The Great Physician

Even those who provide health care get ill and struggle with what is wrong... why can’t the doctors figure it out and why is God allowing this to happen to me. I had been struggling with fatigue, swelling in my legs, difficulty breathing, chronic infections and increased general body aches for months! My family Dr had sent me to multiple specialists, some of the best in Lancaster, but alas no cardiologist or nephrologists could figure out what was wrong. They all agreed, yes, you are swelling and yes you need to stay on these medicines to keep the swelling down and your heart rate under control…but we don’t know why.

I trust that God knows all and loves me for He has seen me through life threatening illness and I’ve seen miracles by Him of miraculous cures in my 3 decades of caring for others. Of course I prayed, and prayed, and prayed…what is it Lord? I know you know! You are the great physician; you created us and know every detail about us and every hair on our head. You knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb.

But the months went by with no answer & I tried to accept that He is enough for me. I was also reminded of the persistent widow & how much more our heavenly Father loves me & listens to my requests. I walked daily in trust & in His strength! Asking & accepting what He had for me.

One cool evening my husband & I were sitting on our deck and I was again discouraged about not feeling well. I cried out in prayer to God & my husband, “Lord, I know you know what is wrong with me. Please tell me or the doctors treating me.” There are 2 things I want Lord, it’s not much. I want to be able to sing to you again (I had to quit ensemble at my church for I couldn’t both sing and breathe) and get off the pills that I was taking for they had side effects of their own. We sat & rocked for a little while longer on our deck swing, I felt better & once again knew that God is faithful and He hears my prayers.

The next day I was drawing blood on a woman living at the Mission who came to the Clinic to seek health care. I always love to hear their story while I am providing care and she was sharing some of her health concerns, which included problems with chronic infections due to drinking diet drinks. As soon as she said that I got this nudge of “Here is your answer!” I got excited inside for I knew as I ask her more details she was describing similar symptoms as mine and she admonished me to look up this as a health issue for some people and I assured her I would. As I found information on the effects some diet drink addictives have on people I found myself reading the story of my health for the previous months. I knew God had given me the answer through the “least of these”. All the educated health care providers, including myself, were dumbfounded, but God used a homeless woman to teach me what was wrong and how to solve the problem!

So how am I today? I cut the diet products out of my diet and slowly (with doctor approval) weaned myself off the medicines. I am singing to the Lord again (and breathing) and I’m off the medicines. I have energy and much less pain. Praise the Lord! I have learned God’s ways are not my ways and to be open to His teaching no matter in what form it may come!

-Gale Thomason, WSRM Clinic Director