A Promise Given

A Promise Given
"Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise.  In fact his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.  He was absolutely convinced that God was able to do anything he promised."
                                                                                                    Romans 4: 20-21


She had a story and she wanted to tell everyone.   She never forgot it.  She never put it far from her mind.  It had been something she had never experienced before.  It brought tears to her eyes every time she thought about it because it had been so incredulous, so unexpected, so unearthly...and yet so real.

Now, 2 1/2 years later, she realized some people silently scoffed at her story, some thought she was delusional, some dismissed her as irrational, some now avoided her.  But there were others who believed as she did, who had 'goosebumps' upon hearing the details, and were inspired and warmed by her story.

But, no matter what others concluded, she knew she had to share with any who would listen, what she saw and heard that night.

May 26, 2010
She went to bed early that evening.  During the past few weeks that month of May, she had not been her usual energetic self so she thought a good night's sleep would help.

They were at their Canadian lake house and the intriguing sound of loons on the peaceful lake lulled her to sleep.  The comfortable queen size bed in the downstairs guest bedroom of their roomy lakefront retirement home gave her a feeling of luxury.  She knew Dick would soon join her after enjoying the latest baseball game on TV.

It was the middle of the night.  Suddenly, she turned over in bed, half awake.  Something caused her to stir.  What was it?  And then a vision appeared directly in front of her face.  She partially awoke aware of a glorious event happening right before her very eyes.  She saw something wondrous.  A beautiful cushioned throne, glistening in a mass of sparkling golden rays appeared before her astonished face.  The golden rays looked like sunbeams but they were coming from the throne.  They shone with intensity like nothing she had ever seen before.  The golden rays kept moving back and forth creating a visual wonder of gold sparkling intensity.

Someone was sitting on the throne and she somehow knew without a doubt that the person was none other than JESUS!  Her heart leaped.  With breathless anticipation she humbly realized she had a special visit from the Lord Himself.  She did not see His face.  It was blurred.  But there was what looked like a crown on His head shining brightly in sparkling, radiating gold.  Everything was glistening in gold, even the plain colored robe He was wearing.

His hands rested on the arms of the throne and in His left hand He held a sphere--circular, multi-colored and radiating in golden sparkles.  She wondered ....what did the round ball of magnificent colors and golden rays mean?

Then she heard a voice.  He spoke.  A voice of authority, power and love filled her ears.  The voice communicated warmth as He spoke in beautiful, caring tones.  "You will be healed.  BUT in My own time-frame".

She not only heard the words but she saw them, like the news updates scrolling across the bottom of the TV screen.  The word 'but' was emphasized by the power in His voice and appeared in capitol letters.

And then silence.  The vision left.  The night surrounded her again.

Her immediate unspoken response was, "That's nice of you, Lord, but I'm not that sick.  Please help someone who needs you more than me."

Suddenly Dick awoke.  "Janet, who was just talking to you?"
Dick had heard the voice!


Six weeks later she was diagnosed with CNS lymphoma located in the left thalamus of the brain.  On July 8, 2010 the oncologist told her she had a rare, aggressive cancer and she had 7 weeks to live.

But she had continued to live, continued to heal ever so slowly and the MRIs continued to be clear since August of 2010!

That vision had sustained her through 16 months of chemo, the inability to walk and then the slow tedious therapy to remind the nerves to work again, the devastating fatigue, the emotional post-brain trauma depression, the fears, the doubts, the questioning, the struggles.  Yes, that vision had held on to her and she believed in it.

She wondered about it numerous times.  Was that really Jesus or an angel who delivered that message?  She knew from the scripture that whenever anyone was visited by an angel or the Lord they fell face downward in a trance.  She thought of Daniel and Paul and John.  But then she thought of Mary and Joseph.  The angel visited them and they were not totally overcome.  She thought of Isaiah..."In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up and His train filled the temple." (Isaiah 6: 1)  And she thought of Abraham and Sarah entertaining the Lord by the oaks of Mamre with meal cakes and calf meat.  How Sarah had laughed to herself when the Lord told Abraham  she was to have a baby!

Yes the God of scripture had appeared in various ways to His people as He constantly guided them in His plan.  She had thought over the past few years that the vision and voice she witnessed that night had serious implications.  She was just an ordinary woman who had experienced an amazing life of accomplishments because God had given her special gifts and talents.  And she had known for a long time that she had a powerful and definable realization of the presence of God in her life.

Now she had a special serious responsibility.  Whenever she had the opportunity she must tell people about the everlasting, faithful love of God.  She must tell them that Jesus is REAL!, that He is the Savior and He is the hope in our world of pain and suffering.  She knew she would keep telling the story.

Just last week as she walked the 'skywalk' at MaryFreeBed Rehab facility a woman she did not recognize and had never seen before, approached her.  "Aren't you the one who had been told you only had seven weeks to live and that was 2 1/2 years ago?"

She was taken by surprise.  How did this woman know that?  She had never spoken to her before.  She responded with joy, "God did this.  He is wonderful."

That same day the man she saw on the elevator asked her, "Why do you think God has been healing you?"  Without hesitation she told him, "So I can tell others how much He loves them."  He then exclaimed, "That's the way to go, girl!"

Those short simple conversations made her realize she had to keep telling others.  Small exchanges, but powerful and perhaps life changing.