Faith Through Crisis
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Meghean Francisco: They said that there was only a 50% chance that we would survive. And so they said, I’ll leave you to make the decision. And they left the room.
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Meghean Francisco: When I was a child, I had actually very strong beliefs about God.
“Very Strong Beliefs About God”
I spent a lot of time with my paternal grandparents on the weekends. And one of the things that we would do every weekend was go to our Catholic Mass. I always grew up very religious, reading the Bible, saying a lot of prayers, making sure we intentionally set the time aside to be able to attend those masses.
“Is This The Right Place For My Faith?”
[On-screen graphic: Meghean Francisco, Former Catholic]
I really was seeking a real true feeling of— this is the right place for my faith. It was not because someone was telling me to practice this way or because this is the right belief based on what they thought but what is truly what God wants for me. What does He want my faith to be and how will He give that to me?
I actually met Brother Allen Francisco who was part of the Church [Of Christ] and he invited me to a Bible study. We actually lived in the same apartment complex. Brother Allen was talking to me about going to church on a regular basis and one day, just out of nowhere, he actually asked if I wanted to go to Bible study. He said it would be a lot of fun for me to go, that I would really appreciate being around the people. It was funny because I was actually on my way to the Catholic Church when I was invited so I decided to not go to that and go to the Bible study.
“The Answer That I Was Seeking”
Every time I would go to the Bible studies, I had a lot of questions, and every time I would ask the question, the minister would not say, well, this is my answer to it. He would pull the Bible out in front of him and open up and the Bible would be the one to provide the answers that I was needing. And so the more that happened, the better it felt for me to be a part of this faith, to get the answers that I had been seeking. And not being told, “Just believe this way because this is what we want you to believe.”
“Christian Culture”
So really, the culture that drew me in was the Church culture itself, the Christian culture. Loving each other, respecting people as human beings, [and] being there for each other.
The Church [Of Christ] definitely filled a void in my life that I had been seeking throughout my whole life. I wanted to have faith, and I wanted to worship God in the right way. And that started as a little girl on up to even today. And by finding the truth, by finding that true teaching coming from God, feeling the love of His Holy Spirit, and having that guidance in my life, I know that I found the right piece that had been missing.
[On-screen graphic: Meghean Francisco, Join the INC in 2008]
“God Is Going To Make The Decision For Me”
A time that my faith was really tested is when I was actually pregnant with my son. I felt there was something wrong within my pregnancy. My boss comes to me and says, “Your husband and his commander are trying to call you. They need to talk to you right away.” And so I called them, and it was the hospital who said, there’s something wrong you need to admit yourself right away. So I left work, drove straight to the hospital, and got admitted with a very high blood pressure with organs that were failing. And I was only 26 weeks pregnant at the time. And so what the doctors were saying is, you know, the hospital that I was at couldn’t handle a birth of a child that early. And so they wanted the lights to be down, they wanted people to talk quietly until they could find a hospital room where they could handle a premature birth.
But really, the difficult time during that was [when] my organs were failing. His organs were failing. We had what you call ‘HELLP syndrome’ which is like preeclampsia elevated. It’s very rare. And so, prior to giving birth to my son, they said that there was only a 50% chance that we would survive. And so they said, I’ll leave you to make the decision. And they left the room. I remember thinking, God is going to make the decision for me. I don’t have to make this decision. And so I told my husband, I was like, “Get the doctor.” And as soon as he got the doctor into the room, the room was filled with 22 different doctors. And Benjamin is our son, and when he came out, they immediately intubated him and took him off to the NICU while I was having seizures. So they had the other set of doctors that were on me.
Our son, he had monitors for breathing and heart. He had developmental delays as well. And on top of all of that, my husband was getting deployed for 14 months. And so when Benjamin came home from the NICU, four days later, my husband left overseas.
Through all of this, through all of this, you know, one of the things that united us as husband and wife and as a family was being able to have our resident worker, our deacons, deaconesses, come visit at the hospital. I believe very strongly in the anointing of the oil. So I was consistently getting anointed with the oil. Even the thousands of miles that we were apart, we held our devotional prayers with each other.
And now, my son is 14 years old and he’s very active with the CWS (Children’s Worship Service) choir. So I’m very thankful he was able to overcome all those health challenges that he had and he’s stronger for it now.
“I’m Not Alone”
Feeling like I’m not alone is probably one of the best feelings you could have because going through this life is difficult. But there’s a verse that resonates in me that says, there will be no more pain, no more trials, no more tears, no more troubles. And that is the hope that I have in my heart for the day of salvation. And God’s the one who promised that to me. So knowing that He’s guiding my journey to those “no mores” is all the more so powerful in my life.
“I Want To Always Be Pleasing To Him”
God really knows what’s best for us. God knows what’s best for me, [and] what’s best for my family. And by being faithful, holding my prayers, and asking for His help, He always answers that for me.
It’s very important to never take what God gives you for granted because He can just as easily take it away from you. In this life, you know, we work hard for the needs for our family, the needs for ourselves. But in an instant, God could take all of that away as well. And I would never want to be on that side of God. I want to always be pleasing Him. I want to make sure that He’s happy with the life I’m living so that He can continue to give me that peace and give me that happiness that I was seeking for my whole life.
“A Life Of Service”
Going to church is not a boring life. We have our worship services. We have Bible studies. We also have a lot of fun activities that we all love to take part in. We have different activities where we can go out into the community. Some of the ones that I really love is our INC Giving events where we get to go out and just help our fellow man. And the reason I love it is because I’m a social worker. A life of service is really something that’s not just about you. It’s God’s will. He is the one that gave me the ability to give to others. And so my self-care is going to church. My self-care is praying. My self-care is attending different activities because all of that only came from God.
We are growing and growing, and you hear about the Church [Of Christ] being in so many different countries. But to me it’s a very exciting time because this is really the fruition of everyone hearing the words and getting to receive that same promise that I’ve received. Getting to be saved on the Day of Judgment.
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