cloud of a powdery substance appeared
in front of her. Immediately, someone
or something gave a sharp clap in the
midst of the substance, and it scattered
like smoke until it disappeared. At the
same moment, Margaret felt something
wonderful go all through her body.
She was startled when no one else
reacted and realized that she alone had
witnessed the phenomenon. Margaret
continued walking to the front of the
church. No one had yet prayed. No one
had touched her, but she knew she had
indeed been touched and healed.
The following week, Margaret
went to Savannah for the biopsy.
“They told us it would take five days
for pathology to come back,” said
Debra. Five days passed, and no call
came. “On the sixth day, I got an email
from the doctor's office that said they
just wanted to let us know that they
were going to run pathology again.
And that's when it clicked. I thought,
‘Mom’s on to something. There’s
something going on here.’ On about
84 Toombs County Magazine
the 11th day after the biopsy, I got a
call from the doctor in Savannah. He
said, ‘I just want you to know that the
tumor is not a glioblastoma.’ Yes, there
was a tumor. But instead of one month
to live, the doctor said, ‘It’s lymphoma,
and it’s highly treatable.’”
It was all Margaret needed to
confirm in her heart that she had
experienced a miracle. She took
scriptures from the Bible and held
them as truth in her spirit, a part of the
triad human makeup more powerful
than her mind or soul. Some might
question why Margaret’s diagnosis
was changed, and the tumor not
completely removed. And while others
ponder such questions, Margaret
continues to give thanks for a miracle.
After six rounds of chemotherapy
and only one left to go, another
MRI was ordered. “The MRI looked
‘postsurgical,’” said Debra, “as if the
tumor had been surgically removed. It
was completely gone.” She smiled.
Some may credit Margaret’s
Margaret has no doubt that
a miracle took place in her
body. After just six rounds of
chemotherapy, the tumor was
completely gone as if surgically
removed. Her experience is a
testimony of God's love and grace
that each of us has access to.
experience simply as karma. If anyone
deserved a good turn, surely it is the
woman who had enough love left after
raising ten children in a small threebedroom
house to keep on loving and
giving her life to children in the foster
care system for over forty years. But
Margaret would tell you otherwise.
Karma has never been her judge. Grace
has been her constant companion
whether faced with triumph or tragedy.
Unlike grace, karma is based on
works. Simply put, karma means you
get what you deserve. But in Margaret’s
spiritual relationship with God, there
is no room for performance-based
religion. Her faith has never been in
her own goodness, but in God’s love
for her. There’s a verse in Hebrews 4
that says, “So now we come freely and
boldly to where love is enthroned, to
receive mercy’s kiss and discover the
grace we urgently need to strengthen
us in our time of weakness” (vs. 16 The
Passion Translation). When Margaret
encountered that cloud of smoke on
the Sunday between a death sentence
and a biopsy, she simply positioned her
heart to agree with whatever God had
done in her body in that moment. On
Monday, September 17, 2018, Margaret
listened as the Oncologist confirmed
what she already knew. The results of
another MRI confirmed that whatever
was there is there no longer.
We hear a lot of talk these days
about legacy. Margaret’s children,
Debra Daniels, Ellis Collins,
Mike Collins, Lisa Joyce, Cindy
Fountain, her adopted sons, D.J.
and Junior Collins, as well as her
eleven grandchildren, five greatgrandchildren,
and the countless
number of children for whom she
has cared have all been given an
inheritance that is greater than
any possession in this world. It’s an
inheritance of incredible love and
strength that she continues to share
with us all. TCM