What do you do when you find yourself in the middle of a completely devastating crisis? For Brenda Bravatty, hanging on to Jesus during the worst storm of her life brought her literal, physical healing. However, it was the spiritual assurance that God was still for her even when all hope was lost that she found true peace in her Savior’s presence.
Having a family history of pancreatic cancer, Bravatty took her physician’s advice and moved forward with genetic tests which showed she was at a high risk to also have the affliction. She later discovered that the pancreatic cancer had taken up residence in her body.
The cancer was detected early on, which is incredibly rare for pancreatic cancer.
“It’s a miracle,” Bravatty said in her exclusive Beyond the Article interview with Charisma Magazine Online.
Bravatty also said that this process of battling cancer has also been a time for her to see new and unusual ways that the Lord works.
“I have learned so many lessons,” Bravatty said. “I have seen how the Lord works through processes, and I have seen how the Lord works when you pray and sometimes the answer is no. You have to go through the process right.”
Bravatty ended up having the head of her pancreas, her gallbladder, part of an intestine and part of her stomach removed. This major surgery took a lot out of Bravatty, and it was her family and her spiritual community that helped pray and support her in the process.
“I went to my appointment and the doctor said, ‘okay, you have to go through chemo because the pancreatic cancer is just very aggressive,’” Bravatty said. “I just cried and cried and I [said] I don’t want to go through that because I have seen what my brothers with their process of chemotherapy.”
While it was incredibly difficult, Bravatty knew she had to embrace the difficulty of the process lying ahead of her.
“I surrendered to the Lord and I said, ‘Lord, if this is the road that you want me to go through, I will do it. You will be with me in the valley of darkness, in the valley of death, You will be with me. And I am willing to walk this even though it’s very painful, even though I don’t want [to], but here I am. And a great peace came over me and that was the beginning of really a great journey,” Bravatty said.
It was soon after this acceptance that Jesus would be with her throughout the entire process—in the middle of the valley—that Bravatty had a miraculous encounter with God.
“It was very early in the morning, it was dark and I was praying…and I had a vision and I saw Jesus holding my hand,” Bravatty said. “I saw myself younger in that vision, and we were walking into the infusion, the chemotherapy area in the hospital. And peace came over me, joy came over me that He was walking with me in that area from that time on. Fear disappeared, sadness disappeared, my attitude toward the treatment changed. I started getting excited every time I went to the chemo sessions.”
Bravatty’s story is one of incredible faith as she chose to trust God in her greatest storm. It didn’t matter what things looked like in the moment; the only thing that mattered was that Jesus was walking right there with her through the entire process.
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Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.
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