Five years ago on January 17, 2007 I was wheeled into an operating room, strapped to a table and cut open. My doctors were afraid that they would have to remove my left kidney completely. Six weeks before that, I learned that I was born with a defect in my kidney that meant it never drained completely. My doctors didn't find it until I was 23 years old so for 23 years my kidney was racked with infections that threatened to render it useless.As I reflect on the last 5 years, I am extremely thankful to still be here. Part of that journey felt like an uphill battle but I'm still alive and I'm still kicking! I still have two kidneys even though I am still struggling with constant infections. I can do things that many people can't. I still dance full time, I still sing for hours on end at my church. I still work hard, study hard and play hard. And I owe every minute of my life to my heavenly father. The going was rough sometimes and many times through the years I felt like God would never heal me. But the fact that I'm still here is testament to his goodness.
So as I pass this small milestone I just had to say thank you publicly to my heavenly father for keeping me. Now, five years later, I've published two books and I'm slowly making progress and fulfilling some of the things I've always wanted to.
For that, I will be eternally grateful.
Joana James - Author of Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret
God, our Eternal Heavenly Father, is eternally good! Continue to keep Him first.
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