I lay perfectly still on the hospital scanning machine table with my arms and legs strapped down. Heaviness surrounded my heart like a shroud, but I purposely didn\u2019t cry because I couldn\u2019t wipe away the tears.<\/p>\n
My doctor had ordered a thyrogen scan to detect thyroid cancer. As I waited for it to begin, many questions raced through my mind: Did the radioactive iodine treatment work? Had the cancer reappeared and spread? Would I need surgery? After 23 years in remission, my bloodwork had shown a possible recurrence of thyroid cancer. Over the next year and a half, I endured numerous medical procedures, tests, injections, and special diets.<\/p>\n
During the ordeal, other members of my family experienced health issues as well. My mom received the diagnosis of recurrent lymphoma. My older brother Brian underwent chemotherapy, also for lymphoma. Most heartbreaking of all, my twin brother David became ill and died of the HIV virus.<\/p>\n
The burden of afflictions in my family felt unbearable. Lying there on the table, I began praying the words from Isaiah 53:4 (ESV): \u201cSurely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.\u201d<\/p>\n
As I finished praying those words, the atmosphere of the room changed. I can\u2019t explain it except to say I was in the presence of two angel-like beings. One stood tall on my left with arms folded across his chest, as if he was guarding me. The other stood very close on my right.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve come to comfort you,\u201d the angel on my right said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s so nice,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
As incredible as that may sound, my anxieties left, and I felt deep peace. \u201cWe\u2019ve come to dry your tears, just as you dried your brother\u2019s tears when he was dying.\u201d The angel on my right reached over and touched my cheek, as a father would do for his crying child.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not crying,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour soul is crying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust as you once ministered to your brother David,\u201d the angelic being said, \u201cnow it\u2019s time to minister to your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew exactly what the angel meant. \u201cYes, I\u2019ll do that,\u201d I said. \u201cYour scan will be clear and you will be made well,\u201d the being on my right said.<\/p>\n
As suddenly as the angels had appeared, they left. Then my tears began to fall and roll down the side of my face. I couldn\u2019t wipe them away, and that was all right because they were tears of joy. What I had seen were strong, male like figures with light shining from behind and around them. They resembled holograms and were the color of pewter like flowing mercury. Ezekiel 8:2 (ESV) describes heavenly beings as having \u201c. . . the appearance of a man. Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the scan was over, I walked out of the room and into my doctor\u2019s office, grinning. I had gone from deep despair to pure joy. The doctor told me that even though my scan was clear, \u201cYou\u2019ll have to wait for the results of your final blood test.\u201d (His nurse had earlier drawn the blood.) I told my family and a few friends about the angels\u2019 visitation. \u201cI don\u2019t know what it all means,\u201d I said, \u201cbut I know I\u2019m going to be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following week, I received the news that my blood tests showed thyroid cancer \u201csomewhere,\u201d and my doctor ordered a PET scan to determine if I needed surgery. I cried and cried, asking the Lord to help me understand.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust me.\u201d I didn\u2019t hear those words out loud, but they echoed through my heart and gave me peace. I completed the scan and felt confident that the Lord would bring healing; however, I assumed that I\u2019d have to go through much suffering to be made well. As I waited for the results, pondering all that had happened, I realized the angels had visited me after the nurse had taken my blood. Once more, I felt hopeful, wondering if I had been healed after the blood tests were done. Lord, please let it be true. <\/em><\/p>\n The next week, I woke up on Tuesday morning and a voice within said these words to me, \u201cBefore you hear the news from your doctor. I want you to rejoice that you\u2019re healed.\u201d With renewed joy in my heart, I spent a delightful day at the zoo with my son Nick.<\/p>\n That evening at 7:30, my doctor called me at home. I was visibly shaking and burst out with the question, \u201cIs it good news or bad news?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been poring over your PET scan results,\u201d he said, \u201cand I can\u2019t find cancer cells anywhere in your body. According to your blood work, we should have found something, but you are totally clear.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think it\u2019s possible that I was healed sometime between my bloodwork and my thyrogen scan?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s certainly a possibility,\u201d he said. He talked for several minutes before he finished with these wonderful words: \u201cI don\u2019t need to see you for a year. No surgery. No more radiation\u2014just relax and have a good summer.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, six years later, my follow-up exams continue to show no cancer. My fear of death is gone. I\u2019m assured that when it\u2019s time, God will send angels to escort me home. God has been so gracious to me, and I am humbled by His mercy. The Lord did it all, and God always does all things well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I lay perfectly still on the hospital scanning machine table with my arms and legs strapped down. Heaviness surrounded my heart like a shroud, but I purposely didn\u2019t cry because I couldn\u2019t wipe away the tears. My doctor had ordered a thyrogen scan to detect thyroid cancer. As I waited for it to begin, many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":25820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[158,72],"ppma_author":[2364],"class_list":["post-14221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angels","tag-heavenly-angels","tag-stories-of-faith"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n