Sometimes
the answers we seek to our prayers are only a symptom of something much deeper,
and more painful, that God needs to heal first.
Flu-like
Symptoms
In April
of 1999, LaRinda was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called
Dermatomyositis. It started with flu-like symptoms. Within a year LaRinda went
from being a very active person to not being able to feed or bathe herself. The
next thirteen years of her life became a roller coaster ride of health issues.
It took a
few months for LaRinda’s rheumatologist to diagnose the problem. LaRinda called
her “my rheumatologist” because she had become much more than another medical
professional in a white coat. She had been there for LaRinda through
everything. She never gave up and always went the extra mile. If she didn’t
have an answer, she searched until she did.
Year
after year, there were new symptoms to deal with, from hair loss to the need of
blood transfusions. LaRinda said, “It was as if my body was out of control and
there was no stopping it.”
Just
Trying To Survive
Not only
had her quality of life been stolen from her but it was also affecting her
husband and two children. LaRinda said, “I was just trying to survive.”
The day
arrived that the guilt she was carrying was too heavy. She knew her family
deserved so much more. One day her husband found her trying to swallow an
overdose of prescription pain medicine. Her young daughter came in and
overheard what was happening and became hysterical. “I will never forget that
moment”, LaRinda said.
Forgiveness
Shortly
after that, LaRinda was watching television early one morning. After the
program went off she left the room, forgetting to turn the off the TV. From
another room she began to listen to a minister teaching on forgiveness from
Mark 11:23-25. She said it was at
that moment that she knew what she had to do. “Forgiveness was all I could
hear.”
She knew
she had bitterness, anger and resentment in her heart. She’d had a relationship with God at
13, but as she grew up, life happened, and she stopped making God a priority,
and even stopped going to church.
Choose
Life
She wept
and knew that it was time to forgive. She named each person she could think of
who had hurt her. She thought she
had already forgiven them but realized she had not. She said, “This time it was
God’s Spirit that helped me to forgive.”
The
excruciating pain that had racked LaRinda’s body and soul for 13 years began to
ease and within days her body started to respond positively to treatments.
Under the care of her doctors, she eventually did not need medication anymore.
LaRinda’s first steps to real health began when she forgave.
Today she
finds a way to be a blessing to those around her. She knows it not only helps
them, but it benefits her, as well. In her words, “Hasn’t He (God) forgiven
each of us?”
Forgive
And Live
As a Pastor,
I have found the one thing that can really hinder the power of prayer and the
results of medication is unforgiveness. It robs health, wealth, relationships,
and even life. I have officiated funerals from suicides of those who would not
forgive others and therefore could not forgive themselves. Never forget how
powerful forgiveness can be.
“…if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them...” Mark 11:25 NIV
And
always remember…Be Life Giving!
Alex Anderson
Permission to re-post
From the book, Life Giving Prayers, due out December, 2012 Copyright 2012 Alex Anderson
1 comment:
I can't wait for the book!
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