Thou Shalt Hear!

A day before I left for Haiti, I began to deal with some sinus stuff…really no big deal. I get it regularly, work through it and it goes away. But after arriving in Haiti, it started acting a bit differently. My ears clogged up, and I starting losing some of my hearing. I didn’t let this interfere with my joy or what God had planned for me. It truly was nothing more than a little annoyance.

As the days wore on, my hearing lessened. I could barely hear myself talk, but was feeling fine. The night at the hotel after leaving the island, it seemed to blow out in full force. I simply struggled to hear normal decibels. But I was so thankful the worst hit as I was retuning home. And then it got even worse.

Massive fluid built up behind both ear drums due to the change in pressure on all my flights, particularly the little 4-seater private plane that took me off the island. This rendered me essentially deaf. So I struggled. I prayed and was determined to let it run its course, but my doctor thought tubes were probably in order. I had made it 45 years without major ear problems or the need for tubes and didn’t want to do that now. But no improvement was happening.

Finally, after reaching my limit this Tuesday night, God brought a scripture to mind. I was reminded of the night Jesus was betrayed and how one of his disciples cut off the ear of the high priest. Jesus reached out, touched his ear and he was healed. I thought, “Yes, it states clearly in the Bible that God heals ears.” So I believed He would heal mine. As a matter of fact, I was completely convinced. That night I prayed fervently for a miracle and slept with my Bible under my pillow, so God’s Word could seep into my inner ear.

Guess what? I awakened the next morning feeling worse than ever. It felt like something had exploded in my head overnight. But I was still convinced today was my day for healing. I went to a specialist later in the morning and he and I agreed NOT to cut my ear drums. I planned to wait it out. After leaving his office, I drove less than a half mile and my right ear popped. I had to actually turn down the radio…I was so excited. I immediately praised God for His healing. Shortly after that, my left ear was itching to do the same. I went from feeling at my worse to being miraculously healed.

As soon as that happened, I knew why I felt so bad first thing in the morning. It was a test of my faith. Was I going to continue to trust God? Did I still have faith in Him even when things got really bad or was I going to take matters into my own hands? I kept the faith, and He showed up. That’s what always happens when I stay fixed on Him.

So I pick Zach up from school later in the day. I tell him my right ear popped and I can hear again, but before I could tell him the story behind it, he said, “Wait...let me guess. God healed you.” I said, “Yes, He did. Let me tell you the story.” So I did. When I was all finished he looked at me and said, “Mom, that sounds like a Hallmark movie.”

I am thankful for my Savior more than ever. I’m thankful He heals me, cares for me and guides me in all that I do. But I’m most thankful that He shows up every single day of my life!

Matthew 11:15—“He who has ears, let him hear.”