Hope Amidst Illness
Roselyn, 2nd Congregation
Roselyn
Hi, my name is Roselyn and I am married to a wonderful man named Joe and we have 2 lovely kids.
We relocated from Sydney to Singapore in July 2015. 4 months after settling into Singapore, I realised that I had a lump on my scalp. It really didn’t bother me at all so I ignored it.
A few weeks later Joe attended a cancer conference in Melbourne as part of his work in cancer diagnostics. He saw an image in a talk that looked identical to what I had and urged me to get this checked immediately. Such was God’s timing. The pathology results after the surgery confirmed that it was an early stage of cancer – a rare type of Lymphoma.
Deep within, I knew that God was able to carry us through – however, doubts slowly started clouding my thoughts. I became scared mostly for my growing family, how would they face the challenges of their daily life if I was gone? Even though Joe patiently walked beside me completely handling the situation with God’s help, I still felt very anxious & sacred within.
It was not until I went through my 1st PET scan, that I experienced God’s complete peace about my circumstance. The Lord just needed 30 minutes of my total surrender to bring me a new hope again. Going through the scanner, I was reminded of the following scriptures.
Psalm 139:7-10
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Psalm 46:10
Be still and know that I am God.
“Wow,” I thought. “How can I doubt your love Lord”?
Job 11:7
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
As I lay there, through the scriptures, I was reminded of God’s love for me and my whole family. He didn’t just suffer, die and conquer death for me alone but for each member of my family. I realised he loves & cares for them more than I can ever imagine. I realised his perfect plans & purposes for them will come to pass regardless of me being alive or dead. I realised that each member of my family was really important to God. It was liberating, being able to trust him again.
10 years ago my father had died of pancreatic cancer. A month later, after my treatment, I found out my mum had breast cancer. But, praise God, she is now recovering very well after her treatment.
I praise God that my operation, treatment and health insurance came together without any issues. I praise God we had friends & family praying for us. I praise God for friends from RHC who lovingly brought us home-cooked meals to share, while others sent messages of encouragement. This was God’s goodness.
I don't clearly know what other challenges or issues lie ahead of me. I still need regular check-ups. I still have a beautiful, big bald spot on my scalp under the comb over and some other health concerns. But what I clearly know through his Spirit is that the Lord doesn’t just help me to believe his word but his word becomes real to me. I experience him personally. He becomes my security, he becomes my strength to face the challenges, he becomes my confidence to step into the unknown, and he becomes my peace that transcends all understanding. Such is his love, praise be to our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ.