Mom Diaries: Christmas! Sýnishorn

Jehovah Rapha

I met Irma Arricivita when my family and I moved to Bangkok and started attending a sweet church in the metropolis. She had the biggest smile and the glowiest skin. Graceful was the word that came to my mind. It was only later at mom's group that I found out her story, and my respect for Irma grew even more. That someone could smile and be so cheery and well put together through the whole journey of chemotherapy and mom and wife duties is a testament to the healing of our hearts and bodies that comes through Jesus alone.

Here's how Irma tells it:

"In October 2019, a close friend asked me to pray for a lump that was found in her breast. For some reason, it prompted me to check myself, and I felt an unusual growth in my right breast. I had avoided seeing doctors because of a phobia, but I knew I needed to have myself checked then. After several tests, an enlarged lymph node was found. More tests and visits to specialists followed and by December, I had been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.

My world fell apart, thinking of the treatment I had to go through, at the same time having all these worries as a wife and mom to two boys aged 6 and 10. My family of four had already gone through a similar situation five years ago when my husband had been treated for nasopharyngeal cancer. And although he has recovered and healed completely, we knew the struggles and the hardship of this journey. Now as I sat devastated, he told me it would be grueling, but I needed to get my act together if I wanted to get well, and reminded me that our sons were watching.

This happened during the Christmas season. So instead of getting our home ready for the most wonderful time of the year, we were planning my hospitalization. My sons were home on Christmas break, and it was all too much for me. Except for a few Christmas decorations at home, I was not feeling festive at all. My sister flew in from the Philippines to help us out as I prepared for surgery. 

I had the mastectomy a week before Christmas. 

But as I lay there feeling sick and distressed, it dawned on me that Christmas was not about the decorations, or the parties we had to attend, or the gifts we give and receive. It truly is about Jesus Christ!

That moment on we focused on Him alone—praising God for sending Jesus to be born and being grateful for so many things, despite our situation then. 

I went on to recover very well from surgery and was discharged after three days. We celebrated a quiet, grateful Christmas at home. We did not need anything else. We had each other and the promise of healing from God."

Irma's story is a reminder that Christmas is more than just Jesus's birthday.

It's a reminder of a powerful God who came as a baby.

Jehovah Rapha.