Today’s witnesses are from Matthew West’s website called popwe.org. If you don’t know who Matthew West is, he is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. This website is for the non-profit that he has with his father, a pastor. Matthew and his father encourage people to share their stories. They have various categories of stories. Today I chose four testimonies from the Healing Category. I know so many people who are praying for a miraculous healing right now. Oftentimes, we can hear our own story in someone else’s story. When we hear others tell their story it helps us to see we are not alone. When we see that others were healed it gives us hope that if God could heal them then He can heal us too! I pray when you hear these testimonies, you get the faith and hope to believe that you and your loved ones could be healed too! We have all seen God working in our lives. However, we might not all be aware it is God working in our lives. This is why it is so important we start talking about it more. The more we share our experiences, the more people understand how God works and how much He truly loves us. If you would be willing to share any experience of how God has worked or is working in your life, please email me at catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com or click here. It won’t take up much of your time, and your story could be just the story that someone needs to hear today. Prayerfully consider sharing. Everyone has a story, and the world needs to hear them. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Witness Wednesday #118 More PopWe (Healing)
Today’s witnesses are from Matthew West’s website called popwe.org. If you don’t know who Matthew West is, he is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. This website is for the non-profit that he has with his father, a pastor. Matthew and his father encourage people to share their stories. They have various categories of stories. Today I chose four testimonies from the Healing Category. I know so many people who are praying for a miraculous healing right now. Oftentimes, we can hear our own story in someone else’s story. When we hear others tell their story it helps us to see we are not alone. When we see that others were healed it gives us hope that if God could heal them then He can heal us too! I pray when you hear these testimonies, you get the faith and hope to believe that you and your loved ones could be healed too!
Savannah: This story isn’t about me, but my brother. It was August of 2020 when he was admitted to the hospital with COVID. We were told right from the beginning that it didn’t look good. What followed was a long battle for his life. He needed a form of life-support that had extremely limited availability. He needed so much blood. His wife and children couldn’t come to see him. At one point, his heart stopped for 8.5 minutes. The only thing we could do was pray. It was nearly spring when he finally went home to his family. He’s alive, and nobody can deny that a miracle has taken place. We prayed without ceasing, and God has answered our prayers.
Deborah: I grew up in an extremely dysfunctional family. I wasn’t allowed to listen to music, watch animated movies, or basically like any food or activities that my father did not like. I was often told that if I asked for help I was bothering people, that I was stupid, and that a “good guy” would never like me so I would have to settle for a “bad one.”
I’ve gone to counseling for awhile and with God’s help, I have begun to heal in many ways. However, there was one thing that I had not been able to do and that was to let myself cry. Crying when I was young was dangerous and was always met with the words, “Jesus doesn’t love you if you cry.” Intellectually, I knew this wasn’t true and that it was okay to cry but it didn’t feel safe. I had taught myself not to cry for so long that I wasn’t sure if I could. It was as if the tears were broken.
Last night, I was at the concert in Gadsden, AL, and I began to feel emotional as I listened to dad jokes and as Matthew West talked about being a girl dad. Memories of my childhood and the things I was told began to pop into my mind. Still I did not cry. I sat on the front row wondering if anyone could tell that I was fighting tears. Then something changed. John 3:16 was read and everyone was told to insert their own name. As I was fighting tears, I was saying the words “God loves me.”
Suddenly I didn’t just know that intellectually it is okay to cry, I knew it in my heart. God loves me even when I cry. During the next song, I felt something on my face and I reached up and there was a tear. For the first time in probably thirty years I was letting myself cry and I felt safe while doing it. I am not who my family told me that I am. I am a child of God. I am safe in his arms and loved when I’m happy and smiling and even when I’m sad and crying.
Kathleen: Not the healing I wanted…thank goodness, God knew better what I needed. In late 2016 and 2017 I was suffering from a crippling case of Bi-Polar disorder.
My doctor prescribed me several different antidepressants, however, all of them left me with feelings of deep depression and high anxiety. By mid-January, my husband and I agreed to discontinue all medication and look for a more holistic treatment. I was on antidepressants for a total of SIX WEEKS when I began the withdrawal process. By mid-April, I was finally feeling free from the effects of the medication and 30 pounds lighter. My anxiety was greatly reduced and my depression was almost a non-issue. Then a week later, after a nice hot soak in the tub, I started experiencing weird “pins and needles” in my left leg, from the knee to my ankle. I tried rubbing, slapping it, walking around the house-nothing worked and I ended up going to bed hours later with the buzz still going strong.
Within a month, the buzz had moved to my entire left side, from the neck down. Another month down the road and it was on my right side also. Trips to my doctor, the neurologist, MRI, CAT scan, EEG, EMG proved fruitless- except now I had a name. Spontaneous Paresthesia. You know when your foot falls asleep and in the “waking up” process you get the feeling of pins and needles? By the middle of June, paresthesia was affecting my entire body. One day, while working around the house with my husband, I became completely unglued when I started feeling my stomach, intestines, internal organs, all buzzing. Everywhere I have nerve endings I felt buzzing. By July, 2017, I felt like I had bugs crawling in my ears, fleas stuck up my nose, lice crawling around my scalp, and the force of buzzing was starting to hurt. Every night before going to bed I only had one prayer, “Jesus, please take me home. I don’t want to wake up in this bed again.”
Soon, I was no longer able to sleep at night because of the violent buzzing. I listened exclusively to Christian Radio (KLOVE) and one day I heard a song that spoke to the heart of my fear. Toby Mac’s “MOVE” said it better than I was able to articulate: “I know your heart’s been broke again, I know your prayers ain’t been answered yet. I know you feel like you’ve got nothing left. But just lift your head… It ain’t over yet.”
Within a month I would find another neurologist who still didn’t have a clue as to what the cause of my paresthesia was, but he did have medication that might be helpful. –IT WAS! Within a few days I was sleeping again. I could sit down again. I could think clearly again. Paresthesia ceased to be the center of my universe. Do I still have paresthesia? YES. I stopped touching my face long before covid because I hate the numb/tingling feeling I get every time I touch my nose, ears, chin, eyes. Within a year, my prayer each night changed from “Jesus, take me home” to “Thank you Lord for paresthesia.”
My relationship with my God was good, now it’s deep. I am 67 years old and I know…”it ain’t over yet.” I just got back from my second mission trip to Amman, Jordan where I had the privilege of teaching Iraqi refugee women sewing skills. I didn’t get the healing I wanted- what I got was so much better. I haven’t had another bi-polar incident since January 2017. By experiencing paresthesia, God was giving me a crash course to knowing and trusting Him.
Devon: I’m a living, breathing, walking miracle. My friends call me Lazarus!
In 2014, I was a single mom to a 6 year-old son. I went to get some blood work done on a Friday afternoon, because I was feeling run down. Monday morning, I got a call saying I needed to get to the nearest emergency room, that my blood levels were critical.
I ended up having Acute Myeloid Leukemia, the worst possible case. I was immediately hospitalized and given chemo. After my 2nd round of chemo, all my organs shut down, I had congestive heart failure, and slipped into a coma. My hands and feet turned black in the dying process. The doctors told my parents I had days, possibly hours to live with zero chance of survival. My little boy was brought to my bedside to say goodbye to me. My friends and family surrounded my hospital bed and prayed for a miracle.
On the 30th day, I woke up. All my organs went back to normal, and I was able to get a stem cell transplant. This was seven years ago this week. Thank you, Jesus, for healing me.
Thank you all for sharing your stories with us. We must share our healing stories because it gives others the hope that they will be healed. It is also important to share healing stories because it ensures that God gets all the glory!! Thank you for being brave enough to share your story so others can see what is possible.