At His Baptism, Man in a Corset Since Childhood Thanks God for His Blessings

When most people say, “Impossible!” Cedric and Sinthia say, “Possible!” 

Married for two years, Cedric and Sinthia, from the Northern France Conference, chose to commit themselves to the Lord through baptism on September 12, 2020. 

“I thank the Lord for sending Sinthia on my journey,” Cedric said. “A woman who has God’s love in her. Today, I am very happy to experience what people thought was impossible. We did it. We got married two years ago, and today we are making a covenant with the Lord. Glory be to God!” 

Their testimony has inspired others in many ways. 

Cedric, 39, has a master’s degree in human resources and has worked for five years at SNCF, France’s national state-owned railway, partly as payroll manager for three years at the SNCF headquarters. For the past two years, he has been an internal human resources consultant at the Finance Department of the SNCF network. 

Suffering from a myopathy that has immobilized him in a corset and a wheelchair since he was very young, Cedric cannot move either his arms or legs. He is physically dependent.

However, it is something that has not prevented him from pursuing regular schooling or achieving higher education, working, marrying, and sealing a covenant with the Lord through baptism. 

“My journey has been full of pitfalls, and it has been challenging for me, especially at the beginning of my university studies,” he said. “For instance, sometimes I found myself in the middle of winter in the rain, unable to handle my electric wheelchair. At the time, I had no one to help me. I almost dropped everything. But the Lord has always been there for me; I know that. He put people on my path that He used to accomplish His work in my life. I thank God very much for that.

“Among these people, I think of my friend Jackson Sintina, who invited me several times to visit his church in Aubervilliers. I have always known that Jesus was our Savior; I have always had Him within me. Little by little, I got closer and closer to the Bible, and we talked more and more about it with Jackson. Recently, he asked me to witness my journey in several churches in the Northern France Conference as part of a special weekend set up by Adventist Possibility Ministries.

“I thought it would be a humble and sincere way to thank God for all that He has given me in my life,” Cedric said. “Even the trials He gives us are to make us grow; indeed, God loves us. And I can testify of His love.”

Cedric says that besides God’s presence in his life, what strengthened his relationship with the Lord was meeting Synthia. “It is something that radically changed my life,” he said. “Through her, I can see God’s love. She is a woman who loves God and wants to serve Him. She is a real gift from heaven.”

Cedric said that he knows many people may have questions about them.

“People may have questions about our marriage,” he said. “But our marriage and baptism are perfectly normal if we truly believe in God. What is impossible for men is possible for God. This is the message of hope and faith in the promise of our Lord, which we wish to share.” 

The original version of this story was posted on the Franco-Belgian Union news site.