Healing. An event that I used to think only ever happened to other people...not to me. It certainly couldn't happen to me in Gamboa, Panama... Or could it?
Chuckling to herself and marveling at how great her God is, she bends down and touches her toes again. Could it be? Toes that used to seem so far away are now at her fingertips. She is touching them. Without bending her knees. For the first time in her life.
She bubbled over with the joy of The Lord as, again and again, she bent down to touch her toes. A feat deemed impossible by her doctors. And action that she had never been able to do in her life...not even before her operation.
Her heart swelled with excitement as she realized how much her Heavenly Father loves her. Loves her enough to show that He cares. Cares enough about her to heal her. Heal her in order to bring glory to His name.
Yes, it's true. I am that girl. After watching Finger of God with my team on Monday night, a man speaking at the end of the film said that a person with a spinal condition should just stand up out of their chairs and touch their toes.
Film ended. I cried as I realized that healing was not for any other purpose than for the Father to show His love to His children.
Charné was talking and saying that I should just receive the healing. I believe that man was speaking about me, despite the fact that the film was made in 2007.
I stood up, straightened my jacket and thought, "Okay, God. Here we go."
I slowly bent down, surprised when I felt my toes underneath my fingertips. There, in that room with the lights turned off and the credits of the film rolling on the screen, tears of joy escaped my eyes.
I burst out into heartfelt sobs as I walked over to my chatting teammates. Concerned faces met me as I continued laughing and crying. I couldn't speak. Eventually, I managed to whisper through the tears, "Can I show you something?" Maxine ran to switch on the light. In that moment, when the darkness was overcome by light, I bent down again and demonstrated this new event in my walk with Christ. This was in front of a team that had seen me struggle through training with constant back pain.
I laughed till I cried and my hand shook as the Holy Spirit came and manifested a spiritual out working in the physical. God had been leading me to accepting the fact that I am healed - both in my heart and in my spine. The acceptance of that fact came in the last week during our hitch hike from Guatemala City to Panama City.
By constantly being faced with the reality of a heavy bag, I had to constantly face the reality of an amazing God. Accepting my healing and living that out formed a change internally, opening the gates for a physical change. God didn't have to heal me. But He did. He is a good Father that gave His daughter the desire of her heart.
And the glory doesn't even go to the man praying at the end of the DVD. It was faith and God's amazing, unmerited favour and love that used a prayer six years later to heal me. That prayer was simply an encouragement to have faith.
Faith as small as a mustard seed. Faith that could move a mountain. And faith that could lead me to believing and accepting the healing power of my Creator, leading me to a place of realizing how much God loves me.
It's a crazy place to be.