“And when one of them saw he was healed, he turned back…and thanked him.”

Luke 17:15-16

Our personal life experiences, when shared with close family members and friends, become meaningful milestones and examples to live by. This real life story I share with you is one that preceded the birth of our first born child. I share it so you can be encouraged in your faith; so you may never doubt that He can work in you too. Sometimes it’s difficult to find gratitude and thanksgiving in your heart when the dreadful past rears its ugly head. In the world we live in today we can easily lose sight of the living God…the Healer of our lives…the Redeemer of our transgressions. He is a God of Miracles—in the big and little things of our life. He continues to transform us through our faith and trust in Him (Romans 12:2). This is the story of my lovely wife and I who have enjoyed the presence of the Lord for over 47 years in our marriage.

The backdrop to this story…

When I was 12 years old we lived in a southern California town named Calexico, bordering Mexicali. It was then and still is today known for its abundance and availability of every fashion of drug and as a young boy I began experimenting. In high school I lost five of my best friends to drug abuse and two other dear friends shortly thereafter. At 17 years old, I got kicked out of high school my senior year (1969) for being overly disobedient. I left school and entered into deep drug abuse. I started with one drug in particular, LSD, a hallucinogenic drug, and from there I moved into the world of narcotics. The drug that did the most damage was the notorious LSD 25. Timothy Leary was an advocate of this specific hallucinogenic drug. This was the 60s and I found myself lost in this darkness for nearly a decade.

God’s miraculous story begins…

Nearly 10 years later, and six years into our marriage I was drug free and my wife and I were believers in Christ. However, the unspoken fears my wife and I kept in our hearts for so many years were now emerging. It was 1978, and we both knew there was a strong possibility that my extensive drug abuse could cause serious problems in starting a family and having healthy children.

Not knowing where to get answers we turned to a friend who was a professor at the Bible College where I attended. He guided us to the University of Tennessee Genetic Center where I went to have genetic testing done. Four months passed and with much prayer, the test results were in. Would the results prove our greatest fear? Our hearts sank as my wife and I listened to the doctor and psychologist present conclusive evidence that I had 100 percent chromosome damage as the result of extensive drug abuse. The sins of my youth, my rebellion, had now caught up to me (Psalm 25:7). The guilt I felt pushed both our emotions and broken dreams beyond the threshold of sadness.

But God was just getting started with his miracle work…

It was a Sunday morning, several months after my first genetic test had been done. I awoke suddenly from a vivid dream I couldn’t deny…God healed me, that was my dream! I went into our little kitchenette in our duplex apartment in Knoxville, Tennessee and sat down at the table to ponder my dream that was weighing heavy on my mind. I had never experienced such a “real to life” dream like this…ever. Was it just that? A dream and nothing more? Or was it truly something the Lord was attempting to reveal to me with a purpose?

As I quietly sat in prayer, I sensed my wife’s hand upon my shoulder and her first words to me were, “I have to tell you something.” I quickly blurted out, “You tell me your thoughts first and then I will tell you what’s on my heart.” Her words to me I’ll never forget, “I had a dream that God healed you!”

Instantly I grabbed her hands and we were taken back that it was the exact confirmation of the very dream with which I was wrestling. We were overwhelmed not knowing what to do with these dreams. We had never experienced such a supernatural awakening! Two dreams with one message of great magnitude…I had been healed by God!! The Bible reminded us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…” (James 1:17). In this we placed our hope.

Being young in our faith I immediately went back to our professor friend and shared what was to us a near unbelievable experience. His advice was to go for a second test. Jesus had cleansed me from my drug abuse. He had made himself known to us in ways that caused us to learn how to have our “senses exercised to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14 ASV) and He taught us how to be thankful for the new life He brought to us upon our belief in him (Luke 17:11-19). Now we were faced with something that seemed so far-fetched in our finite minds, but not to an infinite God who can do the impossible.

Once again, we waited for the test results which felt like an eternity. We had churches and select friends praying for a miracle. A few months had passed and I received the call. The genetic test report was in. We will never forget that day. We can still envision the doctors and the psychologists, not one, but now several, who sat opposite my wife and I. We were separated by a long narrow light table used to display the negative prints. The doctor in charge went over the same lengthy review of my drug abuse history.

As the doctor spoke he placed the first set of prints down that showed total chromosome damage. It was heartbreaking to see it again, but there was something else in his hand. The newly developed set of prints was laid down over the first set. The genetic report was now revealed. We remember to this day the doctor’s words as the tone in his voice changed. He said, “We can’t explain what we have here…you now have a 100% chromosome REVERSAL. There is no explanation!”

From total damage to 100 percent RESTORED chromosomes. God worked a miracle!!!

My wife and I sat motionless, weeping before those who were in the room. Whatever else was said, we don’t remember exactly, except for the words of a psychologist who spoke up that morning. She asked the doctor in charge if she could comment and proceeded by saying, “I am a psychologist and a Christian and I have never seen this before, but only God could have done this.” Over our tears and joy we received the confirmation we had awaited. God gave me total healing—unlike anything we had ever experienced! His hand was gracious unto us on this day as we gave Him thanksgiving and ALL the glory! I believe God gave us the same dream of healing so we would pursue yet another genetic test which would allow us to make known His greatness.

Over forty years have passed and we still get emotional recounting this story. We give an audacious shout of thanksgiving to our heavenly Father for our firstborn and then for our second daughter. God graciously chose to honor our many prayers for healing. Our two daughters have grown up knowing the Lord and when both girls turned 13, I told them about the miraculous gift of healing and restoration we received before they were born. They are truly our two greatest miracles.

Drug abuse brought DEVASTATION as we received the results from the first test, but God brought DELIVERANCE!

Why do I share this?

We believe God’s living presence and our life experiences assist us to stay strong in our faith. We pass down the stories of our healing, of our redemption, of our saving, of our rescue from a Living God who never fails. This is the legacy we leave…this is what it means to tell our children of the greatness of God (Deut. 6:7-9). We all reap spiritual benefits from life stories we share of the Lord working among his people.

Today, with my oldest daughter facing her own cancer journey, we have faith as a family in the Living God who still performs miraculous healings. We pray for healing upon our daughter along with many others joining us. At every step of the way we’ve rejoiced and given thanksgiving to the Lord as He has shown Himself over and over again. Our daughter has taught us we can continue to rejoice and be glad even when faced with utmost difficult times. She has been a true spiritual giant with her thanksgiving and praise to the Lord and has encouraged many others to keep pushing through and trusting Him in the hard times.

In this day and age there is an exhaustive multitude of souls who have refused to acknowledge there is a Living God and yet, stunningly, they know there is something or someone who has designed this spectacular universe they live in. They are without excuse (Romans 1:20-21); yet sadly, so many have cast aside their faith in order to run with the world (2 Timothy 4:10)! They have no faith and no hope beyond this life which is an ever growing trend in our culture and society (Philippians 3:17-18). My wife and I lived such a life without faith or hope in God and my heart feels for each soul who is wandering alone without the living presence of Jesus. It’s my prayer that someone may read this post and come to know that the Lord is able to do great things in their life—even a miracle!

 So what changed us?

Six months after our wedding, the pastor who married us, Pastor John Jones, showed up at our little doorstep with a conviction in his heart. He came to visit and brought the message of life to us, the Gospel message. We believed that night by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:5) and I know without a doubt there was much prayer initiated prior to Pastor Jones coming to our home (Ephesians 6:18-19 AMP). It took the boldness of Pastor Jones to show up that day. He didn’t know if we would accept his message of truth or not, but I believe he weighed the cost and the risk was worth it to him. We were far from the truth and Pastor Jones had no fear of our darkness for he knew the power of the Light (John 3:19-21). He is also the same one who encouraged us to attend Bible College. We are forever grateful for his courage and his heart that listened to the Holy Spirit prompting him to bring us the best news that changed our lives.

For this reason, I share this miraculous event of the Lord’s healing, not to emphasize our blessings, but to glorify the realness and powerfulness of the Living God whom my family honors to this day. Some may not fully understand the depth and glory of God, but that’s alright because He is God and we are His creation! The Bible reminds us that, “…it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). I will always shout out to whoever wants to hear about the magnificent grace of God whom we serve! He is faithful and just and in him “we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:28).

Thoughts to live by:

1. Be in much prayer for those you are to share Christ with: family, friends, and acquaintances. The Holy Spirit goes before you to empower you. Don’t be afraid to speak (Luke 12:12).
2. You are the vessel He uses for others to hear—He is the one who changes a heart and mind no matter how far away they are from the Lord. God uses you so He can do the miraculous (1 Corinthians 3:6).
3. Believe it is God who brings us living hope through believing in Jesus Christ his Son (1 Peter 1:3-5).
4. Know God accepts you right where you are—with all your scars and sins (1Corinthians 6: 9-11).
5. Believe there is a God who will personally make himself known to you. Yes! Even in today’s culture God is alive and working! (John 4:39-42).
6. Don’t disregard God’s miraculous power of healing and grace if no healing happens here on earth. Remember that for some souls, healing will take place fully when they arrive in heaven (Revelation 21:3-5).
7. Remember to give him thanks. God confirmed our miracle through the Christian psychologist who spoke out that day and gave all credit and glory to God (Colossians 2:7 NLT; Psalms 73:28). Let’s do the same today…give Him THANKSGIVING.

NO HEALING LIKE HIS HEALING