Chari went under the knife last year for a growing tumor in her brain. It was a high-risk operation, but God proved how faithful He is throughout the whole ordeal. Here is her inspiring testimony about God’s greatness and faithfulness.
It was in 2017 when I came to know Christ. It was a time when trials were piling up, and I was hardly coping up with all the problems that were coming my way.
Early that year, I was dealing with a painful breakup from a six-year relationship. It took a hard toll on me emotionally, mentally, and even physically. Just a few months after the breakup, I was diagnosed with right vestibular schwannoma. It is a benign tumor on the right side of the brain.
At that time, the tumor was already two centimeters big (about the size of a lime), and the doctors were recommending immediate surgery. Because of its size, I eventually lost all my hearing in my right ear. I easily fell into depression and asked God so many questions about why it was all happening to me.
In the midst of a seemingly hopeless situation, a cousin reached out to me on October 22, 2017 and invited me to attend a worship service at Victory Santa Rosa. During the service, God spoke to me through the preaching and the songs that were sung in church. I could not stop myself from crying.
Right after the service, a girl—who would turn out to be my Victory group leader—Norie, came up to me. She invited me to join her group and eventually guided me in my walk with God. I went through ONE 2 ONE with her and attended Victory Weekend.
As I walked through life with God, I had to fend off a lot of doubts and negative thoughts and purely anchor my faith in Him. It was a year-long process for me. But it was a process worth taking.
In January 2018, I joined the prayer and fasting week and asked God for physical healing. I also asked Him to increase my faith as I battled with my disease. After that, God led me to people who helped me raise funds for my operation. It was hard, but it would have been more difficult if it were not for all the people who voluntarily took the time to help me get through a tough ordeal.
At exactly 6:00 a.m. on May 28, 2018, I was brought to the operating room. Every ounce of faith in my heart then battled with all the anxious thoughts in my head. I was afraid, but instead of letting it engulf my faith, I used it to seek courage and strength from God. At 5:00 p.m. on the same day, I woke up and felt God’s presence embracing every part of me. I cried with so much gratitude in my heart. I was glad to be alive—and I was beyond thankful to have been given a second chance.
The succeeding days were not easy. I had a mild stroke after the operation, so every single day that followed was a battle against an indescribable pain. But despite what I felt, I knew that each waking moment was a precious gift from Him. I kept that in my heart as God slowly restored my body and brought back the strength I thought I had already lost.
Now, after seven months of recovery, I am working again and volunteering in church as an usher. God healed me from everything that had caused me pain in the past—be it physical or emotional—and restored me completely. Though I thought it was impossible to recover from such ordeal, God revealed to me that truly, nothing is impossible with Him.
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26
When God heals, He heals completely and leaves no trace of what used to hurt us in the past. He is mighty to deliver us from any form of sickness and from any hopeless or painful situation. He is a God who restores.