January 15, 2025 • 18 mins
What is the purpose of suffering and why does God permit it? St. Teresa of Calcutta said of suffering, “You know this is but the kiss of Jesus, a sign that you have come so close to Him on the cross that He can kiss you."
Diane shares a tapestry of tribulations that would shake anyone's resolve. This is a heartfelt narrative of how one can steadfastly sing a song of thanksgiving through life’s most challenging seasons.
Grab some coffee and sit back as Diane shares her story of the power of faith and the belief that, even in the darkest moments, we are never truly alone.
00:00 Opening Prayer and Introduction
00:31 Meet Diane: A Journey of Faith
02:22 Early Life and Childhood Struggles
03:24 Teenage Years and Growing Faith
04:02 Loss and Anger Towards God
05:21 Marriage and Family Challenges
06:09 Divorce and Rediscovering Faith
11:05 A New Beginning: Finding Love Again
13:58 Health Scares and Miracles
16:39 Conclusion and Reflections
Our goal with this episode is to move at least one heart toward God -- is it yours? Let us know! And if you'd like to get involved by becoming a storyteller or donating to the movement, please visit:
Web: godisgoodpodcast.com
Social: www.facebook.com/groups/godisgoodpodcast/
Some of our episodes mention the ACTS Retreat, which is an evangelization retreat from ACTS Missions in San Antonio, TX: www.actsmissions.org.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carol (00:10):
God indeed is my salvation.
I am confident and unafraid.
For the Lord is my strength andmy might, and he has been my
salvation." Isaiah 12 verse 2.
Hello, friends in Christ.
Welcome to this episode of theGod is Good podcast.
I'm Carol O'Brien, and I'm yourhost for this episode.
(00:31):
I'm so humbled to introduce youto a dear sister in Christ.
I haven't known Diane long, butit doesn't take long to know
that she is beautiful inside andout.
I met Diane recently when weserved together on an
evangelization retreat team.
Immediately, I learned that sheis kind, dedicated, funny, and
(00:52):
all around lovely.
I had no idea about thesuffering she has known since
the moment of her birth.
Before we get into her story,one that she describes as a mini
series, I'll give you a littlebit of background on Diane.
Following 30 years of dedicatedservice to a university, she
retired and now works part timefor her church.
(01:16):
She also volunteers on retreatteams and in a leadership role
to share the Holy Spirit's lovewith women and men across the
state and across the country.
She's been married for fouryears and describes her husband
as a gift from our Holy MotherMary, and she has a wonderful
adult son.
(01:36):
Please join me in welcomingDiane to the podcast.
Hello, beautiful.
Diane (01:41):
Hi, Carol.
I'm happy to be here to share mystory.
Thank you for the invitation.
Carol (01:46):
Oh, I'm so glad you're here.
So I said this to you before,but you truly amaze me.
Today's topic is one that couldbe a little difficult for you
and maybe even for ourlisteners.
It's so hard to remember thatsuffering has a really important
role in our lives.
It reminds us to die to andfocus our lives on God.
(02:09):
And that's why it's reallyinspiring to talk to you.
You're someone who has embracedyour suffering and you allow it
to shine outward as God's love.
But I'm getting ahead of us, solet's begin.
Your life began in trauma.
Is that something you can share?
Diane (02:26):
Well, I can share what I was told.
And I was told that my motherdied giving birth to me and my
twin sister.
My twin sister did not surviveeither.
I was raised by a cousin.
My cousin had two sons and threedaughters.
(02:47):
And they welcomed me.
I am blessed to be part of thatfamily.
Unfortunately, my parents thatraised me have passed away now.
The lady known as mygrandmother, had 13 children and
she taught them about God and wewere to be in church every
Sunday.
I remember having a relationshipwith the Lord at a very early
(03:09):
age, probably as early as fouryears old.
Carol (03:12):
That's amazing to have a relationship with God that
young.
So did you also have a reallygood, strong relationship with
Him into adulthood?
Diane (03:21):
I did.
I've always felt His presence.
I grew up in a small town, andthere were three churches in
that town.
I would go to their Bibleschools, just go, and then as I
became a teen, another church inthe area had teen retreats and
those were called promise,people reaching out ministering
(03:41):
and spiritual enrichment.
I was involved in that for manyyears As a teen, I also, helped
with our church vacation Bibleschool.
So I was always involved withchurch and I always felt the
Lord's presence and I'm stilldoing that.
Carol (03:58):
Was there ever a point in your life where you felt far
from God?
Diane (04:02):
There was a time when my mom that raised me, when she
passed, I was devastated and Iwas sad for like two years.
I was a bit angry with the Lordthat she passed because I felt
like she was my link to mybiological family.
I loved her so much and I wasvery sad for a couple of years.
(04:24):
I prayed to the Lord to not lether die.
And so I was, I would say mad atthe Lord and I let Him know.
I'm like, you know, I'm reallyupset with you.
And, so I didn't go to churchfor a spell.
I was hurting so much and I justpushed away for a little bit.
And then I just, thought whatare you doing?
(04:47):
He's going to get me throughthis.
What are you doing?
Carol (04:50):
That's so hard, especially given how hard you
were praying and wantingsomething so badly from God, and
you were wondering why he hadn'tintervened or answered you in
the way that you wanted him toanswer.
What did you do from there?
Diane (05:04):
I was in my late 20s when she passed, I may have been
turning 30.
I moved and landed at St.
Louis because they had a youngadult singles group.
Carol (05:17):
And did you meet your first husband in that group or
was it somewhere else?
Diane (05:21):
No, he and I had dated for six years off and on.
He was from back home.
We married when we were 25.
His family was Baptist, and sohe went through RCIA and became
Catholic, and we had a Catholicwedding.
We had one child, my son, andunfortunately I had a couple of
(05:44):
miscarriages.
We were married for 20 years.
But I had a secret about myhusband.
He had an addictive gene.
He had many addictions, and Idiscovered these a few years in
the marriage.
I didn't share that with myparents or my siblings.
(06:04):
My parents were already deceasedwhen my spouse and I separated.
Going through a divorce is thehardest thing I ever went
through.
I prayed about it.
I talked to six differentpriests about it.
I was devastated that ourmarriage got to that.
Carol (06:23):
Wow, making that decision even as you were still loving
this person must have beenreally difficult.
Diane (06:29):
It was.
I had to protect my son.
I didn't want my son to see usand think that's what a marriage
looks like.
And it was very hard to do.
Like I said, 20 years.
I mean, he would be off and onthe wagon through those 20
years.
(06:49):
And I just thought one day thathe would just stop it or seek
the help he needed.
And it didn't happen.
Carol (06:58):
I know with some addictive personalities that
things are really good and thenthey're really bad and then they
can be really good again.
And so you go through the badparts and get to a high point
where things are really good.
And you're thinking, Okay, Nowwe've made it.
We've made it through the hardpart, and then it happens again.
Diane (07:17):
Even more...
He was diagnosed with anautoimmune disorder.
And, the doctor told him hewould have to change his
lifestyle.
Like his eating habits,exercise, the whole bit.
And he was devastated and turnedtoward his addictions.
He just really spiraleddownward, and I tried to help
(07:40):
him every way I could and hejust was not trying to help
himself.
I had to save my son and savemyself too, my sanity.
I just thought my son cannot bewithout both of his parents.
So we separated for a year andthen we divorced.
And a divorce is like a death.
(08:03):
It was just terrible.
Carol (08:05):
Where was God throughout these trials for you?
Was he close?
Diane (08:09):
Right there.
He was.
And I was looking in my journalsbecause I had written down those
like I asked for this and heshowed me, but one night I was
feeling so low and I was in mybedroom going to sleep and I
like my bedroom really dark andthe bathroom door was open a
little bit.
(08:30):
Then it got real bright in mybathroom and I was looking over
like, why is it so bright inthere?
So I got up and I went and theblinds were opened a little bit
and through the blinds I couldsee the moon and there was this
cross.
The cross was just comingthrough the bathroom.
(08:52):
And I was like, Hi, Lord.
Thank you.
I needed you.
I needed to feel you and see youtoo.
It was just so bright in thereand I knew it was Him.
It was Him.
And so I lay back down and I'mjust smiling and beaming.
I'm like, the Lord just visitedme.
And I turned back over to looktoward the bathroom and it was
dark.
Carol (09:11):
This is why you amaze me so much.
I mean, even in one of thedarkest parts of your life,
you're still seeing Godeverywhere.
And I love that your scriptureis Isaiah chapter 12, because
that's a song of Thanksgiving.
And you went through sometraumas already, up to this
point in your life.
And not to give it away, but Iknow you had some more traumas.
Diane (09:34):
Yeah.
Four years after the divorce, myex husband, wasn't taking care
of his autoimmune disorder.
He ended up in the hospital.
He was in the hospital for twoweeks and I was with him there.
He died.
And it was hard.
(09:55):
I had to pick up the pieces formy son.
My son was 16 at the time.
And, I had to plan his funeral.
I had a rosary for him and themass.
That was hard.
So not only that I go through adeath with our divorce, here I
was all back again with hisdeath.
(10:19):
You know, this is not what Ithought my life would end up.
I wanted to give my son what Ididn't have, a biological mom
and dad, a happy home.
And I failed.
I failed him miserably.
I could only pray to the Lord tocarry me and help me.
(10:43):
To hold my head up high andreassure me so I could reassure
my son that we would be okay.
My son and I had a rockyrelationship and it's better
now, but I know he still needshealings.
So do I.
Carol (10:59):
And so now, turning to some more happy times in your
life, it's been a bit of timenow.
Can you tell us about this newperson in your life?
Diane (11:09):
Yes.
I knew I didn't want to bealone.
You know, I entered life onearth, to me, alone in a tragic
story.
So I knew I didn't want to bealone.
And, I got on those apps, thosedating apps.
And I said, okay, this is notfor me.
(11:32):
I said, okay, mother Mary, Ineed a good man.
Well, Mary interceded and sheasked the Lord to send me a good
man.
And, I met my neighbor's buddy--50 years of age, never married,
no children, but not Catholic.
God has a sense of humor.
We began to talk and he told methat he believed in the Lord,
(11:55):
but he did not believe inorganized religion.
I felt like this man wasyearning for something and I
knew it was the Lord.
So I thought, okay, Lord, youwant me to evangelize him.
Right?
I see he's yearning for you.
And we were friends at first.
(12:16):
I would invite him to churcheach Sunday and he would
decline.
I told him in order for us tocontinue to get closer that my
Catholic faith was extremelyimportant and part of my life.
He respected that.
He started to come to churchwith me.
He took RCIA classes and he waslike a sponge, just absorbing it
(12:40):
all.
He ended up proposing to methree and a half years and we
had a Catholic COVID wedding.
Carol (12:50):
Well, that's so great! So, what is different in this
relationship than in your firstmarriage?
Diane (12:56):
Well, this relationship, or just this man, he just, he's
on fire.
He loves the Lord.
It just tickles me.
He's just a miracle.
Here I am, dating this man thatdoesn't believe in organized
religion, wasn't raised going tochurch.
(13:16):
And here he is.
He's in a lot of ministries onhis own.
He's a Eucharistic minister.
We pray the rosary every nightbefore we go to bed.
And he's just on fire.
He went to an ACTS retreat and Icould just see the love of the
(13:37):
Lord in him.
It just tickles me sometimes.
Carol (13:41):
So now that you have this wonderful relationship, a
growing and changingrelationship with your son,
everything's perfect in yourlife, right?
Your whole life is perfect?
Diane (13:52):
Well.
As much as we would like it tobe, and then, things happen.
In 2022, he had a hiatal herniarepair.
Minor surgery.
He'd been having problems withacid reflux and GERD.
Well, there was complications.
The hospital put dye down hislungs.
(14:15):
Almost killed him.
He ended up in the ICU for 53days, on a ventilator, in a
coma, fighting for his life.
The doctors were trying to helphim, but couldn't really help
him.
He just was not responding.
But, the power of prayer-- I waspraying over him every day.
(14:36):
I was praying the Divine Mercyover him.
I was putting holy water on him.
The priest in the hospital wascoming by every day and we were
praying over him.
He had the anointing of the sickfrom our priest at our church.
I contacted the church communityto pray for him.
Everyone was praying for him.
(14:57):
I was pleading with God not totake him away.
I'm like, this is a gift thatyou gave me, Lord.
I reached out to everybody Iknew across the world to pray
for him.
I had friends visiting theVatican and they did mass
intentions for him there andthat brought the church
community together.
Everybody was praying for him.
Carol (15:17):
And then what happened?
Diane (15:19):
On Easter weekend, 53 days later, like Lazarus, he
wakes up.
He just wakes up.
Carol (15:27):
Wow, did the doctors have any explanation?
Did they know what happened?
Diane (15:31):
No.
Carol (15:32):
That's amazing.
God is so good.
And so you went through thatmiracle and now everything's
perfect.
Diane (15:40):
It was wonderful.
But then, in June, I found out Ihad a mass in my right breast.
So I have a gene, called CHECK2marker, that makes me a higher
risk of breast cancer.
So I've been getting Mammogramsand MRIs every year and sure
(16:01):
enough in June, a mass wasdetected in the MRI on my right
breast.
And it is a rare cancer.
So I had a double mastectomy inAugust of last year.
And I currently go to MDAnderson quarterly to get
scanned.
Thank God so far there's no signof any cancer.
(16:22):
But again, I give thanks to theLord for early detection.
Carol (16:27):
Even one of those traumas would be enough to shake a lot
of people's faith.
So it's so amazing to see howclose God has been in your life
right from the start and howhe's walked by your side through
everything.
Let me reread your favoritescripture.
It's the one we opened withIsaiah 12 verse two.
God indeed is my salvation.
(16:48):
I am confident and unafraid forthe Lord is my strength and my
might and has been my salvation.
Amen.
It's an absolute testimony toyour faith and love that this is
your scripture.
Isaiah 12, as I mentionedearlier, is referred to as one
of the songs of thanksgiving.
Thank you for sharing, Diane.
In all our lives, there aretimes when things are so painful
(17:11):
and so hard that it would beeasy to turn inward and sink
deep into self pity.
But you turned your sufferinginto service.
In the midst of your pain, yousought out God.
As St.
Teresa of Calcutta said ofsuffering,"You know this is but
the kiss of Jesus.
A sign that you have come soclose to Him on the cross that
(17:34):
He can kiss you." By sharingyour story, Diane, I hope that
our listeners will become moreconfident and unafraid and rely
on God's strength and might intheir own lives.
Thank you again, Diane.
Diane (17:48):
Thank you, Carol for allowing me to share my story.
Carol (17:51):
And thank you to all of our listeners for following,
liking, and sharing thispodcast.
The spiritual retreat mentionedin this podcast is the ACTS
retreat.
That's A C T S from ACTSMissions in San Antonio, Texas.
We'll share more informationabout it in the comments and on
our website.
(18:12):
Stay tuned for our next episode,friends, and remember that God
is good.
Diane (18:18):
All the time.
God indeed is my salvation.
I am confident and unafraid.
For the Lord is my strength andmy might, and he has been my
salvation." Isaiah 12 verse 2.
Hello, friends in Christ.
Welcome to this episode of theGod is Good podcast.
I'm Carol O'Brien, and I'm yourhost for this episode.
(00:31):
I'm so humbled to introduce youto a dear sister in Christ.
I haven't known Diane long, butit doesn't take long to know
that she is beautiful inside andout.
I met Diane recently when weserved together on an
evangelization retreat team.
Immediately, I learned that sheis kind, dedicated, funny, and
(00:52):
all around lovely.
I had no idea about thesuffering she has known since
the moment of her birth.
Before we get into her story,one that she describes as a mini
series, I'll give you a littlebit of background on Diane.
Following 30 years of dedicatedservice to a university, she
retired and now works part timefor her church.
(01:16):
She also volunteers on retreatteams and in a leadership role
to share the Holy Spirit's lovewith women and men across the
state and across the country.
She's been married for fouryears and describes her husband
as a gift from our Holy MotherMary, and she has a wonderful
adult son.
(01:36):
Please join me in welcomingDiane to the podcast.
Hello, beautiful.
Diane (01:41):
Hi, Carol.
I'm happy to be here to share mystory.
Thank you for the invitation.
Carol (01:46):
Oh, I'm so glad you're here.
So I said this to you before,but you truly amaze me.
Today's topic is one that couldbe a little difficult for you
and maybe even for ourlisteners.
It's so hard to remember thatsuffering has a really important
role in our lives.
It reminds us to die to andfocus our lives on God.
(02:09):
And that's why it's reallyinspiring to talk to you.
You're someone who has embracedyour suffering and you allow it
to shine outward as God's love.
But I'm getting ahead of us, solet's begin.
Your life began in trauma.
Is that something you can share?
Diane (02:26):
Well, I can share what I was told.
And I was told that my motherdied giving birth to me and my
twin sister.
My twin sister did not surviveeither.
I was raised by a cousin.
My cousin had two sons and threedaughters.
(02:47):
And they welcomed me.
I am blessed to be part of thatfamily.
Unfortunately, my parents thatraised me have passed away now.
The lady known as mygrandmother, had 13 children and
she taught them about God and wewere to be in church every
Sunday.
I remember having a relationshipwith the Lord at a very early
(03:09):
age, probably as early as fouryears old.
Carol (03:12):
That's amazing to have a relationship with God that
young.
So did you also have a reallygood, strong relationship with
Him into adulthood?
Diane (03:21):
I did.
I've always felt His presence.
I grew up in a small town, andthere were three churches in
that town.
I would go to their Bibleschools, just go, and then as I
became a teen, another church inthe area had teen retreats and
those were called promise,people reaching out ministering
(03:41):
and spiritual enrichment.
I was involved in that for manyyears As a teen, I also, helped
with our church vacation Bibleschool.
So I was always involved withchurch and I always felt the
Lord's presence and I'm stilldoing that.
Carol (03:58):
Was there ever a point in your life where you felt far
from God?
Diane (04:02):
There was a time when my mom that raised me, when she
passed, I was devastated and Iwas sad for like two years.
I was a bit angry with the Lordthat she passed because I felt
like she was my link to mybiological family.
I loved her so much and I wasvery sad for a couple of years.
(04:24):
I prayed to the Lord to not lether die.
And so I was, I would say mad atthe Lord and I let Him know.
I'm like, you know, I'm reallyupset with you.
And, so I didn't go to churchfor a spell.
I was hurting so much and I justpushed away for a little bit.
And then I just, thought whatare you doing?
(04:47):
He's going to get me throughthis.
What are you doing?
Carol (04:50):
That's so hard, especially given how hard you
were praying and wantingsomething so badly from God, and
you were wondering why he hadn'tintervened or answered you in
the way that you wanted him toanswer.
What did you do from there?
Diane (05:04):
I was in my late 20s when she passed, I may have been
turning 30.
I moved and landed at St.
Louis because they had a youngadult singles group.
Carol (05:17):
And did you meet your first husband in that group or
was it somewhere else?
Diane (05:21):
No, he and I had dated for six years off and on.
He was from back home.
We married when we were 25.
His family was Baptist, and sohe went through RCIA and became
Catholic, and we had a Catholicwedding.
We had one child, my son, andunfortunately I had a couple of
(05:44):
miscarriages.
We were married for 20 years.
But I had a secret about myhusband.
He had an addictive gene.
He had many addictions, and Idiscovered these a few years in
the marriage.
I didn't share that with myparents or my siblings.
(06:04):
My parents were already deceasedwhen my spouse and I separated.
Going through a divorce is thehardest thing I ever went
through.
I prayed about it.
I talked to six differentpriests about it.
I was devastated that ourmarriage got to that.
Carol (06:23):
Wow, making that decision even as you were still loving
this person must have beenreally difficult.
Diane (06:29):
It was.
I had to protect my son.
I didn't want my son to see usand think that's what a marriage
looks like.
And it was very hard to do.
Like I said, 20 years.
I mean, he would be off and onthe wagon through those 20
years.
(06:49):
And I just thought one day thathe would just stop it or seek
the help he needed.
And it didn't happen.
Carol (06:58):
I know with some addictive personalities that
things are really good and thenthey're really bad and then they
can be really good again.
And so you go through the badparts and get to a high point
where things are really good.
And you're thinking, Okay, Nowwe've made it.
We've made it through the hardpart, and then it happens again.
Diane (07:17):
Even more...
He was diagnosed with anautoimmune disorder.
And, the doctor told him hewould have to change his
lifestyle.
Like his eating habits,exercise, the whole bit.
And he was devastated and turnedtoward his addictions.
He just really spiraleddownward, and I tried to help
(07:40):
him every way I could and hejust was not trying to help
himself.
I had to save my son and savemyself too, my sanity.
I just thought my son cannot bewithout both of his parents.
So we separated for a year andthen we divorced.
And a divorce is like a death.
(08:03):
It was just terrible.
Carol (08:05):
Where was God throughout these trials for you?
Was he close?
Diane (08:09):
Right there.
He was.
And I was looking in my journalsbecause I had written down those
like I asked for this and heshowed me, but one night I was
feeling so low and I was in mybedroom going to sleep and I
like my bedroom really dark andthe bathroom door was open a
little bit.
(08:30):
Then it got real bright in mybathroom and I was looking over
like, why is it so bright inthere?
So I got up and I went and theblinds were opened a little bit
and through the blinds I couldsee the moon and there was this
cross.
The cross was just comingthrough the bathroom.
(08:52):
And I was like, Hi, Lord.
Thank you.
I needed you.
I needed to feel you and see youtoo.
It was just so bright in thereand I knew it was Him.
It was Him.
And so I lay back down and I'mjust smiling and beaming.
I'm like, the Lord just visitedme.
And I turned back over to looktoward the bathroom and it was
dark.
Carol (09:11):
This is why you amaze me so much.
I mean, even in one of thedarkest parts of your life,
you're still seeing Godeverywhere.
And I love that your scriptureis Isaiah chapter 12, because
that's a song of Thanksgiving.
And you went through sometraumas already, up to this
point in your life.
And not to give it away, but Iknow you had some more traumas.
Diane (09:34):
Yeah.
Four years after the divorce, myex husband, wasn't taking care
of his autoimmune disorder.
He ended up in the hospital.
He was in the hospital for twoweeks and I was with him there.
He died.
And it was hard.
(09:55):
I had to pick up the pieces formy son.
My son was 16 at the time.
And, I had to plan his funeral.
I had a rosary for him and themass.
That was hard.
So not only that I go through adeath with our divorce, here I
was all back again with hisdeath.
(10:19):
You know, this is not what Ithought my life would end up.
I wanted to give my son what Ididn't have, a biological mom
and dad, a happy home.
And I failed.
I failed him miserably.
I could only pray to the Lord tocarry me and help me.
(10:43):
To hold my head up high andreassure me so I could reassure
my son that we would be okay.
My son and I had a rockyrelationship and it's better
now, but I know he still needshealings.
So do I.
Carol (10:59):
And so now, turning to some more happy times in your
life, it's been a bit of timenow.
Can you tell us about this newperson in your life?
Diane (11:09):
Yes.
I knew I didn't want to bealone.
You know, I entered life onearth, to me, alone in a tragic
story.
So I knew I didn't want to bealone.
And, I got on those apps, thosedating apps.
And I said, okay, this is notfor me.
(11:32):
I said, okay, mother Mary, Ineed a good man.
Well, Mary interceded and sheasked the Lord to send me a good
man.
And, I met my neighbor's buddy--50 years of age, never married,
no children, but not Catholic.
God has a sense of humor.
We began to talk and he told methat he believed in the Lord,
(11:55):
but he did not believe inorganized religion.
I felt like this man wasyearning for something and I
knew it was the Lord.
So I thought, okay, Lord, youwant me to evangelize him.
Right?
I see he's yearning for you.
And we were friends at first.
(12:16):
I would invite him to churcheach Sunday and he would
decline.
I told him in order for us tocontinue to get closer that my
Catholic faith was extremelyimportant and part of my life.
He respected that.
He started to come to churchwith me.
He took RCIA classes and he waslike a sponge, just absorbing it
(12:40):
all.
He ended up proposing to methree and a half years and we
had a Catholic COVID wedding.
Carol (12:50):
Well, that's so great! So, what is different in this
relationship than in your firstmarriage?
Diane (12:56):
Well, this relationship, or just this man, he just, he's
on fire.
He loves the Lord.
It just tickles me.
He's just a miracle.
Here I am, dating this man thatdoesn't believe in organized
religion, wasn't raised going tochurch.
(13:16):
And here he is.
He's in a lot of ministries onhis own.
He's a Eucharistic minister.
We pray the rosary every nightbefore we go to bed.
And he's just on fire.
He went to an ACTS retreat and Icould just see the love of the
(13:37):
Lord in him.
It just tickles me sometimes.
Carol (13:41):
So now that you have this wonderful relationship, a
growing and changingrelationship with your son,
everything's perfect in yourlife, right?
Your whole life is perfect?
Diane (13:52):
Well.
As much as we would like it tobe, and then, things happen.
In 2022, he had a hiatal herniarepair.
Minor surgery.
He'd been having problems withacid reflux and GERD.
Well, there was complications.
The hospital put dye down hislungs.
(14:15):
Almost killed him.
He ended up in the ICU for 53days, on a ventilator, in a
coma, fighting for his life.
The doctors were trying to helphim, but couldn't really help
him.
He just was not responding.
But, the power of prayer-- I waspraying over him every day.
(14:36):
I was praying the Divine Mercyover him.
I was putting holy water on him.
The priest in the hospital wascoming by every day and we were
praying over him.
He had the anointing of the sickfrom our priest at our church.
I contacted the church communityto pray for him.
Everyone was praying for him.
(14:57):
I was pleading with God not totake him away.
I'm like, this is a gift thatyou gave me, Lord.
I reached out to everybody Iknew across the world to pray
for him.
I had friends visiting theVatican and they did mass
intentions for him there andthat brought the church
community together.
Everybody was praying for him.
Carol (15:17):
And then what happened?
Diane (15:19):
On Easter weekend, 53 days later, like Lazarus, he
wakes up.
He just wakes up.
Carol (15:27):
Wow, did the doctors have any explanation?
Did they know what happened?
Diane (15:31):
No.
Carol (15:32):
That's amazing.
God is so good.
And so you went through thatmiracle and now everything's
perfect.
Diane (15:40):
It was wonderful.
But then, in June, I found out Ihad a mass in my right breast.
So I have a gene, called CHECK2marker, that makes me a higher
risk of breast cancer.
So I've been getting Mammogramsand MRIs every year and sure
(16:01):
enough in June, a mass wasdetected in the MRI on my right
breast.
And it is a rare cancer.
So I had a double mastectomy inAugust of last year.
And I currently go to MDAnderson quarterly to get
scanned.
Thank God so far there's no signof any cancer.
(16:22):
But again, I give thanks to theLord for early detection.
Carol (16:27):
Even one of those traumas would be enough to shake a lot
of people's faith.
So it's so amazing to see howclose God has been in your life
right from the start and howhe's walked by your side through
everything.
Let me reread your favoritescripture.
It's the one we opened withIsaiah 12 verse two.
God indeed is my salvation.
(16:48):
I am confident and unafraid forthe Lord is my strength and my
might and has been my salvation.
Amen.
It's an absolute testimony toyour faith and love that this is
your scripture.
Isaiah 12, as I mentionedearlier, is referred to as one
of the songs of thanksgiving.
Thank you for sharing, Diane.
In all our lives, there aretimes when things are so painful
(17:11):
and so hard that it would beeasy to turn inward and sink
deep into self pity.
But you turned your sufferinginto service.
In the midst of your pain, yousought out God.
As St.
Teresa of Calcutta said ofsuffering,"You know this is but
the kiss of Jesus.
A sign that you have come soclose to Him on the cross that
(17:34):
He can kiss you." By sharingyour story, Diane, I hope that
our listeners will become moreconfident and unafraid and rely
on God's strength and might intheir own lives.
Thank you again, Diane.
Diane (17:48):
Thank you, Carol for allowing me to share my story.
Carol (17:51):
And thank you to all of our listeners for following,
liking, and sharing thispodcast.
The spiritual retreat mentionedin this podcast is the ACTS
retreat.
That's A C T S from ACTSMissions in San Antonio, Texas.
We'll share more informationabout it in the comments and on
our website.
(18:12):
Stay tuned for our next episode,friends, and remember that God
is good.
Diane (18:18):
All the time.
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