Meet Cheryl Bowie

"Prayer That God Always Answers" as told by Cheryl..

I knew I had to give this testimony while I was in the hospital. Let me assure you my flesh would prefer not to do this. But, it’s not about me. And, to not give my testimony would limit God in what He wants to do in my life and in other lives.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your prayers, cards, and gifts. The enemy was trying to take me out, but the Father said “NO” because He has something for me to do.

Thank you for your continued support whether it was visiting, shopping, cleaning, transportation, or making yourselves available whenever needed. This has been a humbling experience for me because I’m not comfortable receiving from people that I’m not biologically related to. I have learned to let go of my pride and ask for help. And y’all showed out, big time. You gave of yourselves because that’s what you were spiritually lead to do. Thank you for opening my eyes.

Thank you for taking good care of my cousin, Thomas Slater, while he was here.

For those of you that may not know what happened to me, here’s the short version. My colon twisted, a colonoscopy was done to untwist it, but it ruptured instead. Some of the doctors and nurses were surprised that I had survived but they were operating in the natural. They did not understand that in the super-natural all things are possible.

My only regret is I should have gone to my doctor sooner. When I told my boss I needed more time off, she asked for a doctor’s excuse. By the end of that day, I was in Alta Bates Emergency Hospital. I’m amazed at the fact that I have not cried any “Why me Lord?” tears. This is a major change in me because before I was born-again a lump was discovered in my breast. I completely panicked, I worried about having a biopsy and what the results would be. The lump was not cancer. But now that I’m God’s child, my tears have come from praise, worship, and being grateful I’m still here. Though I have had some frustrating moments, prayer and conversations with members of this body have helped me get through them.

God has blessed me in so many ways during this time that the words “blessings overtaking me” were placed in my spirit. I looked for that scripture.
Deut 28:2 “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you . . .”.
I’m going to share 3 of them with you, 2 pertain to “Prayer That God Always Answers”, the other is about reconciliation.

Though I don’t remember exactly when this occurred, it definitely happened before discussing with me when (the date) I would be transferred to rehab. I decided I wanted to go to rehab on Feb. 29th. A Berith member and I did the prayer of agreement for that date. I was transferred to the rehab facility on Feb 29th.
Next, I decided I wanted to go home on Mar 14th. Again, a Berith member and I did the prayer of agreement for that date. The doctors scheduled my release for Mar 21st. But, I was doing so well in the therapy program, the therapist suggested I could leave earlier. I was released from rehab and went home on Mar 14th.
The reconciliation concerns my sister who lives in the LA area. We didn’t have much of a relationship growing up and it has been worse as adults. But, she came to the hospital when I was conscious in the ICU. I was shocked, this was the last person I expected to see. We have been speaking by phone. We have agreed to let go of the past and get to know each other as the women we are now.

I received a card from a co-worker that I want to share with you, but it requires some setup information. I had not mentioned I was a Christian on my job because I was worried about how people would react. But Pastor taught on Mat 10:32-33
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
So I asked myself which of those “whoever” people do I want to be?
When I had an opening, I let co-workers know that I am a Christian and talked about church activities. Here’s the excerpt from the card.
“You know I’m not a praying person, but I’ve said quite a few prayers for you the last few days.”
I had no idea how God could use my confession, but He did and He does know.

One of the best things about this experience is I need to gain some weight. In my entire life I have never needed to eat more to gain weight, it’s a nice position to be in.

I want to finish by saying, sometimes we have experiences in our lives that change us for the better. I know that when I look back at this time in my life, major changes will have been made.