He has the power to heal. We are told this from the first, whether we are small children sitting in a circle in a church basement or a seeking adult. Even those who are not seeking and would prefer to avoid any so-called “organized religion” know that this is the claim that is made. We read of the great healings of the blind and lame in the Bible and hear of deathbed miracles.
Ellen was always a happy child. She smiled when she was first born. Yeah, I know you’re thinking it was just gas and babies do that, but not her; she smiled, and she is still smiling today. It is true that every child has its share of problems growing up, but there was a point in her life when I think it had become a little too much for her to handle. We have three daughters, and I’ve learned over the years that certain things matter to girls that would otherwise go unnoticed by boys, and anything that affects their physical appearance weighs heavy. During this one particular period it began to weigh heavily on me.
She wasn’t desperately ill, and, in fact, was quite healthy. The problem was a terrible raised rash that she would get all over her body, face and mouth. It hurt her to play or to talk, and it hurt her to wash and to eat. She needed to wear glasses, and they wouldn’t sit comfortably whenever she was broken out. Braces had been added to the picture so that when her mouth was affected, the discomfort brought tears. She smiled through most of it and took it all in stride, but we could see that it was wearing her down. We had tried to get some medical help for her, but there just wasn’t a lot to offer in the way of making it go away, just in ways to ease things so that she could cope while it was happening.
It was shortly before she entered middle school when I was on my way up the stairs to go to bed that it was revealed to me what needed to be done. I was going to pray: would it work? I had prayed many times before this night, but this night was different somehow. I had a “blessed assurance” fill me, I think. That’s the only way for me to explain how I felt. I knew in my heart that God would heal my child. I had total confidence not just that He could do it, but that He would do it, and that it would happen that night.
