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“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34
I wonder if this verse popped into my sister’s head back in November 2021? This was when she went to a normal eye doctor appointment, they saw something strange and asked her to come back the next day for more tests. She tells me she didn’t think much about it; after all, another sister had just had a retinal tear and Rhonda assumed maybe that’s what this was. The next day, after additional tests, they told her they’d like her to see a retinal specialist as they still could see “something odd.” She still wasn’t that worried, maybe because the doctor didn’t seem that worried. Within 2 weeks, she was at the retinal appointment, by herself because of Covid (her husband had to sit in the car). After hours of testing, the doctor came in, put his hand on her leg and said something to the effect of, We see something in your eye and it looks to be a tumor that is malignant. How could this be? You see, she had always been so healthy - no previous surgeries, very few illnesses, and with this eye issue, no symptoms whatsoever.
For those of you who have had a diagnosis of cancer, you know the feelings that can accompany this diagnosis! But for those of us who haven't, well, it's truly hard to imagine our response.
Rhonda’s response - shock! She said she actually fell over onto the table, feeling faint, and asked if her husband could come in for support. They let him in and the doctor began to talk to the two of them about next steps. At this point, he did mention that it could actually just be a mole on the eye (these things happen sometime). So Rhonda, who has always been a “glass half full” kind of woman, felt it had to be a mole. She has multitudes of moles on her body and this was just one more. She probably thought, “you could have led with that; it’s fine!” Their next step was to see an ocular oncologist and it just so happened that there was one at the University of Virginia, only 2-1/2 hours from where my sister lives. Rhonda called and got an appointment for the first week in January.
“I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.” Psalms 77:1-3
Now remember, this all had happened in late November and early December and now she had to get through Christmas wondering if she really did have a cancer called ocular melanoma. Since she had never heard of this type of cancer, she started Googling and researching. This is one of Rhonda’s go-tos – when she hears of something or something happens to one of her children, she does all the research that she can. She is a teacher, and it’s just her nature to want to find out as much as possible.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t good. If you do any research on this cancer, you will find out that people who have this cancer have low chances at survival. This information sent her over the edge, with her body shivering, and her teeth chattering, Rhonda went into a fetal position for days! This had happened out of the blue, no warning, no symptoms, and the research was horrible. She told me that all she could remember of this period of time was internally singing/saying what she calls her “go to” recitation – the Doxology!
In one of the worst times of her life, her faith showed up in a huge way! She sang/spoke that song over and over and cried out and moaned to Jesus, saying, “Please, Jesus, help me.”
“You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.” Psalm 139:5
After spending days barely moving from the couch, crying out to God, her husband came to her and told her he had found some good news and asked if she wanted to hear it. Again, she’s a “half-full” person, so she said, “Yes, please!” He had continued doing research and he had found that only five people out of 1,000,000 ended up having ocular melanoma. That was all it took to bring her out of her funk! I truly believe God was hemming her in, giving her the strength to get up and move on. She felt strong enough to be host the Holiday season with their children and grandchild. They did decide to tell the kids that something had been found in Rhonda’s eye and she was having a special cancer doctor check it out. But they really had great chances that it would not be anything to worry about. Again, I think my sister was running on best case scenario and the more she could say that to her immediate family, the more it would be so!
But would it be so?
We don’t know what our future holds. But one thing we do know is that God’s faithfulness is always present through our trials and tribulations, if only we cry out to Him. Whatever you may be facing, I pray what’s shared here will encourage you and give you hope, day by day.
Until next time,
Vickie
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