Tag Archives: help

D is for Door

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I believe the ugliest battle scars are from junior high. As my daughter quickly approaches the years of doom, I reflect more and more on what I can teach her from my time doing time.
I sat in the back of the class. The very far back, for the students who weren’t members of the honor roll (okay—once—accidentally), gifted (as a professional writer, I protest their definition of gifted), or any genre of student the teachers wrote down as shining star, but the last row of kids who identified with other things beside your general pile of academics. The artist, the athlete, the HSPs (which wasn’t a known thing at the time), or the rebel at heart.
How does a free spirit like myself (and my daughter) find her rhythm behind so many normals?
Thank the Maker of the Heavens for Mrs. T. She taught 7th grade, and music, and a particle of art. Her heart was undeniably in music class, and she taught us how to shake up our world with good things like jazz. I shined up my flute nice and pretty for 16 or so bars of music, to be refreshingly unique. She didn’t have the patience to teach us traditionally. In fact, I was poor at reading music because of it. But what a blessing, because I’m a hands-on learner, and I could memorize the soul out of a piece music, leaving my energy for the art of it, which was where I found myself–outside the lines of what you would normally find in a stack of homework (Parents: please think twice before complaining about a nontraditional teacher).


I knew I was different. I didn’t know the science of it, but something inside me said to not let myself be pulled into the rows of traditionalists, because that’s wasn’t the beat my heart was tuned for. I was also a Jesus follower—despite the protestations of the kids who thought that meant perfectionism or goody-two-shoes, what it meant for me was undeniably Wild. Messy, outside the lines, grab the world by the paintbrush, Wild ( If you’re raising your brows at this, remember, the Bible is not G rated, friends. Not even close. Nor is anyone’s life).
Honestly, it was a long season of feeling lost before I realized my life didn’t revolve around the worldview of the traditional educational system.
Throughout the years, a lot of my teachers tried to shake the different out of me. Many students tried to shake the Jesus out of me. A few of my friend’s parents even tried to shake the skinny out of me by attempting to feed me copious amounts of food—so I would look more normal, I guess—but God doesn’t allow us us stand out without a reason. And He doesn’t let you walk through life without purpose, even when you feel like a Jackson Pollack in a sea of Michelangelo’s. But the last thing I want my daughter to do is to follow the crowd. The crowd strives for normal out of fear of what each other think. But, truthfully, we’re ALL different….why on earth are we all so afraid?!
The Wild DNA runs deep. How many of you have wondered at your differences and looked to history’s legacy?
The ancient church of Philadelphia, surrounded by a sea of pagan temples, was out of place, too, but the members didn’t let the world shake the purpose out of them. Even with the widespread persecution. They even had a Teacher give them a special bit of encouragement:
“I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” Rev. 3:8
Alasehir (ancient Philadelphia) endured a devastating earthquake in A.D. 17…historians say the Philadelphians rebuilt their sanctuary (the church of St. John) several times due to tremors, unwilling to give up. And the open door? John wrote of “a great door for effective work, (1 Corinthians 16:9)” God opened for him. Scholars believe this was for mission work to the far eastern parts of Asia.

What do we see here? John didn’t let his opposition–whether man or earthquake–shake the art out of him. And his efforts survived the chaos of time…God rewarded the Phildelphian’s faith with a visual representation of their perseverance. Out of the few ruins of ancient Philadelphia, guess which one is the most prominent? You can view John’s church here.

Happy Tuesday, Friends. Don’t watch the crowd…look for the door.

The Healing Room

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I’ve been debating about writing this here, as our true story is not finished, but I don’t believe we have to know everything to share the hope we’ve been given.

You may know our son, Noah, has been diagnosed with Indeterminate Colitis, an autoimmune disease that may or may not be Crohn’s Disease. The mystery of this disease, and all the terrible things it can lead to has wrapped our hearts in a vice; squeezing ever so tight with worry. Impossible to predict, impossible to know if he’ll have it another year or forever. The financial strain is enough to make us wonder if we’ll make it another year without ruin, but God has proved Himself faithful in the areas of finance: a generous family member or friend, a random check in the mail, a surprise discount from the hospital.

My husband heard about this place called The Healing Room. Believers from local churches join together inside a medical clinic one evening a week to pray for those in need of miracles.

We read of Jesus healing those who believe in Him. We grow up being told this…we may even know someone who has miraculously recovered from an illness, but two thousand years of Jesus making footprints in the sands of this Earth is a long way from our cynical culture today. And even though some of us know him and know He can, we wonder if He will. Why some, but not all? Will we be like Paul, forever inflicted with a thorn in the flesh to remind us of where to fix our eyes?

Maybe our faith is too full of questions and not enough belief. But how do we help our six-year-old understand the complexities? I prayed about this, worried that if we took Noah for prayer and he wasn’t healed that he would lose his faith.

John and I explained to him about healing…that miracles do happen, but sometimes God lets people stay sick. They become God’s heroes.

Noah was unsure, nervous about doing something so foreign. He said he’d think about it. I asked God for confirmation that we were doing the right thing, and if so, would he encourage Noah?

Over the next week as I drove my kids to school, a few people called in to our local radio station to report miraculous healings. I leaned in. Is that you, God?

Shortly after, we visited with our neighbors during their fall yard sale. Noah loves looking for new treasures and was delighted to join me. A beautiful, state of the art electric wheelchair was displayed in their driveway. Something compelled me to ask why they were selling such a nice piece of equipment—people don’t buy those for temporary problems–and they both walked very well. So I asked.

“He had MS, but doesn’t anymore. He was healed,” said Mrs. Neighbor.

“What happened?” I asked, Noah at my side listening.

“Prayer, I guess.”

I turned to Noah, repeated what she said, like he didn’t hear it the first time.

“I’ll do it.” He smiled. Wide.

Later, when the kids were at school, I dropped to my knees and requested a special favor from God. I believe those signs were from You. Thank you. If you 100_4125don’t heal him, please give him a “God moment” so he doesn’t lose his faith.

When the sun had left the city in darkness a few Thursday nights later, Noah and I walked into The Healing Room. I could feel the prayer as soon as we entered; I felt embraced by it the whole time we were there. We filled out some paperwork about us and our specific prayer request: Healing from the colitis, healing from the pain.

Before they brought us into the room, they prayed. Over us, over the problem, over any special word from God.

Noah and I stood against a wall underneath a sign reminding us that miracles come from God, not from the people praying. His light-up shoes blinked off as he stopped; my breath came quick as they anointed us both with oil. As soon as the Prayer Man touched Noah’s right wrist, Noah’s right shoe lit up—his foot hadn’t budged. Noah beamed.

When we prayed, they repeated 1 Peter 2:24 where Jesus says, “…By His stripes you are healed.” As soon as they said the words, a picture of Jesus on the cross, taking the wounds of the world upon Himself filled my mind’s eye. Wearing a crown of blood, his head fell forward and tipped toward me—and then, gone. That was enough for me–no matter what happened, God is good. God is Love.

They prayed over Noah for a second time, then invited us to come back again. Some battles take more prayer than others, they said.

His pain was less that night. By the next day, it was completely gone. A few symptoms remain, but we came away with three things. One shoe light (Noah’s God moment), partial healing (no more pain), and a few scriptures impressed upon the prayer warriors, one of them being…And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus Philippians 4:19.

That leaves us at the unfinished part of our story. We will go back on another Thursday night in the hopes that Noah’s healing will be complete. Will the other shoe light for my boy, giving us another miracle, or will he be one of God’s heroes?

The Healing Room is nationwide, my friends. I suspect some of you may need to go. Please check out this link to find one closest to you. http://healingrooms.com/