The Healing Power of Gratitude

I wouldn’t have thought having three surgeries in as many months could be a spiritual experience and a journey in gratitude, but it was. My gratitude practice throughout my health challenge led to new appreciation for divine timing, guidance, love, and grace.

Shortly before my mom passed from cancer three years ago, she suggested I get tested for the same cancer-causing gene mutation she had. I underwent the test, affirming the words of Unity cofounder Myrtle Fillmore: I am a child of God, and therefore I do not inherit sickness. I was surprised when I tested positive for the same gene mutation my mom had. Despite this news, I felt grateful for my mother’s wisdom.

I did not act on this news for two years, choosing to focus on being busy in ministry and life. I assured myself that when I could cope, divine guidance would help me discern how to proceed. I practiced acceptance, realizing it was okay that I wasn’t yet ready to make the hard choices. I understood my health status was not a punishment or the result of lack of faith. Through prayerful conversations with God, I knew ultimately, I would be all right.

Last year I met with a team of doctors and surgeons who told me that without a total hysterectomy and double mastectomy my likelihood of getting cancer was 75–85 percent, but with the surgeries, the risk would plummet to two percent. I felt grateful to have found this team, who not only cared for me but also cared about me in a way I had not known before. It was the first time I received loving care from doctors. Feelings of thankfulness filled me as I saw their knowledge and expertise as divine gifts that were blessing me. I witnessed my body’s rejuvenation as I recovered from surgery to being at peace, grateful for the knowledge that all things, even illnesses, can be seen through a spiritual lens and used for growth.

For My Highest Good

I wasn’t angry about or in resistance to my prognosis or surgeries because I was certain they were for my highest good. I felt immense appreciation and gratitude for the healers who supported me. They came in many forms—from doctors and other medical personnel to the people who held me in prayer and sent me healing energy to givers of meals and cleaning services to help my husband and me as I recovered.

Each one made a difference. I became newly aware of God working through people. I saw people wanting the best for me. Even as I felt raw and vulnerable, I felt hope rising in my soul as I wondered what the world would become if we lifted one another up during times of illness and other challenges.

More of a Blessing Than a Curse

My gratitude practice was especially helpful after the mastectomy and reconstructive surgery when I required urgent rehospitalization. My sudden-onset, severe pain was a signal that I had developed a serious infection in my abdominal surgical incisions. Following this pain allowed my medical team to find the infections and stop them from spreading. I saw my pain as more of a blessing than a curse by being grateful for my body’s wisdom in creating a sensation to trigger a need for immediate intervention.

I am thankful for this experience—my mother’s wisdom, my medical team’s compassion, the love and care of friends, even the postoperative pain. Going through my body’s renewal, from being humbled on days I needed my husband’s help in showering to feeling reverence for my body’s ability to heal, deepened my understanding of gratitude and the presence of God in all things.