Cedarville Stories Podcast: Finding Joy in the Midst of Pain and Loss

Scripture says that God brings tests to our faith that it may be made complete. Dr. Angie Mickle, Dean of the Cedarville School of Nursing, went through a battery of spiritual tests beginning in 2019 which refined her faith greatly. On January 7, she underwent a 9-hour surgery to remove a benign tumor, although she was originally told it was malignant. While still recovering in the hospital three days after the surgery, she experienced a stroke.

And then, not quite a month after her surgery while she healed at home in February, her seven-month-old grandson suddenly and inexplicably stopped breathing, even though she valiantly attempted to revive him. He went home to be with Jesus.

Wondering aloud through many tears, Angie questioned why God would permit so much suffering to befall her. But Jesus kept meeting her over and over again, and she discovered a deeper trust in the midst of her pain. This inspiring story causes those who hear it to look at their own relationship with God. Angie affirms the greatness and goodness of God in her time of loss.

More to the Story

Angie is also a major in the Air National Guard, serving as a nurse practitioner and Chief Nursing Administrator for the 121st Medical Group at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio.

Angie felt that God wanted her to give her tumor a name. She came up with “Joy,” in view of James 1:2-4. She was told by doctors that the tumor had likely been growing for 15-20 years.