“Till now the Lord has helped us.”
1 Samuel 7:12
On my journey of faith with God He has taught me, and continues to teach me, the invaluable
treasures in His Word, illuminating His will and His ways. There have been countless amounts
of times where my hope has been restored, and my faith strengthened, as I’ve learned to exchange a spirit of heaviness for songs of thanksgiving and praise.
As a young woman, still at school, I endured an ever-increasing pain during every menstrual
cycle. The 1950’s was an age of silent suffering––it was to be expected, and just accepted. Soon after I was married, I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis. The best medical advice or cure at the time was pregnancy, (the medical breakthrough of IVF was still many decades away).
At this time, my 'prayer closet' became my secret, safe place where I learned to process this
challenging diagnosis. These are some of the promises in God’s Word that sustained, carried,
comforted, and strengthened me through this time:
Psalms 71, 127, 128, 131.
I still have a note of faith, dated 19 September 1969, that reads: “On Thursday evening, 19
September 1967, the Lord answered our prayer and granted us our heart’s desire for a child. We
praise and magnify the Lord for this wonderful miracle of healing in my life...”
A year later, on 14 September 1970, our first son, Malcolm, was born!! The next chapter of faith was a challenging, yet refining season, learning to lay hold of God’s best for me, for my
husband, Ian, and our son Malcolm.
Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already attained or am perfected, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of me.”
Hebrews 10:36, “For what you have need of is endurance (patience), so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised.”
Another nine years passed before we were blessed with the birth of our second son, Clive.
Another promise was fulfilled, Psalm 128:3, “Your sons shall be like olive shoots round your
table.”
As I was nearing forty years old, my gynecologist said there was no chance of another child, and advised me to plan for a hysterectomy. Shortly after this I went for prayer for guidance, (without mentioning my dilemma). During the prayer, a prophetic picture was given of an orange that had started to shrink, and eventually shrivel up until only a pip was left, which then also disappeared. At the time, I did not understand the meaning of this prophetic picture.
A few months later, I set the date for my hysterectomy. I was at peace during the examination when the gynae said: “And what do we have here?” at which time I clearly heard a baby’s heartbeat on the ultrasound... I looked up to see the outline of another precious treasure! Needless to say, I was overjoyed, and totally speechless! I felt a bit like Mary when the angel announced to her that she would be the mother of the Messiah, “she went home and treasured these things in her heart.”
The next time I saw my gynae, I courageously told him of the prayer and prophetic picture. He
listened, and told me that when endometriosis is healed, it "shrivels up and dies". We were
blessed with the birth of our daughter, Deborah-Ann.
How amazing is our God! Awesome in Power, and Doing Wonders!
Ian and I will celebrate our 55th wedding anniversary next January!
We are indeed blessed, as olive shoots have been added to our table... we now seat nine––and counting––around our family table!