Parenting and Religion

Sometimes it is hard to know exactly how open and honest to be with kids, especially when there are things that have the potential to scare them going on.
Two years ago at this time I was in that position.
It all started because I fell down some stairs and hurt my ribs. After I went for x-rays, I got a call from my doctor that he wanted me to go for a CT Scan because there was something not right in my lungs, like a spotty shadow. I thought the reason must be that some dust got on the x-ray film, so I was not the least bit concerned.
The day I went for the CT Scan, I was in my kitchen doing dishes and having some worship time (that is the norm…dishes, music, worship), and in a quiet moment, I felt as if God spoke to me and said “No matter what you hear, don’t be shaken!”. I wasn’t sure what it pertained to right then, because I hadn’t even been the least bit nervous. But then He said it again. After the second time, I picked up the phone and called Dan. I told him what I had heard, and he agreed with me right then in prayer that whatever was coming, we would not be shaken. We had no idea it had to do with my health.
Five days went by before we got a call from the Doctor. He told me he wanted me to see an Oncologist. I didn’t even know what one of those was, so I looked it up online.
Wow! Was I shocked when I saw the word “Cancer”!
I took a deep breath and then prayed, reminding the Lord that He told me not to be shaken, so I would hang onto that word from Him, believing that He knows the end from the beginning.
As time and MANY tests went on, Dan and I held onto the word to not be shaken.
When the doctor (the cancer doctor) told us that she thought I had one of three things, and in the order of possibility, they were in this order:
1)Lymphoma
2)Ovarian Cancer
3)Sarcoidosis (A benign auto-immune disease)
Because of our faith in what we believe God had spoke to our hearts, we were able to remain steady and not get fearful. Whenever one of us was in the place of beginning to be afraid, the other would remind them to not be shaken.
We decided that because of all the tests and doctor visits that we had to at least tell our older kids what was going on. How much to tell them and how honest to be were the hard decisions.
When we prayed about it, we both felt that we could be completely honest about what the doctor had said, but also rely on God to protect them from fear. When we told them there was a possibility I had cancer, we also told them what we believed was a word from the Lord, to not be shaken.
After more tests, a biopsy, and the removal of one fallopian tube, we found out I had Sarcoidosis…totally benign. Praise God!!!
That though is not the biggest miracle to me.
While I was going through this, we had asked for prayer at church. I was updating them almost every week, and had said the word “cancer” many time.
When I shared the diagnosis and prognosis at church, all 4 of my older kids came up to me after and said “We didn’t know they thought you had cancer!”
I was then amazed by the goodness of God, and how He protected them from fear by not letting them hear that word. He put a sheild around their hearts and minds, so they COULD NOT be shaken.
Dan and I saw a side of the Grace and Mercy of God we had not known before, and the confidence we can have in Him to protect our kids from hearing things that have the potential to shake their faith has become a most important part of our prayer for our kids.
God is Good…. All the time!!!