Keeping The Faith (SOLS 12)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
                                                                              Hebrews 11:1

About six months ago, I had thyroid surgery.  I had a large nodule on one side of my neck and two smaller ones on the other.  I was very nervous about having the surgery done, but it was something my doctors told me was necessary.  I'm a pretty healthy person.  I watch what I eat, driving my husband crazy because our grocery bills are quite high, since I only eat organic foods.  I work out regularly, at least now I do, and I don't smoke or drink alcohol.  I had never had surgery before, let alone been hospitalized, except to have my daughter and that was 17 years ago.  With that said, I must admit, I was downright afraid.  Yes, this christian woman was fighting fear and Big Time.

All those negative thoughts started running through my head... the "What Ifs".  What if something goes wrong?  What if they find cancer?  What if I lose my voice?  After all, I'm a teacher...I can't teach without a voice.  Then there was THE WORSE THOUGHT OF ALL THOUGHTS.  What if I die...and never return home?  I couldn't bare the thought of leaving my family.  Of my daughter, losing her mom when she needs me so much.  She's only 17 and soon she'll be entering into adulthood.

So, I did the only thing I could do at a time like this.  I Prayed.  I Prayed.  And... I Prayed.  I got out my bible, meditated on a few scriptures, and little by little, the fear left.  This fear that had been gripping my thoughts left, and was replaced by Faith.  The faith that I have in my God.  The faith that has always kept be moving in the right direction.  The faith that gives me hope during difficult times.  The faith that helped me overcome every obstacle that I was ever faced with.

Thankfully, the surgery went well.  I was back in my classroom and teaching a week later, with my voice pretty close to normal.  The most difficult thing was trying to hit those high notes, but my first graders didn't seem to mind.  That's one of the things I love about teaching first graders-their unconditional love.  There was no sign of cancer.  However, the size of one of the nodules was quite large, and it gave my surgeon quite a challenge.  Part of the nodule was slightly visible from the outside, but a large part of it was hidden beneath my collar bone and was beginning to go into my chest.  I don't want to get to graphic here, but simply stress how important it was that I had this surgery done, and how putting it off could have been disastrous.  I thank God for my faith.  It was faith that got me through this fearful time.  My faith saved my life, where fear tried to end it.  Fear is the opposite of faith.  If there is anything that is keeping you from doing what you need to do, work on increasing your faith.  Faith erases fear.  Just.....Keep the Faith!
Val