Cynthia Campbell
I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior in Vacation Bible School when I was 10 years old. Most of my friends did too.
While I was in my late thirties, I realized that I was not allowing Jesus to be the King of my life to be in control. I saw that I was still controlling my life! I was living my way, not God’s way and I felt I was just going through the motions, trying to walk the walk. I found that as a Christian, you have to take it one day at a time. Understanding that living for God can be a challenge but you can and will receive true joy when you serve Him daily. Once I understood this I went to the altar and asked to be baptized again in both an acknowledgement and a realization of the importance of His reign in my life. I use the word ‘reign’ because you have to turn over control to him. It’s not good enough to just have Him in your life, you need to surrender that control to Him. He is your Lord, you are the subject!
It’s been over the past ten to twelve years that ‘My Awesome God’ has led me through my incredible journey while always holding my hand. As I reflect back on these years, I always see God’s hand in my life placing me in different situations that many people will never experience.
For example, I was in terrible pain and in need of a knee replacement, but my orthopedic doctor stated that I was too big! At that time I weighed 330 pounds and I was in terrible pain even when walking only short distances. I was devastated by his decision, but I was also determined to show him how badly I wanted the surgery and relief from the pain.
I’m a food addict. I knew I had to lose a lot of weight. How was I ever going to do that?
I think I’ve tried every diet there is. Even when I lose weight I always gained back plus more some. I had to do something. Exercise was out because I can’t walk due to my knee. So I went to an orientation for a gastric bypass surgery. I thought, ‘This is it!’ only to find out that my insurance would not cover the surgery.
Near panic I asked, ‘What can I do, Lord?’
And the Lord provided a way to finance the cost and I was able to have the surgery. Many people think it’s so easy, but this was a difficult process, but I ended up losing more than one hundred and thirty pounds. Once I had lost the weight I went back to same doctor and this time he said it would be his honor to do my knee surgery! But it was God’s glory that got me through.
I must share though that I gained some of the weight back, but I went thru a biblical study group that emphasized surrendering all to the Lord. Through this study group I was able to lose a large amount of the weight. I am still working on this process with my nutritionist due to my addiction of food.
Then after a successful knee surgery, I kept having severe bronchitis and my color was just . . . very odd. I had a CT scan done and it revealed multiple pulmonary blood clots in both lungs. Red alert, red alert as they said on Star Trek. I was sent “STAT” to the Emergency Room. And there I was told by the Nurse, “Don’t move, you could die.” But I didn’t die. God protected me thru the event. Knowing that my mother had died from a similar pulmonary embolism just made me that much more thankful.
A couple of years later when I was 62 I began experiencing dizziness and I was starting to slur my speech. My doctor kept telling me that these symptoms were due to my inner ear and that there was nothing seriously wrong with me. It took me over a year of searching on my own before a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) was confirmed. This diagnosis forced me into early retirement which brought it’s own problems. I was still able to continue teaching my ‘Women of Excellence’ Sunday school class at my church. When I teach I tend to get a little wild so some stuttering and not getting some words out clearly wasn’t too noticeable with my ‘normal’ antics.
It was two years ago that I had to have ankle surgery and that put me out of commission for three months. And the hits just kept on coming. Last June almost exactly one year out from the ankle surgery, I had to beg the neurosurgeon to perform major back surgery. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t pursue surgeries (especially major invasive ones) by choice. But when your body is in excruciating pain, you do what you have to do.
The neurologist agreed but only if I had two other procedures prior to this big surgery, he would perform my surgery. He also stated that I was very high risk but I knew I had a higher power on my side. I knew my awesome God would provide.
One of those other surgeries was to place a filter in my body that would prevent blood clots during and after the spinal surgery.
Armed with that knowledge I underwent a major surgical procedure that resulted in my L2, L3, L4, L5 AND BOTH S1’S fused and caged. The surgery itself went well. Afterwards though, I was in unusual pain that was not controlled. The doctors ordered an MRI. But while I was being transported, I “coded”. While I was in the elevator I had no vital signs.
I had died.
I really had. At least not permanently though. While I was in that elevator, I experienced the most unbelievable peace and sense of warmth! I heard my dad’s voice, but I didn’t know what he was saying. I knew then exactly what the Bible says; We don’t die. We are just on our way to a glorious and eternal Home!!!
Suddenly, I came to with the nurse slapping my face and saying “Breathe!, Breathe!”
The next day, in Neuro ICU, my son and my husband could not understand me when I tried to speak and on the second day after surgery I was still incomprehensible. Eventually though, the doctors figured out that what I was and still am experiencing is a very rare condition called Foreign Accent Syndrome. It affects only 82 people in the entire world and I just happen to be in that small group! You see, when I woke up after that surgery, I no longer spoke good ole Southern Georgia accented English. Instead I woke up speaking with a German/Scandinavian accent! I was using strange phrases and words.
While this was all strange and I was trying to understand it myself, there is one thing I did know for sure; the Lord had shared with me during this ordeal that I was not doing His complete will, I was doing a lot of my will.
Sin hardens our heart and when there is unrepentant sin in our heart, it hardens and we aren’t able to have joy or feel the glorious flow He will give us every day. While I was in the ICU, I felt my heart opening and His flow overwhelming me. What a wonderful, joyous time I had there. I stayed two weeks in the hospital and I could not stop sharing what the Lord had shared with me. After being released from the hospital I went home for three entire months. Boredom city? Not even. GOD gave me that time at home to become closer to him. Because of that time spent with Him, I now feel that it is His will to give my testimony to anyone that will listen. That is His Will.
In concluding my testimony I would be remiss if I did not share about the last 4 months; the end of 2022 and start of 2023. November found me headed back to the hospital with my heart beating a very slow 40 beats per minute. I was dizzy and weak and had very low blood pressure as well. After getting in to see cardiologists, getting hooked up to heart monitors and then waiting to see the specialists who do procedures: Just this last week I had a much awaited pacemaker placed in my heart to keep my heart beating at a normal rate. See? I just don’t do things normal.
That night in the hospital, with my brand new pacemaker I began having severe chest pains radiating through to my back and up to my neck while feeling great pressure on my sternum. I just knew God was getting ready to call me home. The nurses were giving me morphine every 2 hours but it had no effect. I made it thru the night and of course, it turns out I had pericarditis a very painful condition of the lining surrounding the heart. Medication fixed this and my heart rate is now beating normally.
Guess what though? God already had control of my heart, my flow with His love, mercy, forgiveness, compassion and He will do the same for you!!!
I have to share how God is always with us and because of that we give Him back pure JOY and obedience!