In 1963, my son Brett was born with a physical problem that doctors first had a difficult time diagnosing and then didn’t know how they were going to treat. But when Brett was two and a half, God stepped in and did a miracle. Here is the story I wrote about three years after he was healed (with minor edits) . . .
A Child Is Healed
. . . Many Lives Have Been ChangedBrett was born unable to swallow. Part of what he ate went to his lungs instead of his stomach because of a constricted muscle. He was being fed through a tube going directly to his stomach.
Here is a summary of what happened three years ago:
Mrs. Evelyn Murdock, Brett’s babysitter, called me at work one afternoon to ask me if she could keep Brett for a while that evening. There was an evangelist in town who was supposed to be able to help people be healed through prayer. I told her she could take Brett, as I couldn’t see any harm in his going, although I was quite sure this evangelist was a hoax. I had a feeling I should go to the meeting also but talked myself out of it. I convinced myself that there was nothing to it and going would be a waste of time.
When Mrs. Murdock brought Brett home that evening, she told me she had talked to the evangelist about Brett and he had told her to come back the next night with me and Brett . . . and a sandwich! I looked at her in horror. “I’m not going to give Brett a sandwich–he could choke to death on the spot.”
My fiance and discussed the whole situation later and decided that it might be interesting to go see this fellow for ourselves, anyhow. And I did hate to hurt Mrs. Murdock’s feelings–I knew she had her heart set on going.
We planned to go that night right after work without eating dinner first–that would give us a good excuse to leave early. We were all set to leave–without the sandwich–and stopped to tell my fiance’s parents about it on the way. They suggested we take a sandwich–just in case we decided we wanted it. So I tucked one away in my purse so no one would even know I had it.
We picked up Mrs. Murdock, her daughter, and Brett and off we went–Mrs. Murdock filled with hope and prayer. My fiance and I filled with skepticism with just a faint gleam of hope. We arrived late at the auditorium and had to sit in the back row. Soon a man came to us and asked us if this wasn’t the little boy who belonged in the front row (which was now filled). They promptly made a new front row for us.
We were quite impressed with the evangelist’s appearance. He was a captivating speaker. But whether or not he could perform miracles was another question.
It wasn’t long before he came up to me and asked me to stand and briefly explain Brett’s problem. He said he was going to pray for Brett that night and that he wanted me to take him back to the doctors and run the tests they had before. I assured him I would, although he knew I was quite skeptical. He told me and the congregation that if Brett died, he would bury him, give me a million dollars, and take full responsibility. Obviously, he believed Brett would not die.
Much later in the evening after praying for many people in the audience, the evangelist again approached me and told me to bring Brett up to the stage near the pulpit. I took the sandwich with me. He prayed for Brett. Brett was healed. The next day I took him to the doctor and he said his gag reflex, which had never worked properly, was quite active. They x-rayed him and found nothing wrong. His esophagus worked a little sluggishly, but this was to be expected since it had never been used.
It has been three years now since Brett was healed. Through this healing God has blessed us and others. Many have received encouragement and increased faith through knowing about this wonderful miracle of God. I have come back to the Lord. Brett is now five and a half and is growing up with the knowledge that Jesus healed him and is learning to trust him for all things. He even testifies to people about his healing on his own and we find out about it later.
As you can imagine, that was a real turning point in my life. I learned later of other children being healed because their mothers had heard about Brett’s healing. Their faith grew because they knew if God could do that for Brett, he could do that for their child as well.
I didn’t receive this awesome blessing because I deserved it. Far from it. I received it because of God’s grace and love. Just as he reached out to me and to Brett, he offers his grace and love and power to you as well. Whatever your need, I encourage you to trust God for the answer.
And Brett? All these years later, he is walking with God. He is a husband, father, and grandfather and runs his own computer business. Through the years he has blessed many lives–especially mine. Here is a picture of him and his family. Grams (that’s me!) is sitting with our great-grandchildren.
Sound familiar? What a fitting description of today’s world.
Instead of giving in to fear or anger or doubt, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus. Keep looking up. Live with an eternal perspective. Only then can we walk in peace and hope. Only then can we move forward to do what God is calling us to do. He has a plan for each of us. Let’s not get distracted by the confusion around us. Let’s remember He is in control and will bring good from it all.
This morning as I was having my quiet time with the Lord, I gazed out my kitchen window at the wonders of his creation. In this case, I focused on the birds flocking to our bird feeder and the squirrels eating the seed that had made its way to the ground.
the spot, I’ve come to think of this little area in our yard as a sanctuary for them. They seem to feel pretty safe. Yesterday one of the squirrels climbed up on our kitchen window ledge and peeked through the window!
Do you find yourself avoiding news reports? They usually seem like bad news . . . and more bad news. Some days it would be easy to let fear take control.
Share the love of Jesus with others. Lead them to his saving power! God has a job for each of us. We need to carry out our assignments! The time is short.
We have all heard for years about people being persecuted for their faith. In the United States, many of us have been lulled into complacency, thinking such things could never happen here. But they are. Christians are being threatened, losing their jobs, losing their businesses, and suffering other such treatment for living and sharing their beliefs. In many people’s eyes, Christians have become the “bad guys.” Anti-Semitism is also raging.