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God's healing hands
From being evacuated as a child during WWII, to a recent diagnosis of cancer, Don Postins says he has developed a deep trust in God’s healing hands.
When I was diagnosed with cancer, my first thought was, ‘I’m not sick, I’m in his hands’. I had found a lump in my leg and eventually got around to seeing a doctor and getting it taken out. However, a week later, I received a phone call asking me to come in again.
With a stern look, the doctor gravely told me that the lump was tested as a metastatic melanoma. She went on to explain that this meant cancer, but not just a melanoma skin cancer. A lump like this was evidence of a larger source of cancer somewhere else in the body. It could be in my lymph nodes, brain, liver lungs, or bones, and was very serious.
Yet, I knew that through every phase of life, God has always held me in his hands—even when I wasn’t aware of it. I come from a working class family from Birmingham, UK, and was frequently ill as a child. This meant I didn’t get the chance to learn to read, write, or tell time. I spent many months in a convalescent home, right up to the outbreak of World War II.
Through God’s providential care, I was evacuated to a beautiful home and family in Wales. Over the next four years, the family taught me to read, play piano, and I went to church three times every Sunday.
My parents diligently prayed for me throughout this whole time. When I returned to them, I joined my father’s Baptist choir and learnt many of the songs I still hold dear today. I haven’t stopped singing since I was 12.
When we moved to New Zealand, I joined the local Baptist church, but eventually slipped away. God’s hands never left me, though. On my very first day working at Air New Zealand, I was placed alongside a Salvationist—a man who remains a close friend even today.
In 1978, a choir I belonged to was invited to attend the Newton Salvation Army. Hearing the band and meeting the soldiers made me question why I had never joined the Army before. My mother had warned us back in England not to join those rabble-rousing Salvationists. But I now felt at home and I have been with the Army ever since.
There are many other instances in my life that have developed my absolute trust in God. My wife Pauline was in a fairly serious car accident and walked away without a scratch. We attest to his love through the sale and purchase of the home we live in. So I knew that even through this cancer, I was still in his hands.
A week after the diagnosis, I had the full body PET scan. Two days later, I had a call to come and see the oncologist again. At this meeting, the oncologist told me there was no evidence of cancer anywhere in my body. ‘I think you need to thank your lucky stars,’ said the oncologist. I told her that, actually, I thank a much higher power than that! We can have absolute faith in God, because he doesn’t let us down. I’m in his hands, and so are you.
(c) 'War Cry' magazine, 17 November 2018, p11- You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.