During my recent stay in hospital, I was blessed to spend time in prayer and conversation with Sister Maureen, a nun from St Dominic's Convent in Boksburg. 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝'𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 - 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩? Consider what HE did for you today... and as you bear your own cross, don't forget to get help from your own Simon of Cyrene.

I was 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 at Netcare Sunward Park Hospital in Boksburg. From the ER staff, the High Care and General Ward nurses, physios, dieticians and of course Dr Magagula the surgeon, 𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟. What a team! They remind me of the words of Paul: "whatever you do, work at it with all your heart" (Col 3:23). If we can all work with the same care and compassion as the Sunward staff who cared for me... we'd surely be glorifying God.

Soon after my surgery I experienced a time of 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. I felt depressed and oppressed. Strange images filled my mind every time I closed my eyes.

But my family, my prayer warrior friends, and all of you were praying - and in a moment of wrestling prayer I 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠

Praise God for that "the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never overcome".

During my 13 days in hospital I was blessed by many special "𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠" from family and friends - messages, calls, and visits. These were 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞-𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 to me. How I appreciated each one! I also believe God used me in the hospital to make an "appearance" in other patients' lives, praying and talking with them when they needed it. Make an "appearance" in someone's life today - it'll mean so much.

After 13 days in hospital after major surgery, I've had time to think! One of the most powerful parts of my stay was feeling 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑑 by the prayers of all of you. What a privilege to have people pray for you in your darkest hours - I felt so safe as your prayers surrounded me. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖!