The happily married mother of two beautiful girls found out her third little blessing was coming in December. God was good. A third baby was on its way – a Christmas baby. The baby would be a boy, the first in the family. The excitement and joy was overwhelming for the happy couple. But the joy suddenly turned to sorrow.
Just a few months after learning of the new baby, the husband tragically died in an accident. All dreams, expectations, and aspirations disappeared along with the coffin as it was covered with the last shovel of dirt. No more husband, no more daddy, no more income, no more security. What was left of the happy little family had hit rock bottom. Nothing could devastate them more. That’s when we met Mayra and her beautiful girls.
Mayra had noticed a lump growing on the side of her throat. It started small, but was quickly growing in size. We took her to a doctor and shortly after burying her husband, the new widow learned that the mass growing in her thyroid was indeed cancer. There was no money to pay for care. She was destined to join her husband in Heaven. Her worries shifted from surviving without a husband to who would take care of her children. Without family to take them, what would happen to the soon to be orphans?
Needless to say, she was shaken. Low. Scared. Being a woman of God, her faith didn’t waiver. She knew where she was going if cancer took her away. What she didn’t know, and what bothered her most, was the future of her precious children. The boy was coming soon, but what then? Would she see his first birthday? Would he remember her? Would she even live long enough to give birth.
He came right on time. His birth brought the joy that only a newborn can bring. He was a welcome distraction from the reality to come. But as he began to grow, so did the tumor. He looked just like his daddy. The tumor like a baseball. Then a softball. Then a grapefruit.
We found doctors to help and funds to pay. But for different reasons, the doctors began to reschedule, re-diagnose, and reassess. There was doubt, uncertainty, and confusion. They’d lose exams, reschedule exams, and start the whole process over and over again. Perhaps they were afraid or incompetent. Whatever their reasons, nothing was happening. The tumor grew.
Almost a year after becoming a widow, and a year of intense prayer, the surgery finally happened. The long awaited procedure could not have gone better. Not only was the tumor removed successfully, but the cancer had not spread. It was completely contained inside the tumor and was removed completely. No chemotherapy needed. No radiation needed. Nothing but minor medication was needed.
Finding the right doctor was certainly an important factor in the story, but knowing the Divine Healer was most important. He not only kept the cancer from spreading, but kept three beautiful children from becoming homeless orphans. The widow doesn’t have to worry about what will happen to her children without her. Isn’t that what the Good Father says in Psalm 68:5? “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”
