Testify!

My experience

From November of 2006, when I was healed:


http://richtermarc.livejournal.com/133951.html

My faith (Part one)

Hey Marc, hope all is well with you and the family.

Here is the only story I have to give, I hope its the kind of thing you are looking for.

I came to my faith somewhat late in life. To understand it, you need to understand a little about the background that led up to my discovering God. (He was there all along; I just refused to see him.)

My father was a non-practicing Italian Catholic who hated the church. My mother was raised in the Church of England but had become an agnostic as her life had unfolded. My parents did not have myself nor my sister baptized, nor did they bring my sister or I to either church. I grew up in a home where thinking was encouraged and love flowed from our parents to we kids, so we never felt anything missing. I became a hardcore cynical atheist that needed to quantify everything; I needed empirical proof before I believed anything. I used to say “Sure, I’ll believe in God, just let him prove that he exists… just have him cough once for me and I’ll buy this whole religion thing.

My father died when I was fifteen and this led me to even greater anger at the world as a whole. Because of my father’s family, we had to have a Catholic funeral (Which I KNEW would have pissed my dad off, but for family unity, I didn’t make a huge stink about it.) Standing in that great cathedral, listening to a man in the black robes speak about a man he never knew made me want to scream at him to get his God’s ass down here to answer for my dad’s death.

You can see that I had a lot of anger issues at that time.

Several years later, I joined the U.S. Army. During Basic Training, I injured my knee and ankle. They hurt like hell, but I knew if I reported to the medics, I would have been put on medical profile and probably would have been recycled. (Sent to another Basic Training unit to repeat Basic Training once I healed.) I chose to suck up the pain, wrap my knee and ankle and soldier on until I could graduate.

Well, one dark and lonely night, a member of our unit had a few hundred dollars stolen from his locker. This is considered a bad thing anywhere, but in the service it is considered a VERY bad thing among men with guns who are supposed to trust one another. Numerous opportunities were given for the responsible party to return the money… no dice. So the Drill Sergeants decided to grind it out of us.

At 1 a.m. on a hot Fort Sill, Oklahoma night, our Drills proceeded to P.T. (Physical training: hundreds of sit ups, push ups, squat thrusts, grass drills, etc.) us unto the ground. I hadn’t had time to wrap my knee or ankle so they were already hurting when we got to the PT sand pit. After an hour of PT, I was in such pain, I can’t describe. By the third hour, I wanted to die. I could barely bend my knee to run in place. And when I did, it was like all the fires of hell. No one knew when they would stop if ever. There was no one to help me get through the pain since all my buddies were barely holding it together themselves. I was alone, just me and my pain. It was then that I did something I’d never done before…

My faith (Part two)

I called out to God to help me.

I didn’t demand. I didn’t make sarcastic comments about Him showing me a burning bush. I didn’t dare Him to turn my orange juice into Captain Morgan Rum. In my pain and despair I just called out to Him to please help me.

The next part is hard to explain. You see, our family was always very demonstrative in its affection. Even at 14 or 15, I never felt embarrassed about giving my parents a hug goodnight and as we grew up, when we did something noteworthy, you could be sure that my father would be on hand to pick us up with a huge loving hug.

So I find myself running in place at 3:30 a.m. in a sand pit when I call out to the God I’d denied for so long. For the first time in my life, I’d called to Him in sincerity to help me. That’s when I felt it. For a moment, it could have been longer or shorter, I really couldn’t say. For that frozen moment in time, it felt like a hug from my father. It felt like he kind of hug he gave me when I was little, where he would pick me up and, for a time, I felt like nothing could ever hurt me.

That’s when I knew. Did God make a noise? No. Did He show himself to me? Nope. Did He show me a miracle? Not really. When that moment was over, I was STILL in that sand pit; my knee still hurt like blazes, but I knew. He was there with me. I got through that night because I wasn’t alone anymore. Since then, no matter where I went in life, no matter how alone I seemed, I knew that He was there with me. I used to stand guard duty over the armoury with a smile on my face because I knew that God was guarding my flank. I started going to the chapel and had some long talks with the Army Chaplain. I was baptized and my new life started that day.

Since that time, even though I don’t go to any specific church now, I am secure in my Faith because I KNOW.

Or as my favourite Bible verse goes:

Luke 7:1-10

[1] When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. [2] There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. [3] The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. [4] When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, [5] because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." [6] So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. [7] That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. [8] For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
[9] When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." [10] Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Like the Centurion, I do not need to see God or proof of his existence, I just KNOW.

Sorry for how long this post is, but what happened to me that night is something that I can't really 'shrink to fit'.

Dan Spinelli
Winter Springs, FL

Re: My faith (Part two)

Dan,

That's exactly the kind of story I'm looking for.

I'm delighted you posted and I'm loving that we've both found the Kingdom. Pretty funny how that all works out.

The night you called me when your Dad died, I still remember that clear as day. I wish I had been able to provide better comfort at the time, but I was going through my 14-year-old rejection of God anyway.

Catch up with me as you can and be well.

From Bob

From Bob, who posted on the linked thread. (grin)

Thank you for the story it is yet another testament to God's Greatness. I have been a Saved christian sense age 17 not always in his will many times going my way but he would only let me stray so far. I had a drinking problem and thought it would be ok if I continued. well God doesn't ever leave you and will always keep you from going to far. Because you see your his and he loves you no matter what. God saved me from death a few times while doing something stupid. I'm now 50yrs old and I'm free from the grip of my past it took me a long time to se the light and well this could be a very long story so I'm going to just say I know God is real and still on the throne and prayer changes things. Bob J. Bowman

God Shows up every day... but here's an example.

I have MANY stories I could share, but I'll start with just this one. Two years ago my wife an I where looking for a new house. We were having real doubts about the house we were in being our house as we were renting at the time with an option to buy. So we started house hunting. We saw MANY houses and the process was really starting to wear me out. Then my wife found a house she really liked. It was in a great location and was almost exactly what we both thought we needed. The price was a bit steep, but it was a nice place and one we wanted. So, I went by the house one day after work. I got the key from the seller and went in. I knelt in the living room and started to pray. I said, "Lord, if it is your will for me and my family to be in this house, please let them accept my low offer and I'll know this is it." Now, I had originally planned to ask $10,000 less than the asking price but as I walked up to the sales office I kept hearing in my head and feeling in my soul $20,000. So, I offered the lady $20,000 less than asking price. She said the builder had never gone that low before but I told her if she was interested in selling, that was my offer. The next day I got a call from the seller saying the builder would accept the offer as long as I would close in 30 days. So hear I sit in my God directed house writing this story to you. :)

God Delivers the Goods!!!

At the age of 8 I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease. I lived with 4 years of on and off symptoms.
I was 12 years old, and it was Christmas. The scaring had formed on the wall of my intestine. I started to back up… I wasn’t going to the bathroom.:-( I was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery. I had 6 inches of my large intestine removed. I was in the hospital for two weeks. My mother and her friends continually laid hands on me and prayed in the spirit. I was young… I didn’t understand… My mother just told me to believe and to receive my healing.
All the doctors said I would live with the affects of this the rest of my life. It was about a month later and I was on the road to recovery. I was visiting one of the doctors who was apart of this. After my check up he said that everything was looking good and that he would see me in one month. I said “No you won’t I have been healed, if I need you I know where you are!”. I have never seen that doctor again. They said I would have to watch what I eat… Not to spicy… Stay away from the acidic foods! Those types of foods were going to wreak havoc on my system. Well I need to say our God is above all this! I can eat whatever I want. Halepino Peppers… and all!

Miracles

I pray all the time, for myself and everyone else; often I will ask a saint to intercede for me, and most of the time I use St. Jude. St. Jude and God have come through for me and those I pray for countless times, and in some very serious situations. Most recently my sister and b-i-l were trying to adopt a little boy and the circumstances were difficult to say the least. St. Jude and God helped us over every obstacle and the adoption is now final. A few months ago my niece had a horrible sports injury that resulted in two very badly broken bones in her leg; the doctor said that she would probably be in a series of hard casts for four or five months, then a softer cast, plus months of physical therapy. All in all it would likely be about 9 months before she would be back to normal. My dad and I have prayed hard for her, asking St. Jude's help; the doctor has been amazed at how quickly and well she has healed and she is way ahead of schedule with her casts. She is now out of hard casts entirely and in a softer, removable device that she will wear for another couple of months. All in all she will likely be back to normal about three months ahead of what was projected.

On a much lighter note, I am traveling across country tomorrow and have been praying that all goes well on the trip. The airline called me today and told me the flight I am scheduled to depart on is oversold, and if I am willing to take a plane that leaves 10 minutes later than my originally scheduled flight they will put me in first class for the entire way out.

God is so good!

Miracle?

I woke up suddenly one night filled with fear and dread. Curfew had passed and my old son was at home where he belonged. This wasn't the first time (or the last) that he had lost track of time playing cards with his friends, but it was the first time I ever felt such fear and near panic. Immediately I began to pray to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with my son's guardian angel, my guardian angel, all available guardian angels and Michael the Archangel. The harder I prayed the calmer I began to feel. A few minutes later the phone rang. It was my son. He had been speeding home (trying to respect curfew?) and in the street there was a man hole without the cover on it. He drove into it at a high rate of speed. His front tire was ruined, but thank God he wasn't injured.

To this day I wonder what woke me up so suddenly and prompted me to pray so fervently. Nothing will bring a mother to her knees like a teen ager with a driver's license, but it was more than motherly instinct. I believe an angel gave the warning and my prayers, joined with that angel, brought out a spiritual force that kept my son alive that night.

Correction

My oldest son was not at home where he belonged.

Signs and Wonders

Hope you don't mind a couple of links but my stories are so long and have been written up already. This is a great idea, BTW. :-)

The first is about a real miracle that my husband and I witnessed. This is especially important because my husband is not at all the sort to look for miracles. He is a faithful Catholic but always is going to look for the natural explanation first so he makes a terrific witness to this story. It begins like this: Today a single, pink rose sits in a vase in front of our statues of the Holy Family and Mary, next to a small jar that contains dried rose petals. It is our tribute to a miracle that Tom and I experienced....
http://happycatholic.blogspot.com/2004/09/signs-and-wonders.html

The second is my conversion story which begins like this: My parents are atheists so there was no religion in our home. They never tried to prejudice us against religion, they just never talked of it. It was kind of like talking about sex ... it was the unspoken rule that you just didn't mention religion. As issues came up, we were taught to be good people in the morality of popular culture … work hard and do your best, be honest, don’t steal, cheat or lie. We learned that a lot of other issues were all relative. As long as you didn't hurt other people or break the law what you did was your own business. Of course, even though they never talked about it, we all knew that those boring church-goers were weak because they needed a crutch like religion to get by...
http://happycatholic.blogspot.com/2005/01/my-conversion-story.html

Thanks!
Julie D.

Signs, indeed

I wouldn't necessarily call it "miraculous," but it sure was a sign that God hears us and loves us and brings us home to Him...

When my grandmother died, the priest spoke about how colorful she was, like a rainbow. He knew her well, and she really was colorful - funny, spunky, generous to a fault and crazy at times. She brought a lot of life to my family and was loved and adored by her sons and grandchildren, and anyone who knew her. So, the rainbow. That was nice. Good homily. None of us thought that much more about it.

Then, driving in caravan from Texas to Oklahoma to bury her (a 4- or 5-hour ride), all of us spotted the full rainbow crossing the sky overhead. There hadn't been any rain in sight -- it was a clear blue day, if I remember correctly. We all took it as God's promise to us that she was shining her colors with Him in Heaven.

You'd think that would be enough! But when I was married about 7 years later, it was another gorgeous clear-blue-sky day. My whole family came down to Florida for the wedding -- all of Granny's sons (my uncles) were there, which was very important to me -- the only person missing was her, of course. And as my new husband and I emerged from the church, what did we see but a gorgeous rainbow overhead. :) She was with us that day, too.

God is generous

I'll just cut and paste an email that I sent out to friends and family a couple of weeks ago.

I didn't make any promises about post a public thanksgiving for prayers answered, but I thought that you Friends and Family would appreciate hearing about some answered prayers that we have had lately.

At the beginning of the month we realized that we were not going to be able to keep all the financial balls in air for another month. Mr. J's new job is commission only, but in the first several months they pay a draw, which is basically borrowing on future commissions. Our pay will be set at a certain amount until we have it paid off and then we will start to see an increase in income. Well, the draw was set at about 60% of what our last job paid, and our expenses have increased threefold what with a cell phone and gas and oil changes and dry cleaning.

We weren't going to be able to pay all the bills this months, nor the rent next month, let alone buy food, gas or seeds for the garden. Several bills were already overdue, and we've already been turned down for consolidation loans.

Despite this, we knew that this job is where God has led us. Mr. J loves this job, even on days when 50 people hang up on him, and days when people don't show up for appointments. He is successful at this job and he will in the future provide very well for us with this job. But, as my mother says, that is jam tomorrow and we need jam today.

We just need to survive until the draw is paid off, and God willingly, that will be in September.
So, after crying and yelling and gnashing of teeth, we started to do everything we could think of to reduce expenses and come up with every penny possible and asking for help in the few places we could. We canceled the cable, the insurance on the credit cards, magazine subscriptions. We called the credit cards to see if we could get a lower interest rate, but that was a no go. We had already switched to cloth diapers to cut back on the biggest grocery expense.

We asked MIL for help and she sent us grocery money. Praise God.

My parents offered their guest room for Mr. J so that he could spend a week doing business in Arnprior without driving back and forth from Orleans everyday. He didn't make any sales, but there is business there in the future. Praise God.

We asked for rent relief with the Co-op where we live and received a 20% subsidy for three months. Praise God.

I listed every spare piece of furniture, accessory, child and baby equipment and clothing in the classifieds. I've sold only one piece, but that was $30 dollars. That's almost a tank of gas. Praise God.

I've put fliers in mailboxes in the neighbourhood advertising homemade bread and cookies and cinnamon buns. No takers, but I've been baking a lot and making food for next to nothing. Praise God.

We called the family retreat centre that we had planned on attending this summer and asked to back out and get some or all of our payment back. That was the hardest. I can stretch out the food budget, and argue with creditors, sell everything in the house, but we really needed this break. We needed this time to connect as a family, and a couple. And we needed to have some fun. They sent us a refund the next day, and told us come anyway. Praise God.

God is generous continued.

I found a birthday present for the party that Miss R was invited to for $5. Praise God.

I found the perfect present for Miss R for exactly what I wanted to spend on it. Praise God.

We got our Costco rebate in the mail. Praise God.

Mr. J's passport arrived in time for him to go to the training school in Connecticut. Praise God.

Mr. J finished all the training requirements in his probationary period. Praise God. And today **********************************************************************

The bonus that comes with achieving those requirements arrived. PRAISE GOD. THANK YOU ST. JOSEPH. The bonus is a couple of dollars more than one pay period. It isn't much, and certainly not enough to pay the income taxes that we haven't done yet, or any of the credit cards or other debts. But it is enough that we won't bounce any more bill payments. Or the rent. If the car breaks down it won't be a disaster. I can put in a garden and have fresh vegetables all summer long. And we will be able to afford gas to go to the family retreat. This will get us through until August when we hope the draw will be paid off. PRAISE GOD.

God does provide and I have never been more aware of that than in the last couple of weeks.
Peace.

Names changed for anonymity.

UPDATE:
Since I sent out this email several more things have happened. I've sold some home made cards and home made cinnamon buns. One friend has offered to help with financing a consolidations loan. We aren't going to do that right now, but it is still a blessing. Another friend has sent money. And Mr. J gets a $150 training allowance added to each bi-weekly pay.
God is good.