Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. – Luke 18:43
By Beverly Lomosad
When she was first diagnosed with the aggressive triple-negative breast cancer in November 2011, Leecy Fink, a 37-year-old mother of five and bridal-shop owner from Virginia, United States, was given by her doctors three-six months to live. Hope initially ran high, though, as triple-negative breast cancer is also known to respond well to treatment. But two years of grueling rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and radiation could not put a curb on the progress of the disease.
The cancer diagnosis could not have come at the worst time for Leecy: she’s still grieving over the recent passing of her mother, who succumbed from her own battle against breast cancer. The fight to survive had caused Leecy to feel exhausted and her hopes to be deflated. She resigned to what she thought was inevitable: her death. And she spent her every waking moment making sure she was doing everything she could – as well as asking God – to prepare her family for it.
But, things soon took a turn for the better. By the fall of 2013, she had come to the end of her treatment. Leecy was cancer-free when she and her family celebrated their festive season.
The respite from cancer, however, proved to be very short-lived. In January 2014, Leecy collapsed and had a major seizure while at a bridal show in Dallas, Texas. Tests showed her cancer had relapsed and spread to her brain and lungs. Overwhelmed, Leecy’s husband, Gary, said he couldn’t help feeling mad at God. A postcard the family received from a missionary in India provided a bit of comfort. The postcard was an image of hundreds of children with a note saying, “All of these children prayed for you today.” Her family kept praying as Leecy started on a much-harder chemo regimen.
The new treatment plan worked. MRI and CT scans taken six months later – in June 2015 – showed no evidence of active disease in Leecy’s body. And it has been more than 10 years since.
With the miracle of her healing, Leecy strangely found herself grappling with the specter of what she called as a survivor’s guilt: that’s the feeling of, “Why am I doing so well while others aren’t?” Her restless soul found solace when she read in the Bible how the people who have received the gift of healing from Jesus didn’t simply lock themselves in a room, pray, and keep silent about it; rather, they celebrated in gratitude to God (Luke 18:35-43, Matthew 15:30-31, Luke 17:15). “I’m trying to learn that it’s OK to be the miracle. I’m at a point in my life where I want to run through the streets and celebrate that I am a miracle, to share that hope with others,” Leecy said. The Bible says when God “comforts us in all our troubles” He intends for it to trickle over to the next person in need of comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
CALL TO ACTION
A life with God starts with a relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
- PRAY OUT LOUD: “Father in heaven, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that he died on the cross for my sins. I ask you to forgive me of all of my sins. I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with my mouth that Jesus is my Savior and Lord. Amen.”
- WHAT’S NEXT: Be part of a good, Bible-based church.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the New International Version of the Bible.