A Call to Witness
By Anne Chapman
he’d be on dialysis. Prayer continued. Unlike a heart and some other organs, kidneys “cannot get better,” only worse or stay the same. The doctor strongly emphasized that. You can only imagine the doctor’s astonishment when the following test showed a marked improvement! “How Can that Happen?” the doctor asked Jim! Jim told him about the church’s prayers and Jesus. There was no response. Many months and some years have passed now, and with each visit the doctor says more improvement can be seen and “How Can that Happen?”
There is also the matter of his heart, which was functioning at only about 25%. That’s serious. More prayer. Sometime later and following another Doppler exam, he was sitting in the cardiologist’s office waiting for the results. She came in, stared at him and said she saw what happened with his kidneys, but wait, she wanted to go back out and double check something before talking to him about his heart. What was all that about? When she came back, she said she’d wanted to be sure she had the right patient and test, because his heart function showed an improvement of 100% and was now at the low end of Normal, or 50% function. Heart muscles can improve, but that amount over a short period of time – How can that happen? (See article “It’s not about Me.”)i
There have been other things as well. Jim tells anyone who will listen about the power of Jesus. No one has ever turned him away. Maybe it’s a special purpose God has given him in his latter days, and he certainly is fulfilling this mission.
Here, I want to divert for a moment to a time years ago in AWANA. Trinity Kennedy had just become a little Sparky. One night during lesson time he looked at me with his big, inquisitive eyes and asked, “What does God do all day?” How many of you would like to answer “that” question? (From a 5-year old, a 20-year old, a 40- year old or a 90-year old !!) Years later, I understand there is a single word to answer this question. LOVE. All else follows from there.
Wherever we are in life, miracles follow us. Sometimes it’s just a matter of recognizing them. They don’t have to be similar to anyone else’s. They come in all forms. A great way to tell someone about Jesus is to relate such a personal experience. It may be the very thing that leads them to the cross and everlasting life.
Submitted by Anne Chapman
