No matter what a person’s religious beliefs are, many believe in those quiet moments of reflection and supplication. Whether you call it prayer or meditation or a trance, those moments when we are able to shut out the world around us and focus our energies on the intangibles can be intensely powerful.
A Georgia mom believes prayer is so powerful that it helped her overcome a serious illness. One that doctors had predicted she would never recover from.
Ashley Hallford was a young mother-to-be living in Douglasville, Georgia. She was excited about her pregnancy but also a little concerned as she had recently noticed a “knot” at the back of her head.
She tried to write it off but when it got worse, not better, she asked a doctor to take a look. It was cancer.
A rare form of cancer, yes, but it was the dreaded disease all the same. Because Hallford was pregnant at the time, a careful plan for treatment had to be devised.
When she reached 33 weeks, she was induced so the baby could be born and she could start treatments. This was her first sign of a miracle.
While plans had been made to send the baby to the NICU, he was so healthy he could go home right away. Hallford was not so lucky.
Four days after the birth, she was in surgery. It wasn’t looking good.
Doctors discovered that the cancer had spread and was, at this point, inoperable. They put her on an immediate and aggressive radiation treatment.
Unfortunately, even under intensely high doses, the disease continued to spread. She was told that she was Stage 4 and it was suggested that she perhaps start to get her “affairs in order.”
Rather than just give up and succumb to the sickness, Hallford turned to prayer. It wasn’t just her either: her entire church got behind her with their prayers and various offerings and signs of spiritual support.
And then, it happened. How or why, we may never know.
At just a little over 7 months after being told her cancer was inoperable, she had a clean radiation scan. She was in remission.
Hallford credits her turnaround to God “100 percent.” She told MSN, “I just want to spread hope. When I speak at churches … I want to give people the strength to go on … And if that’s what I could do in life, I would die happy one day.”
Today Hallford is the proud mother of three children and is leading a happy and healthy life. While no one knows what the future holds, she knows that through the power of prayer and those quiet moments, we can face the future with strength and peace.
Source:liftable.com