July 25, 2013

Take Up Thy Bed and Walk

A couple months ago, I had this really weird thing happened to me. One night I was leaning off my bed trying to grab something and all of a sudden my back just seized up and I couldn’t lift myself back up onto the bed. It was as though my lower half was simply disconnected from my upper half and my lower back was in intense pain. I spent the next hour or so trying various means to get my upper body back on the bed so that I could at least lie down and try to sleep off the weirdness and pain. Each movement was excruciating and by the time I was finished, my lower back felt as though it was on fire. Alyssa was no help—she thought I was kidding and so she fell asleep; not that she could have done anything since any sort of movement aided or no felt like a knife was being twisted around in my back.

In the morning, things were no better. I called in and took the first sick day of my entire life (minus those associated with the various emergency room hospital visits the year I graduated high school). Then, after about an hour of effort, I finally managed to half fall out of bed, use my upper body to sideways drag myself to the bathroom, with the humiliating help of my wife hoist myself up on to the toilet, and then crawl back to the bedroom. There was no chance I was getting back up onto the bed so I just laid on our hardwood floor for the better part of the day.

My brothers came over partway through the day to give me a blessing. In 1829, the Lord restored the priesthood—the power of Jesus Christ given to man to act in His name on the earth—so that we may enjoy the same healing blessings that the people in Jerusalem experienced in Christ’s time. My brothers hold this priesthood, given to them by the laying on of hands by those who have the authority to bestow this power on others, and can bless others as Christ did. As in the time of Christ, these blessings work according to God’s will and the faith of those being blessed. My brothers laid their hands on my head and gave me a blessing that I may be healed and go about my responsibilities as normal.


Now, I did not immediately take up my bed and walk; this is not one of those stories (although those stories do happen in our day). But I did slowly begin to regain movement and the pain lessened to the point I could push myself to sit up, then stand, then walk. My walk resembled the shuffle of a ninety-year-old man, but it was certainly progress. In the evening, one of our friends came over for dinner, which we ended up having on the floor since sitting in a chair was not the most comfortable experience. The next day the doctor prescribed me painkillers and muscle relaxants and said that I would probably be 100% in six weeks. That day was the only day I took any medication. The next day I was back at work, and the day after that I was jump roping. The next weekend we had two full days of jump rope.

Some may look at this experience and say that “these things just happen,” or that my situation was not as bad as the doctor prescribed. But I know this was nothing short of a miracle and ascribe my rapid healing to the power of God and the blessing which my brothers gave me. This event is quite small in the grand scheme of things and would not merit a place in the events told in the Bible. But the Lord works miracles of all kinds in the lives of His children; nothing is too insignificant for the Lord to take notice.

The Lord continues to work miracles great and small; it is up to us to have the faith necessary for them, to live worthy of them, and to recognize them when they come.

What miracles have you seen in your life?

Jeremy

Scripture references:

2 Ne 26:13 Christ works miracles among men according to their faith
Mormon 1:13 miracles cease because of iniquity
Mormon 9:15-19 God has not ceased to be a God of miracles
Moroni 7:27, 29, 35-36 miracles have not ceased because Christ ascended into heaven
D&C 35:8 the Lord will show miracles unto those who believe

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