayer, that he would be healed from this cancer.
00:10:55
Speaker
that He would be that miracle case that you hear about. And why not? Because we know that with God all things are possible. And we know that miracles still happen. The Holy Spirit is alive today as He was 2,000 years ago.
00:11:14
Speaker
We went into that year with Zach. He fought really hard. Anderson did too. He would undergo six different chemo cocktails. His oncologist would tell us that he was really strong and ironically healthy other than a life-threatening cancer because he could handle six different chemos when most of their patients only got through three. They would amputate
00:11:43
Speaker
his left leg, and part of his left hip, all in an effort to save his life. However, on the morning of May 30th, four o'clock in the morning, in 2012, when he was 17 years old, the Lord made his decision and Zach was healed in his presence. Three years later, I too would be diagnosed with a rare form of a sarcoma.
00:12:12
Speaker
Now, Zax was a bone sarcoma. Mine would be one of soft tissue. Mine was called leiomyosarcoma or LMS for short. Leiomyosarcoma is found in babies all the way up to the elderly. It is diagnosed in men because it grows in a muscle in your body.
00:12:39
Speaker
But it is predominantly found in women, typically somewhere in their 50s or 60s in the uterus, because the uterus is a large muscle. I was your textbook case for Leo Meyer's sarcoma.
00:12:58
Speaker
Now, when my diagnosis came about, my doctor was not expecting that. I was going to a gynecologist in Haiti, and we opted to do a hysterectomy, and it took place at Hermann Hospital. And the truth of what I actually had would come into existence for us 12 days later. Took that long.
00:13:21
Speaker
because as
Struggles with Faith and Fear
00:13:22
Speaker
the doctor explained to Leonard and I when he called us in on that Tuesday, the pathologist could not really fathom what he was looking at. I had almost a six-inch tumor in the uterine wall. What they thought was a fibroid was not, and he had to get the opinion of six other pathologists. They don't see LMS that often.
00:13:47
Speaker
Once they decided that is exactly what it was, then they told my doctor and he told me, my best hope for survival was that it had not spread. My doctors were also honest with me.
00:14:04
Speaker
He had a good friend who worked in gynecology at MD Anderson, so he called her, and I got in the very next day. She had a good friend in the sarcoma unit at Anderson. It's amazing how this stuff works, isn't it? And that doctor had an opening on Friday.
00:14:25
Speaker
So all I needed was a scan to determine if it had indeed metastasized. So I get the news on Tuesday, I meet the gynecologist at Anderson on Wednesday, I have a CT scan on Thursday, and boom, I'm in the doctor's office on Friday, and I meet Dr. Maria Czar Czar for the first time.
00:14:45
Speaker
Leonard was with me. Erin and Michael were with me. And that is when she gave me, again, another round of really hard news. It had metastasized. I don't think any of them were surprised based on the size of the tumor. I had, in her words, more tumors than she could count in both lungs. My guess is they probably were up around 100. They had not gone into the plural lining. I had advanced disease.
00:15:14
Speaker
I had a really high mitotic rate of cell division. When they did that hysterectomy on me, that cancer was growing exponentially. And later, Dr. Czar Czar would tell me that I was probably about five weeks away from death when I had that hysterectomy. So the next question I had, having been a pro at sarcomas, how well does it respond to chemotherapy? And she went like that.
00:15:42
Speaker
Statistically, LMS responds in 38% of cases. So if you flip that thought in 62% of cases, it doesn't respond at all. And it doesn't respond to radiation. In 2015, the only thing they had were three chemo lines. That was it.
00:16:10
Speaker
She told me she could not cure me. She said all she could do was extend my days. And that is if she could get mileage out of those three chemo lines. And she told me she wanted me to try. When we went home that evening, I'm gonna be just really honest with you, I wondered if it was even worth the battle.
00:16:34
Speaker
I had already gone through this with Zach. I didn't think anybody fought harder than he did. And he made 12 months. Cancer is hard on your family. It's expensive, even with insurance. And it's not just you. Your whole family is in on that roller coaster ride with you. And they're having to change their schedule to accommodate you.
00:16:57
Speaker
And part of me wondered if it just wouldn't be better or easier on them if I just didn't do anything and let the disease take its course. The catalyst that made me change my mind was actually in the form of my daughter. My sons were grown, so I felt like my responsibility was done. The oldest one was married and he had a little girl. And Junji was 15.
00:17:24
Speaker
And so when Leonard and I sat down with her that evening and we told her what my oncologist said, she looked at me with tears streaming down her face and she said, I need you. And that's really what did it. But once I decided I am going to do this, the one thing I desperately needed was the same thing I needed when Zach was diagnosed and that was hope.
00:17:54
Speaker
hope that I would be cured. I knew Anderson couldn't do it. They didn't cure Zach, and they already told me they couldn't cure me. I already saw all the statistics. I knew that the only one who could cure me was the one who created me, and the one who designed every cell in my body, that he knew exactly how I was supposed to function.
00:18:22
Speaker
And I desperately needed people in my life to believe the same thing. When I have spoken of some of the things I have gone through with different people, a lot of times they think that I am this great woman of faith. Oh, I wish that were true. I wish I could stand up here and tell you that I always have the faith of Abraham, and that just isn't so. My family can tell you that.
00:18:51
Speaker
I often find myself fluctuating. Faith, fear. Faith, fear. Perhaps some of you have done that sometimes too.
00:19:02
Speaker
You know, when I stood on God's word and I made it personal, I can do all things through Christ because He strengthens me. Greater is He that is in me than the disease that's in this body. And I am an overcomer. I'm an overcomer because of the blood of the lamb and the word of my testimony.
Community Support and Encouragement
00:19:23
Speaker
When I did that, I felt so strong and I felt so filled with the Holy Spirit. And yet,
00:19:31
Speaker
When I took my eyes off, that's when I could sink. You know, I think about with Peter. I've always thought I have something in common with the Apostle Peter in more than open mouth, insert foot. You know, when Peter got off that boat, and when he looked at Jesus, and he looked only at Jesus, he did not see the storm around him.
00:19:59
Speaker
He did not, what I like to think, see his circumstances. All he saw was Christ. However, when he took his eyes off of Christ and he saw his circumstances and he thought, I'm walking on water, I'm not supposed to be able to do that, what happened? He began to sink. That was me. And you know, sometimes it didn't take very much.
00:20:26
Speaker
I could read a story about someone dying of cancer. I could look at statistics of people who have died from cancer. Don't ever do that. And sometimes all it would take is not to receive an encouraging word. I have found that most of us, if not all of us, we don't know what to say to people who have encountered tragedy in their lives.
00:20:55
Speaker
When a young person dies, what do you say to those grieving parents? When a person has been given a devastating diagnosis, what do you say? And sometimes what people do is they rely on what are called platitudes. Can I share something with you? Platitudes do not help. They especially don't help.
00:21:23
Speaker
when they're spoken by someone who has not been where you've been. What does it sound like? A person could come up to me and they could say, I'm praying for you, and I believe that you will be healed. And then here it comes. Here comes the platitude.
00:21:43
Speaker
Sometimes I like to compare it to the person who says, I have total confidence on getting on this jet. I feel that there's no way this thing is going to go down, and yet they attach a parachute. Perhaps their confidence isn't quite what it seems to be. So the rest of that statement, if it's God's will.
00:22:05
Speaker
Now that may sound really biblically strong to you, but at that moment in my life, can I share with you what that sounds like to me? It sounds like to me, you don't think I can be healed. And your lack of faith is speaking to my fear. So what do you say to encourage someone?
00:22:32
Speaker
I would like to describe three individuals to you who were such a powerful ministry to me. I believe that God puts people in our lives at a specific time for a specific purpose, often to lift us up and give us what we need to get through what we're facing.
00:22:54
Speaker
Now I want to start by saying that for the last 35 years, I have been married to a wonderful man. I could not have asked for a better helpmate than Leonard. I could go through a list and tell you all the times that he has stood by me, that he's gotten me where I needed to be. He has changed his schedule multiple times because of something coming up with me, our children.
00:23:20
Speaker
Erin, Betty, Michael, Tiffany, Mara June. I am blessed amongst all women to have such wonderful kids who walk with me, talk with me, would stay with me when I was in the hospital, get me where I needed to be, and at times chastise me for doing too much. You know, Anderson will tell you that the patients who do the very best are the ones who have a really strong family support system.
00:23:52
Speaker
If you have someone in your family who's going through something challenging, please remember that. God designed that family unit for a purpose and they are a blessing to whoever, whatever they're going through.
00:24:07
Speaker
Now, in addition to them, I want to talk about these three. The first is my sister. My sister is two years older than me, and she lives two hours away from me. And when our mother first told her about my diagnosis, she called me, and she was crying, so of course I was crying. And you know, there's only two things I really remember from that conversation. Jesus is coming back soon. I know. This is not our home. I know that too.
00:24:37
Speaker
That may not sound real encouraging to you, but let me tell you about the next day. She called me back and she was not crying. And she said, I have thought about this and I have prayed about this and I want to walk this with you. I want to stand with you in this battle. I'm going to send you verses and I want you to meditate on them because you're going to need them for the battle that's ahead. I'm going to pray with you. And when you have chemotherapy, I am going to come to Columbus and I'm going to take you.
00:25:07
Speaker
And when I am not at your house and I am back home, if you become afraid at any point, you call me and I will answer that phone and I will encourage you." And she did, and she still does. The second person to minister to me was Pastor Victor. You know, when I shared this at ESP, I think he was surprised, but it's true.
00:25:31
Speaker
Many years ago, I had determined that if Leonard, myself, or one of our kids was ever facing something major, I wanted prayer. And that meant I was going to go public. Now, I know not everyone is comfortable with that, and each of us has to do what we feel led to do. But for me, it was going to be public because I wanted prayer. I did it with Zach, and I did the same thing with myself. So Victor was well aware of my diagnosis.
00:26:00
Speaker
You know, I have found that when you are given an expiration date, it allows your mind to become the playground of the enemy of our soul. Because what he does is he whispers things into it to undercut and undermine your faith on a regular basis. You just better get ready. And part of the things that I was hearing was, are you sure you're saved?
00:26:29
Speaker
How do you know you're saved? How do you know God exists? How do you know He's listening? So like most people, I called my pastor.
00:26:39
Speaker
And he came over and Jodi came over and they visited with Leonard and I and they prayed with us. And each time I went through this, he would come. And when I asked him, Victor, can you put together a group of prayer warriors who would be dedicated to lifting me up? He did. And a lot of you served on that team. And I just want you to know how much I love you and how much I appreciate that you stood with me then. And I know you still continue to stand with me now.
00:27:08
Speaker
And when I would have other fears and doubts, I would send him an email and he would send me a long response and he had a lot of biblical context. And do you know in all of our correspondence, not one time did he attach a parachute? Not once. And you cannot say that he doesn't understand what's going on. Look what he does for a living.
00:27:32
Speaker
He has seen more tragedy hardship than most of us ever want to think about. And yet, he has a firm faith that every situation is different and an opportunity to glorify God. That's big when you're facing stage four cancer. The third person, Sam Gonzalez, bet you didn't see that one coming.
Positive News and Community Support
00:28:02
Speaker
You know, throughout that fall, I would have a lot of really good, intentioned people approach me in different ways. Remember that thing I told you about? People don't know what to say. Some people would turn around and go the other way. And some would come up to me and they would say, I am so, so sorry. I can't believe this is happening to you. When I think about your family and what happened with your son, this is just tragic.
00:28:33
Speaker
And I know they mean well, but I'll also tell you too that that's not always very encouraging. I had had a round of chemotherapy and I was in HEB and Sam came up to me like out of nowhere. And he said one sentence to me and I've never forgotten it. Mary and I want you to know we're standing with you. And he walked off. That's all he said.
00:29:01
Speaker
And that communicated to me that despite the fact I was staged for, despite the fact I had a cancer that only responds in 38% of cases, despite the fact that I had a son who had died of a sarcoma three years prior, Sam was standing with me that I would be healed. Later, it was August.
00:29:23
Speaker
And I was waiting for Leonard to come home to pick me up, to take me to Anderson to find out if the medicine was doing any good. Now, all of you people with experience with cancer, you know that you have a protocol. You know they give you so much treatment and then they do a scan because they got to find out if the treatment's doing any good. And in the case of a sarcoma, if it's not, they're going to change your medicine.
00:29:48
Speaker
So I had had my chemotherapy and this would be my first scan since what my doctor called the bad one in June. And a lot of times when I was at home by myself, I would crank up the praise music and sing as loud and off key as I wanted to because the Bible says to make a joyful noise and that's exactly what I did.
00:30:12
Speaker
And when I did that, I felt incredibly strong. And when I didn't, I could host some of the best pity parties a person could ever attend. Sam came to the house and he told me that he wanted to pray for me. I'm all about prayer. And so after he prayed, as he was leaving, he said,
00:30:36
Speaker
For the last day and a half, the Lord has been after me to come and lift up my sister in Christ. And I have argued with him. And I have told him, she doesn't need it. She is strong in her faith. And here's the best part. He would not leave me alone.
00:31:02
Speaker
Can you imagine the creator of all things? The Alpha, the Omega, would not leave him alone until he did that for me. And the thing to hold on to is that what he does for me, he's going to also do for you. I went to that August meeting and aren't always with me. Aaron and Michael were there as well.
00:31:33
Speaker
and my doctor came in. And you know, she had told me back in June, she really wasn't expecting a whole lot. She said that if the tumors didn't change at all, she would be happy. If they began to shrink, she would be ecstatic. And if they actually began to disappear, she would dance. So when she came in that August, she was happy because I had a good report.
00:32:01
Speaker
The tumors were indeed responding, and I don't think anybody was more surprised than she was. Many of the smaller ones had disappeared right off the screen. I had two the size of a quarter, one trunk by three fourths and the other by two thirds. It was a good report, but she didn't dance.
00:32:23
Speaker
And every report I had after that would be about the same, in that it kept showing that the cancer was responding. Did you know the road with cancer is never an easy one?
Chemotherapy Challenges and Spiritual Growth
00:32:36
Speaker
There's a lot of side effects to chemotherapy. And there is a saying that you can't have a testimony without a test. And mine would continue. You see, my doctor told me later,
00:32:49
Speaker
that I was taking two of the strongest chemo drugs that were out there and they've been around a long time and she was giving them to me in as high a dose as she thought I could tolerate. The goal was to kill the cancer and not me. However,
00:33:06
Speaker
My bone marrow was putting up the argument that it was being done in. There are three numbers that you have to have to receive chemo treatments. Your platelets have to be a certain level, your hemoglobin has to be a certain level, and your white cell count. And if one of those is down, you're not getting treatment that week until it is back up.
00:33:29
Speaker
To treat for the platelets in the hemoglobin, you have to have a transfusion. And for your white cell, they give you an injection in your stomach every time you finish chemotherapy. Well, I doubt even Leonard could tell you how many transfusions I received because I lost count. What became obvious, though, to her by the end of September is that my bone marrow was struggling terrible. Instead of one of those going down at a time,
00:33:58
Speaker
to her. And she began to become concerned that she was frying my bone marrow. And if she fried it, I would receive zero more chemotherapy, no more treatments, nothing. So she made the decision to halt all chemotherapy for six weeks. Now, I'm going to let you into the mind of a stage four cancer patient.
00:34:22
Speaker
We get really bad about taking our eyes off of Jesus as our healer and we place it on the medicine. And the first thought we get is that if you stop the medicine, the cancer is going to grow. Where does that thought come from? And it's going to grow exponentially and this is going to be it. So how do you deal with that? How do you get through six weeks of that?
00:34:47
Speaker
For me, I finally had to come to the truth. I am not guaranteed tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, or a year from now, but I have right now. And I have a choice. I can either continue to wallow in pity and fear and doubt and sprinkle a little bitterness in there, or I can do what Jesus told me to do, and that was to give it to him.
00:35:14
Speaker
Do you know it's written in the Bible 365 times not to fear? Isn't that an interesting number? Every day of your life is a reminder, do not fear. Now we are all going to face fear and sometimes fear is a really good thing to have because it keeps you from doing stupid things. Often the trick with fear is how do we handle it and what do we do with it?
00:35:44
Speaker
Years ago, I worked with John Cates. Some of you might have heard of him. And he told me, you don't let anything steal your joy. And at the time, I thought he was talking about high school kids. But I have pretty much decided that that applies to everything.
00:36:06
Speaker
Because in reality, you and I, we got a choice every single day. No one forces fear on us. We do it to ourselves if we're honest. What are we going to embrace each day? By the first week in November, I was green-lighted for chemo. I would get one, not two, in half of what I was getting.
00:36:29
Speaker
And by that third week in November was the telltale scan. I hadn't had one in 12 weeks. In six of those weeks, I received no treatment at all. So now we're gonna find out what's going on on the inside.
Miraculous Healing and Reflecting on Journey
00:36:45
Speaker
I would meet with Dr. Zarzar the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, which was also my birthday. Leonard was with me. All three of our kids were with me and my sister.
00:36:57
Speaker
And when that door opened and my doctor looked at us, and when she came across that threshold, she danced. And that was not easy, because she was five months pregnant and in heels. But she danced. And she looked at me and she said, you have earned it. You are no longer a metastatic cancer. You have beaten the odds.
00:37:26
Speaker
I had indeed received a miracle. You know, when I reflect back on that time and I think about those wasted moments, because God was working, He was working the entire time just like He is in your life.
00:37:44
Speaker
Now most of you are aware I have not had chemo since 2015 and I have had two reoccurrences. That means two tumors decided to resurrect themselves and to grow back. One in the right lung and the left lung was feeling jealous so it grew one too. And they have both been surgically removed. What does the future hold? I don't know. I have a scan in two weeks. But I do know that I have right now
00:38:11
Speaker
And I have that option, that choice of what I'm going to wrap my heart around. You know, when I was diagnosed, I had only one grandchild, my sweet little Ariana Jane. And in reality, I thought she was going to be the only one that I would see on this side. And yet, God has blessed me with three more adorable granddaughters and two little sweet grandsons.
00:38:39
Speaker
Now, I don't want to walk away from up here without addressing one more thing, and that's Zach, and dealing with Zach. I have had people ask me, why do you think God healed you and not your son? Well, first I think that is worded incorrectly. You know, none of us can really get into the minds and hearts of other people.
00:39:01
Speaker
We really can't. We hear words they speak, we see actions, but only God truly knows the heart. As much as I can know my son, he had repented of his sins. He had asked Jesus to be Lord of his life. And when he took his last breath on this side, he took his first in eternity and the presence of his Lord and Savior.
00:39:31
Speaker
I think the way that question should be worded to me is why do you think God healed you on this side and not your son? I think there are things that you and I are never going to have the answer to. And we all know about fallen world and sin entered the world. And quite honestly, when a hurt is that deep, those explanations, they don't really give you peace.
00:40:00
Speaker
You know it, but it doesn't really give you that much peace. I have had these questions whispered in my heart, in my mind, and I'd like to share them with you because maybe it's something you might want to think about too, depending on what you've gone through that's been really hard. Do you still love me? Do you still trust me? Do you believe I want the very best for you?
00:40:30
Speaker
I am convinced that until we know in our knower, as that wise old sage Alan Brandt likes to say, that God is who he says he is, and he did what he said he did, and he's going to do what he said he's going to do, we will not have that complete peace that surpasses all understanding.
00:41:01
Speaker
But once we have that firmly decided in our minds, we don't have to spend another second thinking about the past. And why would we? We've got such a glorious reunion. We've got a future ahead for each one of us. The Bible says that one day there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth.
00:41:29
Speaker
There's not gonna be any more tears, no sorrow, no pain, no death, all things, they're gonna be made brand new. If you have someone who passed on and you as much as you can know, they love Jesus and you are the same, oh my goodness, we've got so much waiting for us.
00:41:57
Speaker
We've got so much to look forward to. And for me, that is the greatest hope of all. Thank you.
00:42:19
Speaker
Thank you
Conclusion and Invitation to Prayer
00:42:20
Speaker
so much, Sherry. I knew that you would be blessed and encouraged. You know, I heard someone say that the greatest need that someone has who does not know Christ is to come to know who God is.
00:42:33
Speaker
and through Christ. And the greatest need for those of us who already know Christ is still to increase, to deepen in our knowledge of who God is. And so I pray that hearing this testimony has strengthened your understanding of who our great God is.
00:42:51
Speaker
You know, definitely one of the takeaways that we hope you received this morning is that you can approach God through his son, Jesus Christ, and that you can actually talk to him and give him the burden that's on your shoulders.
00:43:08
Speaker
So we're gonna do something a little different. Normally we just sing like one verse of stanza of a song, but our closing song today talks about the healing that we can receive through Christ. And so I wanna ask Sherri if she wouldn't mind to come and stand back up here. And then I'm gonna ask Josh if he wouldn't mind to stand over here. And I will stand in the middle. And we just want you to feel that we're here to pray with you.
00:43:35
Speaker
During this song, if there's a burden on your heart, maybe you resonated with Sherri, maybe you're a lady, you're a sister in Christ, or maybe you don't know Christ, and you'd say, I feel like she really connected with me.
00:43:50
Speaker
Please feel free to go and to pray with Sherri. Perhaps you're a young person, you heard about Zach, and you thought, I'm not sure I have that kind of faith. Maybe you want to come and pray and talk with Josh. I'll be down here. Anybody that's up here, feel free to come and talk with us.
00:44:10
Speaker
It could be you'd say, I just need to talk directly to the Lord. So you may just want to come and take a knee and to pray here at the altar. You don't have to pray with us. Whatever it is, the Bible says, cast your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you. So let's stand together. Let's ask God to bless this time of invitation and response. You respond as the Lord is placing on your heart.
00:44:34
Speaker
Lord, thank you so much for this testimony. How powerful you are as we heard the testimony about your faithfulness and your greatness. And so, Lord, I just pray that you would help us to respond before we leave this room. Right now, our hearts have been warmed by your presence, by your Holy Spirit.
00:44:57
Speaker
You were speaking into us the hope and the courage, the faith, the peace that we need through Christ. And so Lord, maybe we need to come and just lay it all down to you on this altar, or maybe we need someone to pray with us. Whatever, I just pray just for the next few minutes.
00:45:15
Speaker
that you would guide us, that we could come and just talk to you about whatever it is that it might not be a physical thing. It may be something of a different nature. But what we know is you are the one that can take all of our burdens and you can sustain us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.