I am a Friend of God!

For almost a week I have had yet ANOTHER bout of allergy symptoms that were making me miserable: Itchy eyes and neck, swelling, headache, weakness, sore throat. None of the meds I tried gave me any relief. I've been dealing with this off and on since last spring, but this was the longest it lasted at one time. I had a kennalog shot a few months ago which brought some temporary relief, but this time it seemed I had even more symptoms. The sore throat part began to worry me, as that was something new. No, my hubby doesn't beat me. This is what I look like when it's at it's worst:

I had a very busy week and just could not stop to even try to take care of myself. By Sunday morning, I was having second thoughts about going to church. In fact, I got in my chair and decided I would watch our early service as it is streamed live over the internet. I hooked the speakers up and told my hubby I was going to stay home. He went upstairs to get himself ready for the second service, as he had a commitment to help with the new members class during the third hour.

As soon as I started watching the service, I was filled with a desire to "be there". We had missed being in our home church every Sunday in September because of being out of town. I hated to miss another Sunday. It was then I distinctly "heard" God say, "Go, get your healing!"

I knew I had to move fast. It is a half hour's drive and hubby was about ready to leave. I had to get dressed, comb my hair, and put some makeup on. I did it all in about 10 minutes, and we were out the door. We got there in plenty of time for the second service. Nothing unusual happened. I really can't even remember what songs we sang or what the sermon was about. (sorry Pastor Jim!)

After the service, I needed to wait out the next hour while hubby did his thing with the new member class. I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed for a chair in the atrium. Two ladies I know were nearby, also passing some time. I didn't feel like talking, but really had no choice.

After about half an hour, they left, and I moved to another location in front of a window where the sun was beaming in. By now my throat was raw from talking, and I felt pretty weak all over. I covered my eyes with my hand, and was looking at the floor, so that no one coming by would engage me in any conversation. That's when I saw two big black shoes walking toward my direction. I peaked up to see that it was one of our pastors. Surely he wasn't coming over to talk to me, so I just kept on staring at the floor with my hand shielding my eyes. The shoes kept coming...

I looked up and gave him a smile. He came right over to me and being a large man, knelt down on the floor beside the couch where I was sitting so he could look me in the eye. "Are you alright?" So I told him about how I'd been feeling all week long and how miserable I was. Right there he prayed for me to The Great Physician. I knew I was going to get better. I focused on the thought that I needed to exercise my faith as I remembered the words that God had whispered to me a few hours earlier.

I rested a while on Sunday afternoon, then we went to a friend's house for a simple birthday gathering. We came home, went to bed, got up, and this morning, went through our usual routine. It was exactly 24 hours after the pastor's prayer for me that I realized how good I was feeling. No sore throat, no other symptoms. I looked in the mirror at my neck, where the day before I had scratched it so hard it bled. I could see it was healing. I sent my "praise" off to the church in a quick e-mail, and then I thanked my Heavenly Father for being mindful of me.

Take five minutes to listen to this song and remind yourself that God calls you friend!