Another unexpected answer to prayer
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Arigatou gozaimusu!
Thank you so much!!
August 2023
The familiar sound of a call coming through on Messenger filled the room. I moved toward the sound and reached for my phone. Dad was calling. He’d been diagnosed with cancer back in March but his continuous beaming smile and positive attitude was a real testament to him. The first call we made to dad after sharing the news of his diagnosis with Bob and Missy was a classic. The kids looked at their Pa on the screen and said to him, “You don’t look sick Pa!” And it was true. He just looked his normal self! Pa’s response was gold. “I’m like a rotten piece of fruit. I look alright on the outside, but inside I’m not so good!” A perfect illustration, the kids understood exactly what he meant!
Now, the familiar sound of Messenger ringtone cut short as I answered the call. I knew dad had had tests done to determine his upcoming radiation schedule, so I expected some news about it. He was so smilely and happy that, despite this being his norm, I was expecting him to share great news, like the radiation only needed to be short or something. Instead he said he still needed the 45 days of radiation which would equate to over 10 weeks factoring in weekends, public holidays and other cancelled days. This was the expected treatment time frame he was told about in the beginning.
So it appeared the natural supplements he'd been taking didn’t seem to have been effective, unless they had slowed the process, which we couldn’t gauge. And the super healthy diet mum had had him on didn’t seem to have done anything. But once again, things could have been worse if they were eating bad. Mum was noticeably disappointed, and I get it. It's hard work! And not to have the results you were hoping for is disappointing.
But looking on the positive side, dad was in a much better state of health than many other men he talked to who have had, or have, prostrate cancer. Dad wasn’t in pain. His sleep was barely disturbed. He still went about his day to day activities without being inhibited. His doctor said he would cope well with radiation as he was in very good health (I know, sounds strange to say to a cancer patient!).
“There you go, mum. Your efforts haven’t been in vain!” I tried to encourage her with the positives.
“Yeah…. maybe.” She didn’t seem as convinced.
But dad of course, was very positive. He thought he’d try a different natural supplement and hoped there would be better results. And that's the thing with any product, even medications, you have to see what works for your body.
The night I shared the update with Shujin. I gave the details as factual news and despite it not being the best news I was completely OK with it and not upset. Perhaps Shujin thought the news upset me but I was hiding it, or perhaps he thought I should be upset more, I’m not sure, but whatever it was, he got all sympathetic and compassionate towards me. Gave me hugs, patted me, spoke kind words of empathy, like dad was given a one week death sentence or something!
“It's OK,” I tried to interrupt him, “I'm not upset about it!” But it was too late, he made me all emotional and upset! Honestly!!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It came out of the blue. A message from a friend I’d not been in touch with for a number of years. She was asking for my bank details. Wanted to help us out. Said that God had laid it on her heart to give us some money.
God really comes in from left field at times! Not family, not even a close friend, but simply obeying the voice of God and following conviction.
How to say, “No”? How to say, “Yes”?
It had been a few months now, that we had been expecting a regular monthly sum of money to come in, but it hadn’t. Except once. I’d clung to my anger and frustration for a time, in a twisted sort of way the anger somehow felt good. I wanted to change the situation but any attempt of us trying just felt like we were banging our heads against a brick wall. God had clearly been preparing me for this months in advance, as once again, Joyce Myer’s deep American voice popped into my head. “How much time do you waste being angry at others….?”
Yes, God, that’s me…
It’s been said that we can’t chance a situation, but we can change ourselves, and this couldn’t have been more true than now. With a new mindset, made possible by the power of God, my thoughts turned 180 degrees.
Truly it’s not my problem! It’s God! Let him deal with it, ‘cause He can! (If you want to be personally challenged the complete talk by Joyce Myer can be found here. I highly recommend!)
So I let go. I stood back and realised, why was I fighting to get money from a place that was dry? If there’s no money there, we certainly weren’t going to get any, no mater how entitled we were to it! Instead, I asked God. He had reminded Shujin last year that all the earth was His, and everything in it! God was loaded!! And if He saw fit that we needed some, He could give it to us.
It was hard to see the screen as I typed my message through the tears. God really was faithful!
It's very kind of you to think of us and I want to say thank you for your generosity, but it just feels so hard to accept a financial gift! I'm struggling over whether to be polite and decline, or whether to see God's answer to my prayers.
We are meant to be receiving some monthly payments but apart from once, they just haven't come through. I was very angry at the cause of it and very frustrated by the whole situation. But I watched a Joyce Myers video on mindset. What a blessing! I stopped wasting my energy on being angry, and gave the problem over to God. Not my problem! God can deal with it! And we stopped chasing the payments and went to the One who actually has the means, God. I left it with Him to work out and am trusting He will provide.
And here you are! All I can say is, Thank you!
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