Strength for the Journey

Written by Julaine Neufert

My father had been to see the doctor and I was awaiting his return. He had a lump in his neck and thought he better get it examined. When he returned I greeted him with warmth and loving concern.

“How did you make out Dad?” I asked.

“It’s not good,” he replied.

With those words we all sat down at the kitchen table as Dad shared the prognosis.

Much to our surprise, the pain he had been experiencing was diagnosed as an aneurysm. It required immediate surgery. The outcome could be brain damage if the surgery took too long or if the aneurysm ruptured, he would die.

With this startling news I sat in shock. What if my father suffered brain damage? What if he died? What would we do? I was so scared. I wanted to talk to my aunt Mae. She had survived a lot in her life and still always had such a positive outlook.

A hope and a prayer

Two weeks later, when Aunt Mae arrived to stay with us during Dad’s surgery I was so glad to see her. We relayed the story of Dad’s aneurysm to her and she said “God will see you through.” She told me that God hears our prayers and answers them in His time with the best possible answer for us. That made me feel better. My parents had always taken me to church but I didn’t pay too much attention to it all. Now that my Dad was in trouble, I was interested. I prayed.

As they wheeled my father into the operating room I felt scared. Only minutes later they wheeled him out again. I wondered what could have gone wrong The doctor in charge walked over to my mother and said, “We did one last test and it seems the aneurysm has shrunk so we do not need to operate.” I was so thankful to God for saving my Dad. My faith began to grow.

Back to the hospital

Many years later I completed college earning a diploma in dental assisting. I had also finished modeling school and enjoyed participating in fashion shows after work. My life was good and my dreams were falling into place. I had a great position at the University Dental Clinic and I had just been chosen to represent a huge shopping mall as the model/spokesperson. I felt my future was set. What I did not expect was more trauma in my family.

One morning at work the phone rang and I was paged immediately. I stood in amazement as my mother’s voice said, “Your father has suffered a heart attack, meet me at the hospital.” I felt like a boulder had hit me squarely in the face. “Here we go again,” I thought.

As I stood in the Emergency Room with doctors all around I felt safe. They began running tests and we awaited the final verdict. I left the room and went into the washroom so I could pray. I felt I needed help from the same God who had helped us before.

Diagnosis

After much discussion and testing the heart surgeon came to talk to us. He said that my father’s heart was in very bad shape and open heart surgery was out of the question. There was nothing they could do. They gave him one year to live. The words ‘one year’ left us in a state of shock and grief. My dear, sweet father who had always been so close to me was going to die!

That year was difficult and each day seemed like a gift. We all continued to pray and I dug out a Bible and began reading it. With no other alternative I hung on to the promises I found in that Bible. One day not long after his diagnosis, my Dad said he felt so much better that he wanted to get a check up to see if something had changed.

As we sat in the waiting room anxiously awaiting the news from the second set of tests I continued to pray. We anticipated a good report. The door opened and as my dad walked through I jumped up and said, “Well what’s the verdict?” My father looked sullen and replied “My arteries are all 100% blocked. I am worse.”

It was shocking to learn that my father had no working arteries to his heart. How could he even be alive? I did not give up but I continued to read the Bible. My family prayed and found comfort in God as He intervened in my father’s situation. Somehow he was still alive. It did not seem possible and many heart specialists commented on the inability of the heart to sustain life like this.

Although the surgeons gave him one year to live 30 years ago, my father survived the un-survivable and he is still alive today at age 82! I have found that walking with God gives me strength. I still have many battles to face and challenges to overcome but I never do it alone. Out of these trials came the best decision I would ever make. I learned to trust God and to give my life to Him.

If someone in your life is suffering and you don’t know where to turn, there is hope for you. You can experience love and real peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. All you have to do is ask Him. God knows your heart so it doesn’t matter which words you use, but here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Saviour and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of woman you want me to be.

If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, pray it right now and Christ will come into your life just as He promised. If you invited Jesus Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

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Tags: changed lives, closet issues, faith, Family, julaine neufert, LIFE, loss, spirituality, Women