Context: We had the March Submerge leadership team meeting at our place about a month ago. Our meetings are long, but always a good time. We generally worship, talk throough business of ur community from 5:30-8PM & then sit down to eat a proper dinner together. This is usually followed by a long evening of conversation, laughing, wine, beer with the crowning pinnicle of the night being cigars for all. Spiritual giants we are.
Story: Right after dinner, Millay had been telling us about how she had fallen off her bike in February & really hurt her arm. She had it in a sling for a few weeks, so I remembered when this happened. She started to tell us, though, that she could not lift her right arm past her shoulder. Now, apparently she was a champion wall climber in college, so it's a drag that she can't bring her arm above her shoulder (let alone climb). She had gone to the doctor the day before. He took xrays & told her that before even seeing the xrays, that she would likely need years of physical therapy before getting that motion back in her shoulder.
Ok, so we finish dinner & Ryan (btwn his 4 & 5 beer) says "why don't we pray for your shoulder?". At the same time, I realized that we didn't have cigars, so I leave to get some while they're praying.
As I come back 5 minutes later, I hear screaming going on in our apartment, thinking "what are these guys doing". I walk in to hear that they prayed for Millay & now she can fully lift her arm above her head.
Apparently, as soon as they quieted down & started praying... the voice in the techno music that Erica had on the iPod/stereo said "I need a spirit to come & touch my soul"... which is wierd. & they simply asked the Lord to heal Millay's shoulder.
Once they were finished Erica asked the dreaded question: "so does it feel different?"
Millay didn't think so, but out of obligation started to lift her arm to show that there had been no change... BUT her arm kept going up, up, they heard a crack & it went up until she had it fully up in the air. That was it. As simple & unhyped up as that. Needless to say, she was hysterical that her arm worked, my man Jered was in shock cause he doesn't (didn't) actually believe that this happens & the rest of us were amazed.
Millay got the results of that initial xray yesterday:
Hey gang,
I just had the funniest phone call with my doctor....
Re: the whole shoulder thing, i called him up to get the official test
results of this horrible EMG exam i had (pre healing also). I haven't seen
him since my initial visit before the whole healing thing, so he didn't know
i can totally move it now.
He told me that the results came back confirming that i had completely
severed the thoracic nerve in my shoulder blade, which is why there would be
no muscle movement ability there. (hence, i couldn't use my shoulder). He
sad too that sometimes it regenerates after a few months, but that it had
been 5 months since the accident and the tests showed absolutely no sign of
regeneration and that the nerve would most likely never come back. He said
it's just something I would have to live with, and that if i chose to, i
could have a series of operations to reconfigure the muscles so that i could
move it...
!! what a surreal conversation, given that now i have complete, comfortable
movement in it. i totally chickened out on mentioning the healing, but told
him that actually it was doing a lot better.... lol
God - 1
moderne medicine - 0
m
xx
Interpret this as you like, but we know that the Kingdom broke into our living room & healed Millay in front of our eyes.
Its a great story & I mention it, not because its a one off instance, but because it's only one of many that we've been hearing about in our community recently. I think that the normal life of a Christian should expect that this will happen... Christianity shouldn't be seen as strange sect of cultural wierdness & moral told-you-sos, but as the people of God that actually live life with Him in a way that he can show how he really is to the people around us.
