"Can Laughter Help?" with Nicole Miller

Nicole Miller, a comedian and cancer survivor, shares her journey of battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Diagnosed at 21, Nicole faced a challenging path with persistent symptoms and a difficult diagnosis process. Despite the severity of her condition, she found strength in humor and faith.

Nicole's story highlights the importance of perseverance, proper medical care, and the support of loved ones. Now cancer-free for 21 years, Nicole uses her experience to inspire others through comedy, emphasizing that laughter can be a powerful coping mechanism. She also advocates for adoption and encourages those facing medical or fertility challenges to remain hopeful and persistent.

Transcript

GUEST: Nicole Miller
TOPIC: “Can Laughter Help?”
Season 4, Episode 1

Ric Shields (00:00):

Cancer isn't funny, but Nicole Miller believes that adding some humor to the illness could go a long way to helping others cope. And she should know. Nicole was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma when she was a college student. Though considered a very treatable form of cancer, the treatment itself is enough to kill some patients, not to mention some of the long-term effects that survivors may experience. Thanks for joining us as we discuss “Can Laughter Help?" on the DoorWays® Ministry Network podcast.

(00:29):

Thank you for joining us on this podcast. I'm Ric Shields, your host and the director of the DoorWays® Ministry Network. I'm talking today with Nicole Miller. She's a wife, mother, daughter, comedian, actor, and more. I'm so glad you could be with me, Nicole. Thanks for joining me.

Nicole Miller (00:54):

Thank you so much for having me on, Ric.

Ric Shields (00:56):

Say something funny.

Nicole Miller (00:58):

Oh, <laugh>. Well, let me tell you what. Comedy is more about what you say and about how you say it.

Ric Shields (01:07):

Mm, yes, it is. You're right. And you almost have to prepare a little bit for it. That wasn't nice to drop that on you, was it?

(01:13):

No, it's fine. It's fine.

Nicole Miller (01:16):

Okay. Nicole, I don't want to tell your age, but I remember that you graduated from high school in 1999.

(01:23):

That makes me 87 years old.

Ric Shields (01:25):

Oh, it's crazy. The church where both of our families attended, we were having a recognizing graduating seniors that Sunday. And, on our way to church, our daughter told us what she was going to say, and I told her, no, this would be a more serious occasion. She should probably go with something that others, you know, would understand. And she was a little disappointed. But she agreed that she'd do what I'd suggested.

(01:48):

So, when the recognition of seniors was taking place, you were introduced to before daughter, because Lahr, your previous, your maiden name and, and Shields - Lahr comes before Shields. You were announced and you started talking about how you hoped to one day become a unicorn.

Nicole Miller (02:06):

That's right. And

Ric Shields (02:07):

You actually got me in a little bit of trouble that day because you got all the laughs and Tara got this smattering of applause and she thought that to be pretty unfair. So

Nicole Miller (02:17):

Yes. I'm so sorry. I got you in trouble, but I do, I actually remember this.

Ric Shields (02:22):

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Right.

Nicole Miller (02:25):

No, I actually do remember it because it was one of those first times that I got laughs on stage. I was like, oh, I love that. What had happened was, if you recall, our church building blew away in a tornado. And one thing that I had watched growing up in that church is when you're a senior and you graduate, you do this speech. So, I had kind of envisioned that speech on a different stage.

Ric Shields (02:49):

<Affirmative>.

Nicole Miller (02:50):

And at that time, Arby's had come out with the saying, “change is a good thing.” And I remember saying, well, you know, I was going to do this on a different stage, but Arby’s says change is a good thing. Which it is, because when I was a kid, I actually was told I could be anything when I grew up. So, I had decided I wanted to be a unicorn, you know, that had changed <laugh>, I, it was a little more eloquent in my speech, in fact. Yeah. I almost looked for it. I'm sure I have it written somewhere in a senior book or something.

Ric Shields (03:20):

When you were thinking you wanted to become a unicorn, what did you have in mind? Actually?

Nicole Miller (03:24):

Well, it's just my parents were like, you can be anything when you grow up. And I was like, oh my gosh, really? I want to be a unicorn. Because they're beautiful and they're unique and mm-hmm <affirmative>. They sparkle.

Ric Shields (03:34):

There you go.

Nicole Miller (03:35):

A lot of glitter involved, I think.

Ric Shields (03:37):

Oh, glitter. That's the, that's a glitter bomb. That's the truth. So now, here it is a few years later, you've been involved in standup comedy and improv for several years now.

Nicole Miller (03:49):

Yeah.

Ric Shields (03:49):

Is that the direction you thought when your parents said you grew up in anything you want to be, you thought, eh, I want to do standup comedy.

Nicole Miller (03:55):

I thought unicorn first, Ric.

Ric Shields (03:57):

Yeah. Right.

Nicole Miller (03:58):

And I stuck with that through college and found out there was absolutely no unicornology or how to be unicorn

Ric Shields (04:07):

When it was, they didn't have pay scales for them. Nobody knew how much unicorn would make.

Nicole Miller (04:11):

Right.

Ric Shields (04:12):

So, you could really, well, you could really make your own path, couldn't you? That'd be pretty cool.

Nicole Miller (04:17):

I remember in high school, I told a teacher, I think she was the drama teacher, I was like, I think I want to act. And she was like, well, that's great, but it's never going to happen. <Laugh> think really something else. <Laugh> basically <laugh>.

Ric Shields (04:33):

Why did she say that?

Nicole Miller (04:34):

You know, I think she was just being realistic and it is very difficult to just act, especially in Oklahoma. So, what I did was I got my degree to teach theater, and I did acting and performing on the side. And like you said, I started an improv group in 2007 and did a lot of improv and just kept hearing all this feedback about standup. And some of my friends would go into improv, then stand up, and I would see them have more success with standup than improv. So, I never thought I could do it, but I, I kept, everyone kept saying I should. And then when I finally went out and did it and I was like, Hey, I'm doing standup now. Everybody was like, haven't you been doing that your whole life? <Laugh>?

Ric Shields (05:18):

Yeah. There you go. Of course, I am. We don't have good venues for that though in Tulsa. I mean, we've got a smattering of venues, but

Nicole Miller (05:23):

We have it's the Looney Bin.

Ric Shields (05:27):

Mm-Hmm <affirmative>.

Nicole Miller (05:28):

Tulsa. We have the Tulsa Bricktown, and that's our two major comedy clubs. There's a Tulsa Comedy Club, but it's kind of different. It does dance parties. It's kind of weird. It every once in a while, is throw in a comedy show. But you're right, we're, we're lucky to have what we have and what we have a lot of bar shows. And I try to do a lot of comedy for churches if they'll have me.

Ric Shields (05:51):

Hmm. Churches and comedy. I wonder how those go together.

Nicole Miller (05:55):

<Laugh>, every in a while there'd be like a conference or like a, a family comedy night or a

Ric Shields (06:02):

That's good.

Nicole Miller (06:03):

I'll go do that. But I think that's good. I never said when I was a little girl, I want to grow up and be a standup comedian. I definitely wanted to be an actress on a soap opera, but my mom thought that that looked really horrible. She's like, you'll have to kiss so many guys. Don't do that. <Laugh>,

Ric Shields (06:21):

You’re going, oh mom, this sounds terrible. That's a great idea. You're making me really want to do this, mom, what are you thinking? <Laugh>?

(06:28):

Nicole, Proverbs 17 tells us that a cheerful heart is good medicine. And that is really helpful until the day comes when laughter can't do it all. About three years after you declared your desire to become a unicorn, things began to not go so well for you. So what was going on?

Nicole Miller (06:47):

Right? I was going to Oral Roberts University. That's a different podcast. And then I discovered like just the physical ability to get from class to class. I, and I'm sure you're familiar with that campus. It's, there's some things that are kind of spread out, but it's not the, it's like the size of some high school campuses, honestly. So physically, I was unwell. I had this cough, it would not go away. I started to go to doctors and they started at the be like lowest probable thing happening. Like, oh, you're in Oklahoma, you're suffering

Ric Shields (07:26):

Allergies.

Nicole Miller (07:26):

Allergies. So, I got Allegra or whatever and took that and I was really patient with it, gave it like, oh, maybe this helped me. Like the first day or two I remember thinking, oh, this was it. And then, my symptoms just kept getting worse and worse. And to have an actual cough, like coughing, you know, multiple times a day where it's really bothering me for over a year. And just, I remember thinking, you know, I just turned 21. I've never been this old before. <Laugh>, this is just getting older. <Laugh>.

Ric Shields (08:01):

Yeah, maybe this is part of it. Just wait. It gets worse.

Nicole Miller (08:03):

I can't breathe. I'm like struggling. And then eventually I started like waking up in sweat, drenched in sweat, just all these horrible symptoms of just, you know, what is going on and, and like stumping these doctors

Ric Shields (08:19):

And you're 21.

Nicole Miller (08:20):

I'm 21. And so, they're like, you're busy.

Ric Shields (08:22):

These are not hot flashes.

Nicole Miller (08:24):

<Laugh>. That's right. You're busy. Maybe you're just doing too much. And they gave, I remember they gave me some steroids and stuff and just, they kept throwing pills at me. And then it must have been after the ho it must have been after the holidays. I remember. I like, the house was just a mess. I couldn't keep up. And I just wanted, I feel like I was going to shampoo the carpet or something. <Laugh> and I just walking around with this shampooer, I got so drenched I couldn't breathe.

(08:56):

And at the time I was married to a doctor and he, he's the one who was like, you know what, let's just go to the E. R. and see what happens. And I think it worked out being married to a doctor at that time because it's possible they may not have taken me as seriously as I did.

(09:16):

I feel like I had different treatment because I was married to a doctor, which is good for me. <Laugh> Yeah. At the time, but bad for other people who might be in the same situation. So, when they took me to the E. R., they told me to lay down and I couldn't lay down because there was so much pressure in my chest. And they discovered fluid, just all this fluid. And it's called pericarditis. Like there's inflammation around my heart and fluid. And they were like, we're going to go in there, maybe take out the fluid. And then when they went to do that, they couldn't, they said, it's, it looks like fluid, but maybe it's not. And there, there were all these doctors just kept arguing. This one doctor would say like, oh yeah, we, we need to do this procedure. Another doctor would be like, just give her steroids. Just give her antibiotics and send her home. And I couldn't lay down. Like I couldn't, like if I laid down, it felt like I was drowning. Like I was suffocating.

Ric Shields (10:16):

That's pretty serious.

Nicole Miller (10:17):

Yeah.

Ric Shields (10:18):

God bless persistent mothers. Your mother, well your husband, also as a physician that helped, your mother was one of your best advocates. So how was she helpful to you in this diagnostic journey?

Nicole Miller (10:30):

Yeah, so at that time I told you I was in the E. R. and then they were thinking about just, do I need a surgery? What should they do? They couldn't decide on my treatment. Maybe more antibiotics were thrown around, more steroids. And at this point it'd been going on for over a year. So, I just felt like that was, we'd already tried all of those and I was getting frustrated. And my mom was too, honestly. I felt, I was like, I felt like I was dying. I felt like it was something big. And she ran into the head of cardiology who knew her because he had helped her mother recently. Unfortunately, her mother had passed under his care, but it

Ric Shields (11:13):

Made, oh man, that makes you really want to go work with that guy. <Laugh>.

Nicole Miller (11:16):

Well, it was her time, unfortunately. Yeah, okay. <Laugh> both older, just, you know, but he recognized my mom and saw she was upset. And honestly when she told him it was just like, I'm just telling this doctor because he's a doctor. And I don't think she realized what pull he would have <laugh>. So, the way the doctors acted, pre-mom <laugh>.

Ric Shields (11:42):

Yeah.

Nicole Miller (11:42):

And post-mom we're quite different. I don't even think he had seen my case or something. They started to look at it and go, okay, well let's, here's the thing. You have fluid, you have inflammation all around your heart, so here's something for sure we can do. Is we can go in there and we can just do, it's called a pericardiectomy. We'll just take off your pericardium. That's the membrane surrounding your heart and maybe that'll help you breathe and all this stuff. And

Ric Shields (12:14):

Great idea,

Nicole Miller (12:16):

<Laugh>. And I was like, I was like, okay,

Ric Shields (12:18):

I must not need that <laugh>. I was like, God, put it there for a reason, but go ahead, take it out. <Laugh>.

Nicole Miller (12:25):

Well, it was kind of funny because they were like, we really don't want you to do this because we are going to have to saw open your sternum and you'll be left with the sternotomy scar for the rest of your life and you're 21. They were like, you can't wear a bathing suit,

Ric Shields (12:46):

But you can wear a bathing suit, but it has to be up to your neck. <Laugh>. Yeah. One of those.

Nicole Miller (12:50):

And a lot of times you see those sternotomy scars going

Ric Shields (12:54):

Awful. Yeah, they're high. Yeah.

Nicole Miller (12:56):

But I, they, don't know if they didn't know about it or what, but they did what's called a midline. Abbreviated. So, there's a scar that starts down here, which honestly, I don't even care. I don't even care. I have a scar. I don't,

Ric Shields (13:10):

You can breathe.

Nicole Miller (13:11):

I still swim. I wear swimsuits. Yeah. I don't care if I have a scar. Yeah. But it is a little lower. They were able to do that. And so, you'll notice some heart patients, they'll have way up here and I don't have to do that. So, I think it's, because I was younger <laugh>. That was, yeah, that's part of the miracle. I had a midline abbreviated story.

Ric Shields (13:29):

Yes. Who you're listening to, the DoorWays® Ministry Network podcast. My name is Ric Shields and I'm joined in this episode with Nicole Miller. I'm talking. Stop. Can you hear me? I'm talking <laugh>.

(13:42):

I'm joined on this episode when Nicole Miller, who loves comedy, but there are times and things are just not very funny. And Nicole found herself, in such a time when things are really pretty serious, the laughter may be good medicine, but sometimes we need the real stuff.

(13:58):

So, your doctors had a hard time agreeing on what was wrong, whether or not you needed surgery, what surgery needed. But finally it got the ball rolling and they decide we're going to not just, you know, cut you open from the bottom of your chin to your navel. We'll wait, we'll go down, you know, do a little more abbreviated surgery to see how that works. How'd that work?

Nicole Miller (14:18):

Well, when they went in just to take out my pericardium, they discovered a stage 3-B lymphoma tumor around my heart. And,

Ric Shields (14:28):

And this shocked them. I suppose.

Nicole Miller (14:29):

They were so shocked. And I had to have I think two units of blood. I was open for a time. The doctor was in there, they said when they see that tumor, they know it's a lymphoma, but they don't know by looking at it if it's non-Hodgkin's or Hodgkin's. He said, if it's non-Hodgkin's, this might be it. We might try what we can try, but you'll most likely not survive. But if it's Hodgkin's, we know how to treat that.

Ric Shields (15:00):

So, he told this to you after you woke up?

Nicole Miller (15:03):

After I woke up.

Ric Shields (15:04):

Okay. That's good. <Laugh>.

Nicole Miller (15:05):

Everybody was like you. It was a mood. Everybody was just a, like totally different mood. And I feel like this might've been on a Friday with a three day holiday weekend or something. <Laugh>. Yeah. Because it was the longest weekend ever because I, they were like, when the lab opens, we're going to be able to type your cancer. And it was over the weekend. I had to wait a whole weekend to see am I most likely going to die or not.

Ric Shields (15:33):

That's pretty scary.

Nicole Miller (15:35):

It was quite scary. And I was recovering from a horrific surgery as well. And I was a, I was in the hospital a total of 12 days at 21. That's a very long time to be in the hospital for anyone. When the lab came back, they were like, good news. You have cancer <laugh>, but it's Hodgkin's.

Ric Shields (15:58):

Oh man, you win the lottery on that one. <Laugh>, you win the cancer lottery.

Nicole Miller (16:03):

No, you're like, your podcast is about miracles. And so

Ric Shields (16:06):

Yeah, it's,

Nicole Miller (16:07):

I just have to look at all the, the positives that came out of it. And it definitely could have been way worse. It could have been non-Hodgkin's. And also, when they were in there doing surgery, if it had been non-Hodgkin's, the surgeon told me he really should have, when he took out the tumor, he said it was right around this nerve. I don't want to try to remember the name of this nerve, but he should have basically destroyed this nerve just to give me a chance to survive. He said, because if it was non-Hodgkin's, it was the only way I could have survived. But something told him, he said he just, he just had to go with his gut. He's like, you're 21, you know, you know you can't wear bathing suits. Maybe now we want you to still keep this nerve. And that nerve would've, if he had destroyed it, it would've made it impossible for me to swallow correctly and I would never be able to speak again.

Ric Shields (17:01):

So, he's saying you could be an actor, but you can't be a model

Nicole Miller (17:04):

<Laugh>. Exactly.

Ric Shields (17:05):

That's what I understand was saying,

Nicole Miller (17:07):

You know, I wasn't really a model before the surgery, so

Ric Shields (17:10):

Oh, sure. You're a beautiful gal. <Laugh>.

(17:13):

We've been talking the last several weeks about miracles, what we referred to as divine interventions. Help us to uncover what you believe to be the divine intervention in all of this. Other than there was one kind of cancer, but it wasn't, it was a different kind. And,

Nicole Miller (17:26):

And on top of that, Ric, with Hodgkin's, I was told now I'm going to need six months of chemotherapy treatment. I'm 21, that's huge. And now I'm going to go through all this. And they told me three things. They said, you might die. The treatment actually kills people more than that cancer is. That was my understanding and I apologize if I'm way off on that. because I'm not a doctor. But that was how they kind of put it. And then they told me I would lose my hair, but it was very easy to find at the bottom of the shower drain. Thank you very much.

Ric Shields (17:57):

Oh, you didn't lose that after all.

Nicole Miller (17:59):

<Laugh>, you know, you put it back on. Sure, I did. I lost most of my hair. And then they did tell me that most likely would never, ever be able to give birth and I would never be able to biologically be a mom. And so, in that moment,

Ric Shields (18:16):

You're 21.

Nicole Miller (18:17):

I'm 21. I just felt, well I'm stage 3-B out of four stages, so it's bad. Yeah. We've got to, we've got to nip this now. Or I could actually, you know, probably die.

Ric Shields (18:30):

Sure.

Nicole Miller (18:30):

I can't wait too long. But there was the throwing out the suggestion, go ahead and like freeze your eggs and stuff. And that was going to be, I don't even know, I didn't even look into the process. because I was like, that sounds horrible. I just don't want to deal with that right now. I just want to survive.

(18:45):

And I just had this peace, maybe a divine peace. I don't know. I had this hope that I would one day become a mother and I, I seriously, I'm pro adoption. So, I had already made that choice right then. And that really made that choice easier just to, let's just do chemo and worry about fertility later. because I'm only 20,

Ric Shields (19:07):

Right.

Nicole Miller (19:07):

So, I did the six months of chemo. It was horrific. When you have Hodgkin's, or at least however they told me for my case, no matter if my white cells are low or something's going wrong, you know, I think you've probably been around chemo patients who they can't get their treatment for one reason or the other. They said, no matter what's happening, you're getting your treatment. Every single two, I think it was like every single two weeks or something like that. So, it was crazy for six months they said, you know what, it's gone. So, I know it wasn't, I went to sleep and I woke up and I was miraculously healed.

Ric Shields (19:42):

<Laugh> over a process of time.

Nicole Miller (19:44):

Yeah.

Ric Shields (19:44):

You know, healing came to your body and I'm grateful whether it comes from physicians, pharmaceuticals, whether it comes from God, just, you know, intervening in such a way that you can't deny it's miraculous. But the truth is, it's still miraculous

Nicole Miller (20:00):

For me. It felt miraculous. It's been 21 years.

Ric Shields (20:04):

You have three kids now.

Nicole Miller (20:05):

I, yeah, and I'll tell you, TMI, like, as soon as I decided I was ready to try for a family, God didn't make me wait at all.

Ric Shields (20:15):

Isn't that,

Nicole Miller (20:16):

It was first like, okay, let's, let's try for a baby and oh nine months we're going to have a baby. And I felt like that was something God did. Just, you know, that would've been, I've been through so much already. It just would've been so difficult to find out that wasn't happening. Just the way all young girls dream or most of those things I guess. But yeah, I have three kids and 21 years cancer free. And then,

Ric Shields (20:41):

And you're healthy. I mean, you're healthy otherwise. Any other problems?

Nicole Miller (20:44):

I am, I'm healthy. I do this. What the oncologist told me is like when I was being graduated from oncology or whatever,

Ric Shields (20:53):

Right?

Nicole Miller (20:54):

He's like, you know, you've had cancer, so you can't just go around and have like a pain that you don't know what it is. So, the bad thing is I do go to the doctor a lot, but the good thing is I know all these tiny little nerve wracking problems.

Ric Shields (21:10):

<Laugh>. Yeah.

Nicole Miller (21:10):

They have names and I, and I take, you know, a, a little pill or something and I'm fine, but it, it's, it's hard to know is this something because I had cancer, is this something because I had chemo or is this something that would've happened anyway? But well

Ric Shields (21:23):

You had stage 3-B Hodgkin's Lymphoma and didn't know it. That's true.

Nicole Miller (21:27):

And,

Ric Shields (21:28):

And many others, there are other types of cancer too. You just don't know you have them until, you know, you get them. Kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, it seems like people suddenly found out they have it. They didn't have any symptoms and then it's just full blown pancreatic cancer. So there, there are those and other illnesses too. So yeah, you're right. You always want to get it checked out and see what's there. So that's helpful.

Nicole Miller (21:49):

So, I feel like I'm super healthy because I'm at the doctor all the time and they know me and <laugh>.

Ric Shields (21:54):

Yeah, that's good. So, what's the future look like, Nicole?

Nicole Miller (21:57):

Yeah, I am like you said, I'm healthy, I'm strong. And I've been doing some comedy finally talking about my cancer journey. I hadn't really talked about it before. At first it was just too difficult. And then I've, I just, I don't know, I just thought, well, I just want to make cancer funny. Not that it is funny, but just whenever you go through anything in life, or at least me, that's, that's how I get through it, is I, I just find the positives and I find the things that are kind of silly and humorous and I laugh about those things.

(22:35):

So, I have a comedy special on Tubi right now called “Okayest Mom.” And so, I'm doing lots of standup. So, I'm hoping my future has more standup. And I recently booked a commercial. So I've been doing more film. I'm hoping there's more of that.

(22:55):

 I do hope no more cancer, but <laugh> yeah. I'm not planning on that in the future. But I have, I've looked at it, I'm like, why did I go through all that? And I've felt like just my experience helps me. I think in the future you'll probably speak to my now husband, who had a huge heart issue and I really was thankful for all of my issues at a young age because I felt like I could take care of him better. And I can obviously empathize with other cancer patients. And

Ric Shields (23:29):

We're going to speak with Lee. We're going to interview him here in a couple of weeks and get his story too because his story's pretty remarkable as well.

Nicole Miller (23:36):

He was actually probably closer to dying since mine was like, you might die. You might not know if it's this cancer. And then once it was Hodgkin's, the death thing was like a little less of a concern. Yeah.

Ric Shields (23:50):

Only the treatment will kill you. Not the cancer <laugh>.

Nicole Miller (23:53):

Yeah. Mine was, no,

Ric Shields (23:54):

That's good to know.

Nicole Miller (23:55):

But my husband could have dropped dead. So, let's talk about that.

Ric Shields (23:58):

Let me just put this out there. People can reach you at Nicole Miller comedy@gmail.com. Nicole is spelled N-I-C-O-L-E. Miller is spelled like Miller. Comedy spelled like comedy. @gmail.com. Nicole Miller comedy@gmail.com. And you like to book things for churches or schools or corporate events or whatever. And Nicole, you do clean comedy and that these days, that's really a pretty cool deal. So, thank you for doing that. And I guess, I guess you, there's all sorts of comedy. I'm going with a clean comedy for you because we're on my show.

Nicole Miller (24:33):

No, I do, I do clean, I do clean <laugh> <laugh>.

Ric Shields (24:36):

So, as we draw our time to close, any special words of encouragement you want to share with our listeners and especially as it relates to, to your story and, and how maybe you can relate with them.

Nicole Miller (24:47):

Right. So, I, there's two major things that I or fears I had was one, like I have a medical issue and my doctors can't find out what's wrong with me. I would suggest if you're struggling, you know, something's wrong. Trust those feelings that you have in your body. Trust what God's telling you about that. And don't give up. I wouldn't suggest like hopping from doctor to doctor because that's what a lot of people do. But what I've read is like, you just keep going to that same doctor and what they'll do is they'll, they'll get you bigger tests and get you more testing.

(25:23):

And then the other thing is, if you are dealing with fertility issues, same deal. Don't give up. There is hope. People get their miracle one way or the other. Don't be ashamed or afraid to adopt. Like adoption is, it is a very viable way to grow your family.

Ric Shields (25:44):

Absolutely. Yeah. We have adopted nephews in our family and we couldn't love them more if they'd been birthed biologically, you know, by, by family members. So yeah. Nicole, I just want to say thanks for sharing me. This has, this has been fun.

Nicole Miller (26:01):

Thank you so much for having me on Ric. I know I've been the best

Ric Shields (26:06):

Guest,

Nicole Miller (26:06):

Guest you've ever had. The best guest. Yes, I'm a guest,

Ric Shields (26:09):

The funniest, that's for sure <laugh>, no doubt about it.

(26:14):

In the New Testament book of James chapter 5, verse 14, we read, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.” I'm not suggesting for a moment that you should not pray, asking and believing for a miracle or a divine intervention. Scripture teaches it and I believe we should practice it.

(26:37):

But neither does scripture tell us to stay away from physicians or other healthcare professionals. It doesn't say, “Whatever you do, stay away from pharmaceuticals. Don't get tests or treatments, just pray.”

(26:50):

I've never known a person with a broken leg who chose to pray instead of going to get it set or even surgically corrected if they could get to a physician or a healthcare facility. I think if you had a broken leg, you probably would pray and you would go to see someone who could help.

(27:07):

I believe God gives wisdom to men and women; wisdom of how to help repair broken bodies, how to help heal sickness and disease, and knowledge of how various medicines can help in the healing process. I also think that laughter helps. In fact, the new King James version of the Bible tells us in Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart does good, (comma) like medicine.” (period). So, happiness is good and so is medicine.

(27:38):

I hope this episode has been encouraging to you. If you would, please take a minute and let me know what you think, especially if it's good and maybe not so much if you didn't like it.

(27:47):

May the Lord bless you this week as you follow after him. Thanks for listening.