Relief

Over the years, I have suffered from mild pain in my hips or lower back due to a slight curvature in my spine. For some reason, pain had escalated in my left hip over the last six months. Perhaps this was due to having my fourth child in October 2007. Daily the pain would start in my left hip so that I was in pain by nightfall. Perhaps if my physical load was lighter, it would not start hurting until the afternoon. Or sometimes it would start off in the morning. But every day, the pain would build without fail.

Emotionally I was feeling overwhelmed with this pain. With four children ages 8 and under, I needed my strength. It was disheartening to need to walk across the house in order to change a diaper and feel overwhelmed by that simple task. The words that always came to my mind regarding my hip joint as I walked across the house were 'dry' and 'grinding.' I cried out to God and asked Him to heal me of whatever was causing pain.

On Saturday, July 26, 2008 I was able to attend another Ministry Team Training at Calvary Community Church. The Lord had used these conferences to bless my relationship with Him incredibly. At past conferences, words of knowledge had been shared with me from brothers and sisters in Christ that did not know me at all - words that only God could have shared with them. The Lord used these prophetic words to show me that He knows me intimately and loves me. I'd been encouraged deeply. I had also witnessed close friends of mine experience physical or emotional healing, but I had not experienced that personally myself.

The morning of the July 26th conference, I thought, "If anyone mentions anything about left hip pain today, I'm getting up!" During the afternoon session, a regular part of the Ministry Team Training is to practice listening for a word from the Lord concerning needs of healing. Sure enough, at the afternoon session, someone got "left hip." I raised my hand in response. At the end of the 'listening' time, I went forward to join the group of believers who were to pray over my hip. A sister in Christ placed her hand on my left hip, and the team prayed for me. At one point, a college aged girl got a word - 'lubrication.' I thought to myself - "Yes, Lord! That is exactly what I need for this dry, grinding hip." I had not shared anything about my hip pain with the team. It was neat to hear this very fitting word.

The same girl also received another word, which I have had a hard time recalling since that day. It is something similar to 'strife' or 'conflict' - I remember thinking that I definitely related to the word in regard to the spiritual war within me while mothering my children. I had been struggling for years to show the love of Christ, while often feeling incredible anger or frustration. How wearying it was to 'lose it' with the children so often. How often had I asked the Lord to release me from this inner war? Very, very often...

I thanked the team for their prayers, but had nothing to report when they asked me if anything felt different. The pain had not started yet that day, since it had been a very easy day for me physically, attending the conference. I stood talking with a lovely older Christian woman named Carolyn afterwards, who happened to be a member at Calvary Community Church. She had led the prayer team that prayed for me. She shared her daughter's testimony of healing with me with great excitement when I mentioned to her that part of my issue may be due to having a slightly curved spine. Her daughter, Kathy, joined us, and they prayed again, this time for healing regarding my spine.

The day wrapped up, and once again I was blessed by joining the believers at Calvary for their day of sharing. A few days passed, and ironically I did not think about my hip once. It took me a few days to realize - 'Wait a minute!! I haven't had one speck of pain!' It has been almost a month now, and I have not had one minute of pain. Frequently as I go about my tasks, I recall the pain that gripped me daily, and I thank God over and over again for His merciful healing. I know that my new body will be a glorious, pain-free, sick-free body after this life. But what a treat to experience healing from Him on this side of heaven!

It took me a while longer to recognize that the war within me toward my children has been greatly relieved. Of course, with four young children, the days are a whirlwind. But I have not felt that hot anger inside of me swell up. What a wonderful relief!

Praise God for His mercies!

Rebecca

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Ephesians 1:17-23

Re-Alignment

In the Summer of 1976, as an incoming ninth grade freshman, I was diagnosed with Scoliosis or curvature of the spine. Unlike the Hunchback of Notre Dame, I had an S-curve with a twist and not a C-curve which would’ve visibly bent me over to one side. At the time, I was crushed by the “prescription” which was to have me wear a full torso, neck and head Milwaukee brace 22 hours a day, 7 days a week. I spontaneously cried off and on for weeks after being fitted that September, feeling sorry for myself, awkward, ugly and just frankly upset that I was not able to do or wear what was normal for 14-year-old girls. In the nights, when I couldn’t sleep due to pain and the inability to find a comfortable position in such a contraption, I would cry out to God, asking, “Why me, why did You allow this, and why don’t You make it go away?” I couldn’t understand why “a child of the Most High God, (me), would have to be crooked, gangly and unattractive. I had and could get no answers, but I started to pray for healing and for a miracle. I knew and believed God was able and willing to do this for me if I just began to ask and pray.

What I assumed was that the supernatural healing that I desired and prayed for was just like a miracle - instantaneous.

Fast forward to the spring of 2002. I was a single 41-year-old mother of two girls, a three-year-old and a seven-year-old. Also, the three of us were living with my retired parents who I hadn’t lived with in 19 years. I was recovering and healing from a very disheartening divorce. I continued to pray for restoration, reconciliation and overall healing for me, the girls and their father. As part of the process, I had to realize that the girls’ father would not be returning and that I was the sole responsible parent. I looked at my situation, my age, my health and my stewardship with the upbringing of two children on my own. In my mind and heart, I had to be the healthiest I could be, not only emotionally and spiritually, but also physically. I meditated without ceasing, praying for wholeness, and a healthy chance to start a new life with my daughters, whatever that meant or looked like. One morning I woke up at my parents' home and realized I’d been healed of my Scoliosis. But not like I assumed, expected or thought it would be when it happened. I’d been healed of the pain associated with the Scoliosis. I told my mother, while she stood over the kitchen sink trying to wake up before her first cup of coffee. “Mom, God’s healed me of my Scoliosis, but not like I thought, He’s taken away all the pain.” In my mind, soul and spirit, I said, “O.K., God, I’ll take whatever You’ll give me, thank You, and oh, I understand now what You mean by ‘My ways are not your ways’.“ I was and am grateful, thankful and happy that He’d faithfully revealed Himself to me in this way at that time in my life.

In August of 2006 I lost my job as a VP Marketing & Communications, and I begin to soul search and ask God what He wanted of me again. In the nights my right hip began to hurt, ache and have pain. God healed me of Scoliosis pain four years earlier, so this was a new twinging malady. I began to pray for healing in the nights, touching my own hand to my hip bone, laying hands on myself. I knew that if God could remove the pain from 30 some years of Scoliosis, He could touch this hip in the same way.

On Sunday July 1, 2007, I was worshiping and meditating in the morning Reflections service at our church. After the singing, Pastor Jeff McGee came to the altar to close the service with prayer, but before he did, he announced that he’d received a word of knowledge from the Lord and it was this: “Someone is having hip pain and you are to be healed.” Immediately, I raised both arms, smiled and said, “That’s me . . . that word is for me!” He told us all that he wasn’t sure whether everyone there was to pray over me then or wait until after the main preaching service. He told me that if our senior Pastor Steve Meeks didn’t call the Ministry Teams for prayer following the main service to come find him, and he’d lay hands on me and pray. I did just that. After the service I went to Jeff, and said, “I’m here, I’m ready, I’m doing exactly what you told me to do. I’m here to be prayed for and receive the word of healing that was brought forth earlier." He called a beautiful older woman up to the altar to be the one to physically lay hands on my hip. Jeff was in front of me; my mother was right beside me. As we all began to pray, Jeff prayed for me to receive the healing word, for the fire of God to fall upon me and for the pain to be released from my bones. Then, the woman, who I’d never met, brought forth what she was hearing in her spirit, even though she didn’t understand why, she said, “All I’m getting is RE-ALIGNMENT.” I knew instantly what God wanted for me at that time and moment - alignment of the curvature of the spine, healing for my Scoliosis! I opened my heart, my spirit, to receive the healing miracle that Jesus died for me to have and to receive as a child of the Most High God. Before I left, Jeff told me to continue to meditate, pray and stand on the words brought forth by the Lord through his servants that morning. He said to pray all week, and if need be come back the following Sunday and they’d lay hands on me again until God’s promise for me was manifest.

By Thursday evening, July 5th, I was beginning to have back pain like I’d not felt in several years. I chalked it off to stress from starting a new business, my husband, Dennis, being ill and losing his biggest client, and my uncle being critically ill. I continued to pray and also self-remedy or medicate. By Saturday, the entire left side of my back was full of knots; I was in pain and could hardly move. Then our dear friends, Daniel and Marlene DeJesus, called to check in on Dennis since he’d been so sick with a cold. Daniel wanted to come and minister to Dennis, and offered that he and Marlene would come and give him a massage. When I heard that, I said, “I’M THE ONE WHO NEEDS A MASSAGE!” They didn’t know I’d told Dennis earlier that day that I was on the verge of investing some money in a massage. God knew what I needed and sovereignly provided the massage through Daniel and Marlene. I immediately jumped in my car and went to their home. There Marlene gave me a very thorough, deep tissue massage on my left back. I walked away sore as gee whiz but knew the hurt would be a healing one. Before and after the massage we prayed for me, for Dennis, the girls, my parents traveling to Wichita and my uncle. They knew nothing about the words of knowledge I'd received from the Lord on Sunday morning.

In the night of July 6th, I woke up to a clear revelation: God was gradually re-aligning my spine from glory to glory, and the muscles in my back were not used to being in the new and normal position they were being forced into by the progressive healing. I got up early Sunday morning, paced around the house, knowing what God told me in the night. I kept asking, “Really God, really?” I was almost giddy - overjoyed, overwhelmed, and in absolute awe and amazement. I finally brought myself to the defining moment. I went into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror to view a body that had not stood straight for 32 years. My shoulders were even on both sides, my hips weren't tilted askew and my arms hung straight at my sides!

God continues to align my spine and heal my body even now. It wasn’t and hasn’t been instantaneous as I thought it would and should be, but it is nonetheless a miracle. I’m feeling stronger physically and spiritually than I have in a long time. I don’t know why or can’t explain God’s progressive healing for me, why He chose this for me or why now. All I know is His grace and mercies are available to us all. His miraculous healing power is there for us all to embrace. We just need to open ourselves up, expecting God to touch us. Just don’t tell Him how or when to do something. He’s got HIS OWN PLAN IN MIND for us all. We just need to be still and know that HE is God.

Much love,
Kathy