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One Response to “Always Good”

1. Cathy
   March 3rd, 2008 at 12:16 am

   

   I have read in the Bible that it is not God’s will that even one of us should perish; that he will leave the flock of 99 sheep and go look for the one who has gone astray.
   Many times in my life I have gone astray, whether it was totally my own choice or just wanting to be accepted by others and following their lead.
   It is not always easy to follow Christ’s teachings. There are MANY ways to be lead astray. The tv lures me from reading and meditating on his word when I’m at home. Job situations make it temporarily impossible to attend Sunday services, but hopefully not for long.
   There is always hope.
   In March 1999 I was called in to work early, and received a call from the dr. who had done a biopsy just two days previous.
   He stuttered and stammered with his words until he finally able to make the complete sentence: “You have cancer.”
   “Well, what next?” I thought. “What can we do about it?” I was putting my trust in this man who had invested years of college and training to help me come up with a solution. He outlined the plan… surgery, radiation, maybe chemo and months of being out of work. He said if I had any questions I could call him and he’d be more than willing to answer them. I didn’t have the internet yet, so when I hung up the phone the only question I remembered having was “What are my chances of living?” That was the part I wanted to know most about.
   He told me that it depended on the stage and the grade of cancer that I had, how long I’d had it and whether it had spread into my lymphatic or blood system to any other organs. He said we wouldn’t know that until after the surgery.
   As I looked at the clock, I realized that it wasn’t even my normal reporting time yet, and it was going to be a long 10 hour day.
   My friend Eural came by to say hi and noticed the blank look on my face. She asked me what was wrong and I just told her I had received some scary news from the dr. She didn’t even ask what kind of news it was; she just told me to meet her in the restroom in ten minutes, so I said okay.
   When I walked in there were to my surprise, at least 6 or 7 girls whom I work with. Eural said, “Come on Cathy” as she took my hand, and all the other girls locked hands. She began to pray that when two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, and agree on something they are praying for that it will be done, according to their faith. She went on to say that He is the Great Physician and there is no illness that he does not have the power to heal. She said that whatever disease was hiding in my body she rebuked it in the name of Jesus Christ to leave me, and never come back.
   Just standing there watching these women’s faces and eyes, praying for me, let me know that they really cared about me as a person, not just a coworker or an acquaintance. I wasn’t sure that I believed in miracles, but I was sure that THEY did, and I was going to borrow some of their faith which I needed badly.
   Not long after that I began to become afraid again. I was praying one day, asking God if there was some other thing I needed to do here on earth, or if there was some reason he wasn’t ready to let me die yet, (because I knew in my heart that I wasn’t ready). So I asked him if he could show me some kind of sign, perhaps something a friend could say, or some material thing that would let me know that he hadn’t “forgotten” about me.
   A couple days later, I had even forgotten about the prayer, but unusual circumstances led my brother and I to go eat breakfast at a club where I had never taken him (or since). In the parking lot on the way in, there was a penny on the ground. I wasn’t in the habit of picking up pennies, but this one looked different. Even though it had caught my eye I still thought twice about picking it up. But when I did, I noticed that it was not an American penny, but a slightly smaller Canadian one. I held it up closer to inspect the details, and lo and behold, the year it was made was 1963… the same year I was born! It didn’t hit me until later the significance of finding that penny… the fact that it was made in another country from me, but in the 35 years since that penny travelled God knows where, and I travelled God knows where, in order to meet in that parking lot 2 days after I had asked God for a “sign”.
   There have been MANY coincidences, or if you want to call them what they are, miracles, since. The fact that I am still here today, looking forward to Baseball season once again, having overcome many things as I’m sure we all have, and looking forward to another day on God’s green earth.
   Since 1999 I have developed a habit of picking coins up, not just pennies, but all coins just so I can look at them and what date they were “born”. Often times I think, “Oh yeah, 1974… that was a good year, probably the best one of my life. (When my father was still alive and somewhat healthy). Other times I may pick one up that has a year where somebody close to me died, but I thank God for all the years, good or bad.
   I hope to be able to get weekends off again, so that I can attend church again. I really love coming there and hearing the message, and hearing how to put it into action. I would also like to help volunteer in some small way, to try to give back a little of the so much that Fusion Church has given me.
   Thank you,
   Cathy Farmer