My Journey of Healing
If you were to walk into my house on an average day off, you would see me bouncing through life, singing random songs, working on multiple projects, and having a wonderful time. It’s a very different picture than the withdrawn person you would’ve met years ago. She would’ve been huddled on a chair in the corner on the verge of tears.
I didn’t know I had Lyme Disease. All I knew was that I hated to work. Twenty to twenty-five hours of work per week would completely exhaust me, leaving my emotions raw and very near the surface. I watched everyone around me working forty-plus hours a week, and concluded that my problem must be psychological. I must be lazy.
Then the fevers started. Every day my temperature would be just slightly elevated…around 99.5 degrees. A doctor tested me for lupus, and having ruled out that possibility, gave up.
In the summer of 2018 it finally dawned on me. I was in pain every day. I had never really noticed it before. It was just a part of my existence…I didn’t know that anyone lived without daily pain.
When one of my lymph nodes swelled up after a tick bite, my dad took me to see a Lyme Disease specialist. One of the most beautiful sentences I’ve ever heard in my life was, “You’re not lazy. You’re sick.” The truth DOES set you free. Armed with the knowledge that I was only sick, I suddenly felt I had a lot to do in life. All the “laziness” disappeared! A few weeks later I received the news. I had tested positive for four tick-borne illnesses: Lyme Disease, Bartonella, Babesia, and Ehrlichia.
I don’t know when the popping started. Sometime between 2018 and 2019 my jaw started cracking and getting stuck. My MRI showed slipped discs on either side of my jaw. It’s a common problem known as TMJ disorder. When I found I couldn’t eat a burger without the use of a fork and knife, I started looking for help. The first doctor I went to see told me he could fix it…for $20,000. The last doctor I went to see told me it was impossible. I would just have to live getting $3,000 Botox shots every 6 months. “I believe Jesus can heal me.” I told him, and I left.
So now I was facing two insurmountable challenges. The cost for my Lyme Disease treatment was roughly $600 a month. There was no way I could afford it.
Around this time I watched a movie called “Prison to Praise” about the life of United States Army chaplain, Merlin Carothers. Chaplain Carothers spent his life preaching that the Lord will open prison doors when you praise Him.
My journal entry from June 28, 2020 reads:
“This morning as I read Psalm 107 before
the [church] service, the Lord opened my
eyes. The whole Psalm talks about people
who end up in bad situations (that the Lord
put them into), until they cried out to the
Lord. But then it says, “Oh that men would
praise the Lord for His goodness, and for
His wonderful works to the children of men!”
Suddenly I could see the correlation
between the two concepts. And it [was] like
the Holy Spirit airdropped an idea to me:
“Praise is the key to your victory.”
So, I began to praise the Lord. Every night I prayed, “Thank You for my Lyme Disease. Thank You for my Bartonella. Thank You for my Babesia. Thank You for my Ehrlichia. Thank You for my TMJ disorder.” And I WAS thankful.
James 1:2-4 reads: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (NIV) Every now and then, I meet someone who tells me that there should be no trials in the Christian life. No sickness. No pain. No financial difficulties. They usually tell me that if I have troubles, it must be a lack of faith or a product of sin. That’s not what Jesus said! When Jesus’ disciples asked Him if a man had been born blind as the result of sin, Jesus told them he hadn’t, “but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” (John 9:3)
In August 2020, almost two months after I began to praise the Lord, I received an unsolicited phone call from my doctor’s office. They had an opening for a receptionist, and my Dad had mentioned to them that I might be available. Would I be interested in coming for an interview? Benefits included free appointments with the doctor, and wholesale prices for my Lyme treatment. One door had opened. I continued to praise the Lord.
In January 2021, I came to my wit’s end with regard to my jaw. It was so stiff, I could barely get half a meatball between my teeth! Call me crazy, but I’ve always believed eating is necessary to life. As it happened, I had heard of a chiropractor who was friends with my boss, so I decided to try to find the cure one more time. A week later, I received the news…the chiropractor would treat me for free, as a professional courtesy to my boss, although I had never asked for a handout. The second door had opened.
About 7 months later, my chiropractor had achieved what I had been told was impossible. He had fixed my jaw! In June 2022 I finally finished treatment for all my tick-borne illnesses, and have lived symptom-free ever since.
I cannot guarantee you that God will open your prison doors if you live a life of praise, as
He opened mine. However, I can tell you with total certainty that if you give thanks “in everything”, (1 Thes. 5:18) God will be glorified. We can always thank the Lord, no matter our circumstances, because He knows what’s best for us, and because He has saved us from an eternity in Hell.
All around the world, Jesus sees hurting people. The great majority are complaining and angry. They can’t understand why God has allowed the things that have happened in their lives. (Romans 9:20-21) Will you be the one to get God’s attention by singing a song in the night?
“Prison to Praise,” 1994, Rife, Kenneth,
Regent University
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