An Issue of Blood
26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
Sister Vickie Pfisters story is one in the same as the woman with an issue of blood. The nature of her suffering is a delicate matter. The Lord has made us all male and female and to our gender we separately have issues. So while telling this story I will be as proper and considerate as possible.
I was never able to meet Sister Vickie. My account of her is gathered mostly from her daughter Janaun. Janaun and her mother were about as close as a mother and daughter could be. They were each others friend and would talk daily on the phone while accomplishing their daily chores. Sister Vickie was a strong mother in this faith. She prepared her children for the ups and downs that they might encounter in life. I picture her as strong and steadfast, never wavering in her commitment and love for the Lord. Her effect on the brethren was just as great as that of her family. She lived, rightfully so, as if the only thing that mattered was serving the Lord to the best of her ability so that she might make heaven her home. Her family, her brethren and her life prove her love for her Lord and Saviour.
In 1998 Sister Vickie was preparing for her daughters up coming wedding. At that time her monthly cycles became closer and closer together. On a day sometime after her daughters wedding the two monthly cycles that had been inching ever so close to one another, met in the middle and became one. Knowing something was wrong within her, she choose to place herself in her beloved creators hands. She choose to do what she could by eating healthy and taking care of the body that the Lord had blessed her with but the rest was left to the Lord to perfect in his own way and time. In my conversations with Janaun she talked about her mother struggling with anemia. How weak and tired she often was. In Janauns words "she was extremely tough or God had great mercy on her." I'm sure it was both because Janauns memory of her mother during those times was not one of agonizing pain or an absent chair at family gatherings. It was just the opposite even. She kept going. She kept living and she continued to participate in life as it was. I know it was painful at times. As the weeks became months and the months became years she was indeed in some pain. Her legs often ached and the constant loss of blood took a toll on her. She was suffering but it was for the perfecting of her soul. In Sister Vickies opinion, through her actions, it was a price worthy of paying and one that she never wavered on.
The family hadn't known the exact nature causing her issue of blood. According to Janaun her slender and petite mother became aware of a mass in her tummy. She had intermittently passed small masses with her constant stream of blood. The answer to her condition came one evening from a very unlikely source. It came as part of the family watched an episode of the 90's sitcom Home Improvement. In this particular episode Tim's wife began flowing with no end in sight. As most people outside of our faith do, she went to see her doctor. On her visit she was told that she had "fibroid tumors." Janaun went to her mother who wasn't watching with the rest of the family and told her about what she had seen. With a little bit of research they felt confident that her issue of blood did indeed come from a fibroid tumor within her uterus. This was the mass that she was able to feel within her tummy. One of Sister Vickie's favorite scriptures was James 1:2-4.
2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Knowing that that caused her to suffer didn't distract her from the work being done within her. She continued on., everyday believing and everyday living to perfect her soul and prove herself worthy to one day stand in the presence of her Lord and Saviour.
Sister Vickie was not left alone in her struggles. The Lord was with her and comforted her from time to time. Over the years she had received prophecies that had lead her to believe that life for her would be long. The Lord also blessed her with beautiful dreams. One such dream is extremely comforting to Janaun. Her mother had dreamed of a white home with a lovely green yard. Playing on this lovely green grass were her two grandchildren. One of these children was a girl of about 8 years old. Her mother told her that the little girl was just like Waco (Janauns husband) but that she had curly hair, just not as curly as Janauns. Then there was that little boy. A little boy of about 3 that reminded her so much of her son Brett. She said she watched these children play leap frog on this beautiful green lawn and she thought to herself "Things just aren't as bad as I thought they would be." This was no ordinary dream. At the time of the dream the Pfisters lived in a home with no green grass and her daughter was three years shy of having their first grandchild. That grandchild was a girl and indeed she is like her father with resemblance of her mothers hair and approximately five years later a son that is very much like his uncle Brett. The Pfisters did move into that white house with the lovely green lawn. Sister Vickie talked of this dream often. It gave her and her family such great comfort. Janaun also mentioned that her mother had dreams of being delivered of this tumor. Janaun also had dreams of her mother being healed. It wasn't a question of if the Lord would heal her of her tumor but more a question of when.
We don't always understand the things the Lord is conveying to us at the time but the peace and comfort of the Lord that can not be spoken is always felt and remembered. The Lord and his ways are perfect.
Sister Vickie Pfister part one
Sister Vickie Pfister part three
Sister Vickie Pfister part four
Sister Vickie Pfister part five
Sister Vickie Pfister part six
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