My name is Nadezhda. I am 38 years old and I have four children. I want to tell the story of my churching and the miracle that happened in our family by the will of God. Everyone comes to God in their own way, some through joy, and some through grief. The second thing happened in our family. I was 35 years old when I was diagnosed with cancer.
The world collapsed in my eyes along with my plans for the future, it was very scary, the children were still very small: my sons were 10 and 8 years old, and my daughter was only 3, the thought that I would leave them orphans was simply unbearable. In such cases, people almost always seek salvation from God, I was no exception. Chance brought us together with a very good man, Father Mikhail, the rector of the church.
I started going to services, at first it was hard, I didn’t understand how people could withstand so much: standing for several hours at the service. But I couldn’t disobey Father Mikhail, since he said it, then everything was right. I took communion for the first time after the first chemotherapy. When I first received unction, I was in a terrible state (I was in terrible pain, stomatitis, I weighed only 42 kg and had no strength at all).
I remember I couldn’t even stand, I sat somehow on a chair. After a while I felt better. She completed the course of treatment, constantly prayed, went to services, took her children there, took communion with the children, and asked God for recovery. The Lord heard me.
My happiness knew no bounds when, 2 months after the end of treatment, I had a PET scan, and it showed that I was in remission. For some reason I don’t like this word; I like the word “recovered” better. That’s what I always tell everyone. Everything is learned by comparison. I began to make plans again, I had to restore my health, raise children, I became interested in creativity, went to services, now I was drawn there, I liked the atmosphere, as if you were coming to another, special world.
I began to relate to things differently, I was happy that I could see, hear, live without pain, love, watch my children grow up, thanked God for everything, but soon the Lord sent me another one test. Six months after finishing treatment, I became pregnant. I didn’t understand how? After all, the doctors told me that I couldn’t have any more children, that chemotherapy kills all reproductive functions. I was shocked.
I didn’t plan to have any more children. Firstly, it was necessary to raise these three, secondly, it is dangerous, the body has not yet recovered after aggressive treatment, thirdly, will I be able to give birth to a healthy child after everything? I was in shock for a month. What if there is a relapse due to pregnancy and I die? Do I have the right to risk my own life? After all, I have three more minor children.
On the other hand, God gave me a second chance at life, what right do I have to take this life from another person? Father Mikhail told me: this is a test, you must be strong and pass it. Take communion, pray and everything will be fine.
When registering with the LCD, I didn’t say anything about the disease I had, I knew that with such a diagnosis they would hardly allow me to give birth.
And it turned out to be right, the doctors found out at 20 weeks, by accident. What started then… They immediately gathered a consultation, tried to put pressure on me, demanded written permission for childbirth from the oncologist. Of course, it was morally very difficult, no one understood me: the fourth child after such an illness… Everyone thought that I had gone crazy. I was saved only by faith in God, prayers, conversations with Father Michael. I took communion every 2-3 weeks, received unction twice. Surprisingly, I went through the entire pregnancy easily, the tests were excellent and I gave birth to a healthy and beautiful girl weighing 4 kg 200 g on time. Father Mikhail became the godfather of our Appolinaria. Now she is 8 months old, she is growing and developing very quickly, she makes us happy with her successes, and when she smiles, it seems as if an angel has descended to us from heaven. Now I can’t imagine life without her and I know for sure that everything will be fine, God is with us.
Holy Land Charitable Foundation
Investment in the Soul!
Orthodox stories from life
