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“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord (Luke 2:8-11).”
It began with a simple cold that settled in, turning into a cough that burrowed deep into her chest. She could feel the wheezing of her own congested lungs, and movement of any kind brought shortness of breath.
“Here’s an antibiotic,” the doctor said when she went to see him, and he sent her home.
The coughing and shortness of breath continued. Finally, one night, as she labored to breathe, she could bear it no more. “I think you need to take me to urgent care,” she told her husband. So, he did.
Upon arrival, the staff there sent her straight to the emergency room. “We can’t help you. You need more than we can do.”
In the ER, they ordered a chest x-ray, followed by a CT scan. When the emergency room physician returned to her room, he was very, very sober. Imaging had returned, showing the presence of a large mass.
“It’s not good,” he reported. “It’s very concerning.” Immediately, he ordered her to be sent by ambulance to an oncology department in another town.
They decided, husband and wife, that he should go home to be with their four children, explaining to them in person what was happening with Mother. He departed, and emergency personnel installed her in the ambulance, whisking her away.
Her face, as she relayed the story to me on a recent day, was serene. She was fully aware on that midnight ride of what she was facing. “I was not afraid of death,” she said, “but of what I might have to endure. As she rode, her heart was filled with peace, for she knew she wasn’t alone. Mary’s child was with her, and his presence was her great consolation.
The next morning, her faithful husband reached out to friends. Everyone was stunned. Not one of us could fathom life without her loving, intuitive, and generous presence, and all of us began to pray. She would be going for a lung biopsy that afternoon, so throughout the day, we turned our hearts and minds to prayer.
As she reported it to me later, the pulmonologist who came to see her before the procedure offered these comforting, compelling words, “What we see is concerning, but the Lord is with us.” And soon thereafter, she went to sleep as he went to work.
I want to pause here in the telling of her account. In the biblical record, angels from heaven were sent down to earth to announce the news of Christ’s birth. (Of note, they did not appear to the elite or the ruling class. They broke the news to the humble shepherds, the commoners who tended sheep in the fields. I find this tremendously heartwarming.) But a multitude of angels did appear to humans, announcing God’s plans.
Recently, I have become more aware of and convinced of the presence of angels. There are things that happen here on earth that have no human or scientific explanations. Angels are not to be worshiped, but they are messengers of God, and they come to minister comfort and strength to his people. This is clear in Scripture.
But back, now, to the story. That evening as we waited for updates on her procedure, I found myself standing outside. It was a clear fall evening, and as my eyes scanned the skies above the trees, the veil between heaven and earth seemed gossamer thin. I could nearly see those winged messengers, passing back and forth from earth to heaven, doing God’s work and will. Then, as my mind turned to our friend, lying in a hospital bed, waiting for surgery, it came to me strongly that there had been an angel in her room, standing beside her, holding her hand.
I pondered it for a bit, but the impression would not leave. Late that night before I retired, I texted her and told her what had come to me.
As I said, there are things that happen that have no earthly explanation, for the next day, she texted me back. “Rhonda,” she said, “I’m just so grateful to Jesus. That picture of the angel is what I was praying for.” We rejoiced together.
After the procedure was finished, the pulmonologist returned. In her husband’s words, “Dr. F. just came to see me again and showed me the scan from last night. There was definitely something on the image. Then he showed me the scan from after the procedure today, and there is nothing there anymore. God is good even in the storm, but my day is brighter now.” In the night, there appeared a light, and he gave fervent thanks.
On scope and on scan, there was nothing. All of her medical professionals who’ve seen the original scan and the initial reports agree—it was highly concerning. And all of them agree; there is nothing, now, to see.
To quote the angel in the blessed Christmas story, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”
The hope and joy of Christmas are for all people. The God who invaded this dark world centuries ago in the form of a baby still appears to us today. If we have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts that are open, we will always walk in Light, in Love, and in Hope. And, just maybe, real miracles.
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!