Monday, June 24, 2013

God's Timing - A Story of Healing and Purpose

June is National Migraine Awareness Month, so I figured I better get something up here before the month passed by. The last few months have been epic for me, but before I get into that, I have something to say. Migraine is a neurological disease. It often has more symptoms than head pain. There are many misunderstandings about migraine, but the two that bother me the most are 1) from ER staff: that people coming in complaining of a bad migraine are actually just drug seekers, and 2) from non-medical personnel: that it's just a bad headache. It really frustrates me to hear someone say they have a migraine and to them it means that their headache has gotten so bad it has slipped into migraine territory. The ER is a whole other story. I've definitely had my share of bad experiences, but I've also had very kind nurses and doctors who have sympathized with my pain. I usually find out through the course of my time there that the ones who are sympathetic are usually migraine sufferers themselves. 

The epic part of my journey started March 28. My friend Joy Lightcap hosted a Facebook event that was a day of prayer and fasting for the healing of my migraines. This was a suggestion of a very dear friend of my family, Ken Chupp. This day culminated in a prayer service held at my church where I was annointed with oil and prayed over. It was during the prayer time that God did two very key things. First, he completely healed me from the deep and dark depression I'd been suffering in. Depression is very common for chronic pain patients. There were days I felt more comfortable there than I did in the light. But I was fully healed to the point that I knew what happened and the instant it happened. I won't say Satan hasn't tried his best to drag me back down. Not long ago I was laying in my bed in a lot of pain and my mind was wandering back to the darkness. I reached out to God and he gave me a clear vision of what he was doing that instant. He was holding me in his arms; I was stretched out horizontally and my legs were in this swampy tar stuff. He lifted me completely out, washed me off, and set me on solid ground. 

I said two things happened at that prayer service. The second was while people were praying for me to be healed, God told me he wasn't going to heal me. Not yet. There was purpose to be had in my suffering that had yet to be fulfilled. But when that purpose was fulfilled, he would heal me. 

There is so much more to tell, but this is already long. I'll try to finish the story in the next couple days. 

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