The morning of January, 24, 2020 is one that I will never forget. To make sure, I decided to write down my experience, thoughts and feelings immediately after it happened here, so others could benefit from it as much as me.
My wife and I were staying at our home in Brazil, located in the mountains just north of Sao Paulo. A special place that we call together our “Dona Felicadade” which literally translates to mean “Owner of Happiness”. I did not sleep well the night before due many worries about my family, especially my three year old grandson Raymond, who was battling a rare liver cancer known as Heptoblastoma. I decided to get up early and go outside and sit on the back porch and pray. It was a perfect time as I was alone and I could devote my time to prayer without interruption. It was a little cool outside, causing a fog to rise from the warm valley below. The view of the mountains as the sun started to peak over the top and illuminate the valley below spectacular, especially as rays of light breaking through the fog and reflecting across the sleepy valley below.
Usually I have a one-way conversation with God when I pray, and it always starts with thanking Him for giving me a second chance in life. I had been diagnosed with Stage 4, squamous cell carcinoma more than 15 years ago and like any other stage 4 cancer patient, my chances of survival were not good. Ray was also diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and had a similar battle ahead. My own fight with Cancer brought me much closer to God. It was during this time that God first spoke to me and it is worth sharing here. It was not like a regular conversation between two people, but rather like a documentary movie playing in my mind, where God was the narrator. The documentary was very scientific and fact based and shared with me how I was to direct my white blood cells to battle the cancer so I could win. The name of the documentary was “I have Cancer, but Cancer does not have me”. I wrote those words down in my journal and have never forgot them. They also became part of my daily prayers, providing strength, inspiration, and faith, that with God at my side I would overcome Cancer. I shared these powerful words with other individuals faced with Cancer and telling them how my experience gave me the mental strength to endure the harsh treatment of radiation and chemotherapy.
On this particular morning, after thanking God for giving me the strength to beat cancer and a new life, I asked God to keep my faith strong, and help me overcome my worries and fears for my little Grandson Ray and his family. The same worries I had, were also consuming both of Ray’s parents. It was torture to watch Ray go through multiple surgeries and months of chemotherapy. God’s word always directs us to put our trust in Him and worry less about things in the future. This makes sense as many things we worry about in the future may actually never occur.
I started to tune out the noise in my mind, and push back the worries as they tried to work their way back to the forefront of my mind. As I did this, I started to hear the soothing noise of the water bubbling in the creek below, and the noise of many birds praising the natural beauty that started to unfold before my eyes. I realized that this was no coincidence, and I was watching God’s hand at work, driving back my worries and allowing me to seek His face. During this meditative state, my gaze was drawn to the top of the mountain where the fog from the valley below had consumed most of the mountain. In fact, I could barely make out any of the terrain. It was at this point, I started to make out what appeared to be an outline of a large tree. It was a very ghost-like image, and I was struggling to tell if it was really there or not. I also could not recall ever seeing such a large tree on the side of the mountain before
.
It was at this precise moment, I realized that God was communicating to me by showing me a sign. As I focused more on the ghost-like image of the tree, the fog started to dissipate, slowly revealing a large Pinion pine tree. The Pinion was all alone, standing tall and strong on the side of the mountain. I realized it had been there all the time, but I had never noticed it's majestic beauty before. God was like this Pinion tree, going un-noticed, even when in plain sight,constantly watching down on me from above. The fog was showing me that a barrier exists between our world and the spiritual world, albeit sometimes we may catch a glimpse of what lies ahead . When the fog was concealing the tree from my view for the first time, it was difficult for me to believe if it was actually there; however, after the fog cleared and I got a glimpse of the tree, I knew it was real. When the fog returned and concealed the tree again, I knew it was there and it would always be there! I understood God was telling me that no matter how thick the fog was between us, He was always there, watching over me.
I hope that this message inspires us all to understand a little more about what it means to have Faith in God, Jesus, and the Holly Spirit. Like the fog that concealed the Pinion Tree, our busy lives, worries and misfortunes can conceal God from us. I say keep your faith as one day the fog will clear!
My wife and I were staying at our home in Brazil, located in the mountains just north of Sao Paulo. A special place that we call together our “Dona Felicadade” which literally translates to mean “Owner of Happiness”. I did not sleep well the night before due many worries about my family, especially my three year old grandson Raymond, who was battling a rare liver cancer known as Heptoblastoma. I decided to get up early and go outside and sit on the back porch and pray. It was a perfect time as I was alone and I could devote my time to prayer without interruption. It was a little cool outside, causing a fog to rise from the warm valley below. The view of the mountains as the sun started to peak over the top and illuminate the valley below spectacular, especially as rays of light breaking through the fog and reflecting across the sleepy valley below.
Usually I have a one-way conversation with God when I pray, and it always starts with thanking Him for giving me a second chance in life. I had been diagnosed with Stage 4, squamous cell carcinoma more than 15 years ago and like any other stage 4 cancer patient, my chances of survival were not good. Ray was also diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and had a similar battle ahead. My own fight with Cancer brought me much closer to God. It was during this time that God first spoke to me and it is worth sharing here. It was not like a regular conversation between two people, but rather like a documentary movie playing in my mind, where God was the narrator. The documentary was very scientific and fact based and shared with me how I was to direct my white blood cells to battle the cancer so I could win. The name of the documentary was “I have Cancer, but Cancer does not have me”. I wrote those words down in my journal and have never forgot them. They also became part of my daily prayers, providing strength, inspiration, and faith, that with God at my side I would overcome Cancer. I shared these powerful words with other individuals faced with Cancer and telling them how my experience gave me the mental strength to endure the harsh treatment of radiation and chemotherapy.
On this particular morning, after thanking God for giving me the strength to beat cancer and a new life, I asked God to keep my faith strong, and help me overcome my worries and fears for my little Grandson Ray and his family. The same worries I had, were also consuming both of Ray’s parents. It was torture to watch Ray go through multiple surgeries and months of chemotherapy. God’s word always directs us to put our trust in Him and worry less about things in the future. This makes sense as many things we worry about in the future may actually never occur.
I started to tune out the noise in my mind, and push back the worries as they tried to work their way back to the forefront of my mind. As I did this, I started to hear the soothing noise of the water bubbling in the creek below, and the noise of many birds praising the natural beauty that started to unfold before my eyes. I realized that this was no coincidence, and I was watching God’s hand at work, driving back my worries and allowing me to seek His face. During this meditative state, my gaze was drawn to the top of the mountain where the fog from the valley below had consumed most of the mountain. In fact, I could barely make out any of the terrain. It was at this point, I started to make out what appeared to be an outline of a large tree. It was a very ghost-like image, and I was struggling to tell if it was really there or not. I also could not recall ever seeing such a large tree on the side of the mountain before
.
It was at this precise moment, I realized that God was communicating to me by showing me a sign. As I focused more on the ghost-like image of the tree, the fog started to dissipate, slowly revealing a large Pinion pine tree. The Pinion was all alone, standing tall and strong on the side of the mountain. I realized it had been there all the time, but I had never noticed it's majestic beauty before. God was like this Pinion tree, going un-noticed, even when in plain sight,constantly watching down on me from above. The fog was showing me that a barrier exists between our world and the spiritual world, albeit sometimes we may catch a glimpse of what lies ahead . When the fog was concealing the tree from my view for the first time, it was difficult for me to believe if it was actually there; however, after the fog cleared and I got a glimpse of the tree, I knew it was real. When the fog returned and concealed the tree again, I knew it was there and it would always be there! I understood God was telling me that no matter how thick the fog was between us, He was always there, watching over me.
I hope that this message inspires us all to understand a little more about what it means to have Faith in God, Jesus, and the Holly Spirit. Like the fog that concealed the Pinion Tree, our busy lives, worries and misfortunes can conceal God from us. I say keep your faith as one day the fog will clear!