An Unexpected Gift
By Janine Carrero
Do you sometimes pray about your health but ignore your body? For much of my life, I did. Tired? Keep pushing. In pain? Just deal with it. Feeling off? It will pass.
I believed listening to my body was optional—no need to hit the pause button on life’s soundtrack if I was still on my feet. I addressed issues when life slowed down with time to spare or when symptoms became impossible to ignore. Because the thing about ignoring the whispers is that eventually, they start to scream.
Abnormal bleeding. Yes, extremely inconvenient and annoying, but something I have dealt with since I was a teen. So, when it started back up, I made the usual excuses: stress, hormones, life. But as the weeks turned into two months, the anxiety waiting quietly in the back of my mind grabbed a mic and got loud. As the “what if” battle raged on in my mind, I knew I could no longer ignore my body.
Test after test. Appointment after appointment. Copay after copay. With no clear answers and each month passing—seven long, exhausting months—my frustration intensified, to say the least. When “keeping an eye on it” turned into being referred to an oncologist, the whispers began to sound like back-to-back alarms ringing.
What if life as I know it is ending?
What if I die having never answered God’s call?
What if I die before I get back everything my family lost when I got laid off?
What if? What if?
I was afraid. I was twisted—hoping it was nothing serious while also mentally preparing for what I did not want to hear: that it was something serious. Another doctor. Another painful exam. Another biopsy.
Then came the day when nothing turned into something.
When I first heard the words “You have cancer,” I was surprisingly calm. This shocked me. I honestly thought I would fall apart if this became my reality. But instead, I felt a deep, secure whisper rise from within, consuming my whole heart and mind, saying, “God, I trust You.”
That moment in my cancer journey had me at a fork in the road with two paths—either collapse under the weight of fear or lean fully on my Lord and Savior, who has always held me in His arms.
As a beautifully broken yet chosen woman of God who once tried to kill herself, this diagnosis could have found me rolling down that same road again. But after seven months of chaos in the waiting and wondering... I was not afraid anymore. Quite frankly, I was tired of always trying to carry my baggage alone. No matter how heavy, I would delay asking for help until the weight was unbearable. But not this time. I made the immediate and intentional choice to give my diagnosis to God as soon as I got it.
This gave me immense peace—not because I knew what the outcome would be, but because I knew God was, and would always be, with me. Every treatment I endured, every pain I felt, every tear I cried—not one single moment would I encounter alone.
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”
—Philippians 4:6-7 (MSG)
Having a definitive diagnosis—despite it being stage III cancer—brought freedom.
Freedom to stop fearing the “what if.”
Freedom to hold onto the only thing I needed to know: God is faithful.
Freedom to live for Him.
What I did not know at the time was that healing required more than the nine-week treatment plan that consisted of a low dose of chemo and both internal and external radiation.
Healing requires obedience.
You see, God wants to heal more than just our bodies. He wants to heal our hearts and our minds. Therefore, God invites us to demonstrate faith through small, everyday acts of obedience like:
Saying yes to rest, even when we think we cannot afford it.
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28 (NLT)Saying yes to accepting help, despite pride telling us we do not need it.
“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”— Galatians 6:2 (NLT)
Saying yes to trusting God’s plan, though it is so far beyond our field of vision.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)Saying yes to letting go of control over the timeline, the outcome, and the process.
“Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart. And do not rely on your own insight or understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5 (AMP)Saying yes to sharing your story, when staying silent is so much easier.
“And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.” — Revelation 12:11 (AMP)
Trusting God with my life has become easy. Obedience? Not so much. In fact, at times, obedience feels like the hardest part of my fight.
Nonetheless, I get in the ring. I battle the lies that have my mind on the ropes, trying to block the joy that saying yes brings. And when I need help, I tag in my Father, my Friend, my Savior. Praying. Holding onto His every word. Journaling. Living in community. All of which helps me choose gratitude in every round of the fight.
“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (MSG)
As I look back on the treatments, the hospitalizations, and each of the fifty-nine pounds I lost at one point due to not being able to hold anything down for weeks, I am reminded not of the struggles but of the countless blessings. From experiencing the depths of my mother’s love for me like never before, to building a deeply personal relationship with God and gaining clarity on my purpose—cancer has been an unexpected gift.
Not a gift I wanted. But a gift that has shown me what truly matters, deepened my faith, and is teaching me the profound beauty of simply being alive with purpose. Therefore, as I prepare for the next steps on my journey, I will trust that the same grace that is healing me is the grace that will equip me to answer His call throughout the rest of this season and every season to come.
Are you walking through your own battle?
Be it cancer, another diagnosis, or a circumstance that just feels incredibly overwhelming—trust that God is already there. With an abundance of love, strength, peace, and purpose, He is waiting for you to take hold of His hand so He can help you up.
So, take one obedient step today.
Whether it is saying a prayer, taking a deep breath, or simply believing that God is with you… keep the faith. Keep saying yes. And watch how our faithful God can turn even the darkest of situations into something radiant and beautiful.
How do you respond when life does not go as planned?
Do you resist, adapt, or find meaning in the detour?
Think of a recent challenge or unexpected turn in your life.
Instead of focusing on the struggle, consider a lesson or opportunity that came from it.
Write it down or share it with someone today.
