“If God is on our side, can anything be against us?” - - Romans 8:31
Angie, a teenager with emerald eyes and big dreams, was scared to death. As she flipped through an old magazine, she worried - not because she fell during a cross country meet, but because the bruise wouldn’t go away. Several tests later, the doctor explained something about tumors in muscle tissues, but they would do everything they could to help her battle the rare form of cancer she couldn’t even pronounce. Then she waited to hear what’s next.
Not bad she thought – better than the flip of a coin.
Alone with her thoughts now, Angie closed her eyes. All she could think about is dancing with Seth – her first true love . . . the boy who adores her. In her mind’s eye she watches them move gracefully, holding one another close enough to feel the other’s heartbeat, a gentle breeze tickling her caramel-blond hair.
Several weeks later, the certainty of her condition finally sets in. She woke to a cruel surprise – a pillow full of loose hair and the stark reality that her cancer was real. The magical prom night she had long dreamed of would now officially be ruined. No one would want to take a girl with no hair to the Prom. Scared to death, she talked to God:
“I have cancer. I’m afraid. I’d ask You with all my heart to cure me. But, if my healing isn’t in Your great plan, I trust that You’ll be with me through it all. I trust You to give me peace, to let me live with hope, to relieve any pain, and to let me know Your presence. I trust You to bring my loved ones close to me during this illness, that we might support each other, and that Your loving hands will comfort us all. I promise to live each day as if it were my last, and trust my eternity to You. Amen”
As the Prom approached, all Angie could think of was her bare scalp. She was terrified about attending the dance and being rejected by her peers. She remembered her promise to God.
Her date arrived and Daddy ushered him in. How odd she thought – he’s wearing a tuxedo and a baseball cap. When Seth removed his cap, tears flow from every eye. Where his thick, curly hair had once been, she softly touched bare skin. He shaved his head just for her - to ease her embarrassment, to show her how much he loved her. He hugged her warmly, and for a moment she had no fear. Her dream had come true.
Blessed Healer, help me to feel Your presence even more firmly in my life. Give me courage to face anything, to endure everything with You by my side, through Christ my Lord who gives me peace. Amen
