Sometimes it takes a significant hardship for healing to occur.
Sometimes it is only when we are deep in the struggle that we remember our real strength.
The last few weeks have been full of adversity, obstacles, and challenges.
Health. Family. Work. Finances.
The waves of adversity have been flooding us from all sides lately.
Though adversity may bring enormous obstacles, it can also usher in unexpected answers to our prayers.
My journey has shown me that mishaps can lead to incredible miracles.
No one wants to hear they have cancer or a brain tumor.
We just want validation what we are experiencing is real.
Deep down, we all want confirmation our feelings are valid.
In this way, a diagnosis can be weirdly validating.
Finally, you have an answer.
All the symptoms and years of suffering start to make sense.
While a diagnosis can be devastating and difficult to cope with, it’s comforting to know there is a valid reason for your pain.
A week ago, I was told my latest MRI showed some abnormalities in my brain that are suggestive of an MVNT tumor.
My doctors reassured me it was not cancerous and therefore does not require any surgery or treatment, just continued monitoring.
As shocking as the news of a brain tumor is, I felt strangely validated.
Now I had an explanation for all my ongoing neurological symptoms since finishing treatment nearly two years ago.
The last week has been a frenzy of doctor visits, scans, and testing, trying to determine exactly what is going on in my brain.
Within the last week, I have spent close to an hour inside an MRI scanner.
As painful and uncomfortable as all the testing was, it was a necessary piece of the puzzle.
As much as I dreaded the thought of undergoing back to back brain scans, I was able to definitively know there is no actual tumor causing my symptoms.
I was just starting to accept the reality of having a brain tumor, so I’m still trying to process the news that I don’t.
Where I once had a possible answer, I am now left with more questions.
But that’s the nature of healing.
Just when you think you are closer to resolving one issue, a new one appears.
As disheartening as this can be, it’s important to remain hopeful.
I am continually reminding myself where there is pain, there is purpose.
Where there is uncertainty, eventually clarity will come—sometimes when we least expect it.
Where there is great adversity, God always ensures there are avenues for miracles too.