Lindsay Bruce was diagnosed with cancer after hearing a word from God, and his words were a great comfort to her.
Standing on the iconic white sands of Luskentyre Beach in the Outer Hebrides I found myself desperately praying to the Lord. For months we had been pushing doors, applying for jobs, trying to find ways to move to Scotland, where we felt the Lord was calling us. Yet at every point the doors seemed to keep slamming shut.
I remember that day, on that beach, as though it were yesterday. The wind and salty Atlantic spray on my face caused me to move my hair away from my gaze, reminding me that I had a plaster on my neck from a recent biopsy.
In the months leading up to that holiday I had found a lump in my neck. Pandemic triage systems deemed me low risk so there was no sense of urgency. Eventually, I was offered a series of biopsies and everything kept coming back clear.
Eventually, I was offered a series of biopsies and everything kept coming back clear.
That day, however, as I pleaded with Jesus to give me answers as to why doors were closing despite him calling us north I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me as clearly as you can likely hear your own voice reading these words now.
Jesus responsed to my question: “Why are the doors closing?” with: "Because you need to stay in Newcastle as you’re going to need treatment." At that point not a single test or biopsy gave the medics any cause for concern. But the Lord told me differently.
When my surgeon called me on the journey home from the Isle of Harris to say yet again that the results were good I begged for one more biopsy. Reluctantly he agreed. The result that time was different.
Read more real life stories
What followed was a scheduled operation to remove half my thyroid. The plan was for the neck lump to be properly cut out and examined, and for suspect lymph nodes to also be removed and tested. By the time the anaesthetic wore off the surgeon was bedside to inform me that while we would have to wait for the results he was almost certain it was cancer. The operation, which lasted twice as long as was planned, revealed that my neck was filled with black, necrotic lymph nodes that hadn’t been visible on any scan, and weren’t picked up by any biopsy.
A week later, papilary thyroid cancer confirmed, I was back in surgery having the other half of the gland removed and more lymph nodes taken out at the same time.
Cancer.
It should have been a "life flashing before my eyes" moment but there was nothing but peace. Why? Because the Lord has prepared me. Actually, I credit Him with me finding it - and acting on it - in the first place. It was a neck rub in response to clearing my throat during a late night Instagram scroll that caused me to discover a protruding area on the front right of my neck. As I rubbed the area a post flashed up on my phone for a clinic in India. Never before or since have I seen the same ad but it noted the symptoms of thyroid cancer. One of which is a neck lump. The thought wouldn’t leave me so I had it checked out.
Honestly, I can’t tell you how I came through it so well, except to say the Lord held me.
Honestly, I can’t tell you how I came through it so well, except to say the Lord held me. My surgery took place in November and December 2020 - right at the height of the pandemic. I faced every appointment on my own, had to hobble back through the hospital on my own after surgery, was even diagnosed over the phone. No friends could lay hands on me, no church family could visit. But even the decision to have radiation felt easy and peace-filled because the Lord had told me I would need treatment.
What brought me comfort was this simple thought: The word speaks of God being our rear guard… therefore, He’s got our back. It says he goes before us, upholds us and the Psalms paint a picture of some of the darkest times actually being his hand of shade above us. For me this has been a picture of the Lord’s provision throughout my cancer journey. If he’s before me, behind me, over me and upholding me, then I am - we are - gripped, by the hand of the Lord.
You can read more of Lindsay’s story in her newly updated book, Just Such a Time (reclaiming your God-given purpose when life gets in the way), which includes two new bonus chapters.
The Woman Alive podcast is out now! Available on Premier.plus, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Please do rate and review the podcast and share the episodes you’ve enjoyed, with the women – or indeed men! – in your life.
No comments yet