“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:6–7)
Not long ago, I cared for a young junior high school girl who had a massive ovarian teratoma weighing over ten kilograms. Before the surgery, in addition to consulting colleagues from obstetrics-gynecology and general surgery, I also asked several brothers and sisters from church to pray for both the patient and the medical team.
On the day of surgery, as the patient was being anesthetized, I stood beside her, placing my hand gently on her distended abdomen, and prayed silently, asking the Lord to watch over the entire procedure. After five hours of surgery, we successfully removed her tumor arising from left ovary, along with numerous enlarged blood vessels. By God’s grace, both the operation and her recovery went smoothly. She was extubated the next day in the intensive care unit and later transferred back to the general ward. On the second postoperative day, during morning rounds, I allowed her to begin diet intake.
After finishing rounds and leaving the hospital, I felt a quiet prompting in my heart—to give this young girl a gospel book, something she could read while resting in bed. So I said to the Lord that after lunch, I would return to the hospital with a testimony picture book published by Campus Evangelical Fellowship Press, suitable for seekers.
When I returned, I brought the carefully wrapped book into her room. Her mother was by her side. After explaining her medical condition, I handed them the book and shared that I am a Christian, and that I wanted to give this to them. Her mother then mentioned that her daughter’s schoolteacher is also a Christian and had been praying for her surgery. I shared that I, too, had been praying for her. Before leaving, I invited them to pray together at the bedside, asking the Lord to continue to guard her recovery.
I thank the Lord that in this young patient’s life, the soil is already being tilled. May I also faithfully play my part—to sow more seeds of the gospel for this tender, newly sprouting seedling.
(SPWT tools: prayer, faith flags, truth prescription)
David Chen 20260326
