Healed

God creates connecting paths to healing with His people.  No matter where they are, He CAN connect them.  He will establish His plan via the Holy Spirit, for in Christ we are truly healed.

But first, He has to connect us…

One Saturday afternoon in April 2009 a woman came into my workplace and sat on a chair next to my desk.  I asked her name.  Kate had questions on composite decking.  We went over ideas to replace the back deck at her home.  I created a layout and pricing options.  It took some time to build it out and she started to look tired.  I offered her a bottled water, showed her samples, and asked about her preferred color. She replied that whatever looked best would do, as the house was up for sale.  Of course, I inquired as to where they were moving to.

[God has an interesting way of preparing us to listen.  He “quickens” us. So, before she answered the question- my heart sped up]

Kate replied that they were moving to Redding, California.  I responded that it was an area I knew quite well, and asked her “What is in Redding?”  She stated that “Bob and I are looking for a home in the area…” and then she paused and said…

“I have been terribly ill for several years with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia”.

“It was so bad I could no longer get out of bed.  Jeffery, for 9 years I took every medicine and therapy available.  My illness had taken every bit of life from me. My husband drove me down to Bethel Church in Redding last summer where I was completely healed through prayer.  So now we feel called to be part of the healing ministry there”.
This melted me.
Kate had been sent to me to confirm what He was doing in the body.  We went on to discuss how God had healed both of us by His grace on His terms, in His time.  No medicine or treatment had been effective for either of us.  She then talked about the power of healing prayer.  She invited me to check out a local healing room. 
I went.

More than a year later in 2011, I wrote her this note:  

Dear Kate and Bob,
I trust this note finds you both well and in God’s grace.  There is no better place to be!
Kate, you may recall how we met at my workplace in the late spring of 2009.  You mentioned Redding, then Bethel Bible Church, and then healing.
We both found common ground in all these areas.  The Holy Spirit does an amazing job of connecting the body one to another.  From there I went to the Healing Rooms on two occasions.  It brought me into a time of fervent prayer to which God gave solid and unexpected answers.
You have been in my prayers and I know that meeting you was more than a simple 'chance encounter'.  It went on.  Allow me to go deeper...
This past April, at one year since you and I met- another connection happened.  There at my workplace was a young man who worked overnights, stocking freight.
Because I had not yet met him, one night I introduced myself and asked if he was going to college.  He paused and quietly responded “Bethel Bible College”.  Little did he know of the pull that statement carried.  Although we both lived in the East Portland area, Andrew and I found that we shared Faith and a connection to a place not local at all.
In Christ, Jeffery

The last time I saw Andrew prior to his leaving for Redding – he gave me a burned CD of music he said had changed his life.  There was no cover and no information, just the music.  The CD was “Consumed” by Jesus Culture.
It changed mine as well. 

One important note that precedes all of these events:

In the year prior to meeting Kate, and two years before meeting Andrew I had answered a job posting.  A place called “Bethel Bible College” needed a designer/web developer to help design interfaces and cover art for their upcoming music and artists.  I did not pursue the job as it seemed a wrong match for me.
“Consumed” is a project I would have worked on.

There is always more to God’s story. Read on…