MY TESTIMONY

My name is Karen; I am a 47-year-old mother of four, with two grandsons, and two granddaughters.  God has taken me down many paths in my life. At the age of 9, I was bitten twice by a copperhead. At the age of 10, I was in a severe car accident  with my family.  At the age of 25, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and had a complete Hysterectomy. God wasn’t finished testing me yet. At 32, I was diagnosed with a Vertebral Artery Dissection in the brain.

           As you can imagine, I often wondered how much a body could take. I trusted in the Lord to take care of me, and He did.  I learned from reading Gods word and from huge amounts of self-motivational books, that "If it is to be, its up to me!" I decided that it was time for me to give back something of myself to mankind; by helping others feel good about themselves, and to have a positive attitude no matter what the situation. I began doing that through sharing my testimony.

            In June of 2001, I was once again diagnosed with Cancer. This time of the Colon, I prayed for God to get me through this and once again he delivered me. He wasn’t finished with me yet, so in February 2002, I was diagnosed with Liver Cancer. I told God that I would bear the load if only I could touch one person. He allowed me to touch more than one; he has allowed me to touch thousands. Before going into surgery for the Liver Cancer, the doctors told me to get my affairs in order because I probably wouldn’t make it through this time. I told them that they weren’t God, and that he would decide when it was time for me to go. I got through that one with a victorious smile and a lot of pain after 9 hours of surgery and a lot of prayer. With great expectations, I continued to sing Gods praises. Little did I know that he had more in store for me, In June of 2003, I was diagnosed with Rectal Cancer. They told me I would have a permanent colostomy and basically not much of a life. They wanted me to go to counseling, but God wanted me to be the counselor. 

       Have you ever wondered what your family member or friends are going through when they are diagnosed with cancer. Just read the words of my book for encouragement. There is something you can do to help. You can take action now by reading my book. I guarantee you will travel an emotional highway as you live through the experiences with me. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will rejoice with me as you find the answers that you have been searching for.

  In conclusion, I just want to sing and share my testimony with the world. My prayer is that this book will be a blessing to you and your loved ones. It has been very healing for me to write. I look forward to sharing my whole story with you in the upcoming pages of One Woman’s Story: How I Survived Cervical, Colon, Liver and Rectal Cancer.

In His Grip

Karen Shilling

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
KJV