Today is the anniversary of
a very important day in my life,
personally.
I don’t know about you, but rarely do I
know what the date is
or at least, rarely do I pay attention to it.
However, each January,
for the last 8 years I have
watched the calendar in anticipation of the
10th coming –
it is such an exciting day for me –
{and tonight my sweet pile and I will
be woot-wooting and celebrating together…}
it is such an exciting day for me –
{and tonight my sweet pile and I will
be woot-wooting and celebrating together…}
I have Multiple Sclerosis.
It showed up when I was in my late 20’s
and then I was officially diagnosed in 1991.
It started out slowly, but after about
10 years it got much more aggressive and soon
I was having exacerbation after exacerbation
on a regular basis.
Before long I needed a cane to walk.
And often, with my cane for balance and
support on my right side, family and close friends
would allow me to use their arm for support
on my left side.
I had exacerbations that
affected my hearing, my speech
{slurring for weeks like I was drunk},
my vision, my balance
{I would fall into walls regularly}
and so on.
My cane looked like this one….
beautiful and flowery…
I figured if I had to use one it was gonna’ be feminine,
extra special & fun!
Then in about 2001, I had an major exacerbation that
left my right arm and hand trembling and shaking
24/7 –
permanently!
It was embarrassing
as it shook boldly all the time.
So from 2001 on, there was not a moments
reprieve from the trembling, twitching and
shaking of my right arm/hand.
As the MS continued to affect my life
we built a handicapped accessible home
to accommodate, Charlie, my wheelchair.
THEN on January 10, 2006,
Dw and I were on a four way call with treasured
friends of ours, Dan and Lavonne.
We were asking the Lord to move in the
supernatural in a huge way about something
from 40+ years before
{which had nothing directly to do with MS}.
{which had nothing directly to do with MS}.
When we finished praying we hung up and
I walked out to the kitchen.
As I was walking over toward the island
where Graham was sitting I felt
like the Lord whisper,
“Look down at your arm/hand.”
I looked and there my right hand and arm,
that had only seconds before shook uncontrollably
for the last 5 years,
was now completely and perfectly still.
I started to
squeal and turned to Graham,
“LOOK GRAHAM! LOOK!”
He looked down and there both hands of mine
were positioned
next to each other and both were
absolutely and perfectly still.
absolutely and perfectly still.
Graham {who was 11 at the time}
started yippeeing along
with me and everyone came running….
And yes, my hand and arm that had trembled
and shook for FIVE years was now
perfectly still!!!!
We called our grown kids and friends
around the country – it was a true miracle!!
I felt like the man with the withered hand
that is mentioned in scripture.
For months, many, many, many times a day
I would stop and just stare at my hand/arm.
I can’t imagine that man with the withered hand
did any different – stopping and staring
and remembering and rejoicing!
The following Sunday we told the
church we pastored
during both services and the people
stood and cheered.
God had moved in a mighty way –
and we hadn’t even been praying
for the MS to be healed.
When I showed my neurologist my right hand
and arm – he literally jumped up and hugged me
and with utter delight said,
“Linn, it must be God –
Multiple Sclerosis does NOT go away!
I bet God is going to completely heal you.”
Those words from a man who has said he
does NOT believe in God!!
Then a few months later….
even though I had used my cane for many years,
after the instant healing of my hand/arm
I began to notice that
I began to notice that
my legs began to feel stronger.
They were actually feeling really strong!!
I was wondering what was going on.
Could the words of my neurologist been prophetic?
Within four months even people at church began
commenting that it looked like I hardly
needed my cane.
needed my cane.
By mid-July of 2006, I felt like I should
take the courageous plunge and try a day
without my cane.
The rest is history and I have never,
ever used my cane again.
I call my arm/hand healing
“my microwave healing”…
done in an instant!!
I call my legs healing “my crock pot healing” –
slow and steady. There are occasional days yet
when I know that my legs are still not 100% healed….
and if times get really stressful they still
can go a teeny-bit “funky-chicken” like.
BUT I still have never used my cane since
that day in July of 2006.
“For what you have done I
will always praise you in the presence
of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
for your name is good.”
Psalm 52:9
Rejoice with us!!
The symbol in our Memorial Box is a rock…
as rocks are steady and solid….and I often sign
emails to Dan and Lavonne who prayed with us:
Your Steady Friend,
Praise The Lord! So amazing awesome testimony! I laughed when you said you call your arm/hand healing your microwave healing and your legs your crock pot healing 😀 God is so good!
Praise GOD!!! What an amazing testimony of the goodness and power of our Father!!!! Could you send up a prayer with me for my friend Carlyn to be healed of MS? She falls all the time and it really affects her quality of life. I know you can pray with true compassion!!! Thank you so much for sharing your life with us!
Oh Prasie be to God in heaven. What a wonderful time in your life. What a wonderful testamony to all who hear. Our God is an awesome God who hears and heals. Glory to His wonderful name!
Whoohoo!! 10 years – Worthy of a HUGE celebration!! Thank you Jesus for the microwave and crockpot healing for Linny!! You knew she would need her hands and arms to wrap around all the treasures you were sending her way! You LORD are Worthy of all the PRAISE!!
hi linny– i've only commented a few times but have been encouraged so many times as i read your blog. i have read your story of healing before and rejoice with you. however, it has always left me with a question that i wonder if you would feel ok about addressing on your blog sometime. i, too, struggle with chronic illness and have found great encouragement when reading stories of those, like joni eareckson tada, who live abundant and joy-filled lives in the midst of disability or chronic illness. i have always wondered if you'd be willing to share what it was like for you in the days when the illness was very debilitating for you. how did God meet you there and give you the strength or help you needed to continue to serve your family, homeschool, and adopt more children? one thing i love about your perspective on life is how you face challenging things with a spirit of gratitude and surrender to our Lord (addressing medical needs for your children; how you handle nights with little sleep, etc.). these things have been a real source of inspiration for me and your example has brought me to a greater level of surrender, freedom and joy since i've been following your blog. then, when i went through a rough bout with chronic pain/illness last year, i thought of you and really wanted to hear more of your story as i suspect it would be an encouragement not only to me but others as well. how did you handle the hard days? how did you learn to ask for/ accept help? how did you handle practical things like homeschool etc. on rough days? in what ways did you grow closer to jesus because of your suffering? anyway, i know this is long but would love to hear more of your story pre-healing 🙂 blessings, haley in florida
I remember you sharing this testimony at church in Durango shortly after Ryan and I started attending. I remember being blown away by the enormity of it all. Recently I have been working as a caregiver for home bound patients. I have worked often with a lady who had advanced MS. I have often thought of you and your amazing story as I care for her. I never really knew much about MS or how awful it is in the latter stages. I am so thankful for Gods miracle to you and your family! Miss you all a bunch. Sommer Randol
I am praising God for your miracle of healing!
I was just talking to a friend yesterday about how hard life has been for my family lately- and she said "I wish things could be different!" My response was that I don't, because God works in everything, but the only thing I wish was my Mom wasn't sick. She has MS and cancer and several syndromes that all interplay and make things pretty miserable at times. I'm the one out of all my siblings that stays home to help her- and it is hard. Thank you for posting this because it gives me hope. Even if, for her, it doesn't get better till Heaven, it will. And it reminds me to pray more intentionally for her. Thank you, and rejoicing with you!
I don't comment often (in fact, this might be my first one) but I just wanted to say – that's awesome!
Having a rough couple of weeks with my own chronic issues, this gives me hope. Thank you for sharing – and for inviting us to join the celebration with you. 🙂
~Ruth
So thankful the Lord has blessed you for you and your family have been such a blessing to me. Miss you guys!
BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!! That makes me so excited on the inside I could just jump for joy!!!!!! Praise our ever faithful Father!!!!!!!! Bless you God! Thank you Jesus for not only dying for our salvation but also for our healing!!!!!! Amen!!!!!!
How wonderful!! God does answer our prayers by going above and beyond what we ask or think! (Ephesians3:20) It's just so Him. 🙂 I'm so blessed by your blog and your praise report that you have been celebrating. Thanks for sharing it!! 🙂
What an extraordinary story you have! And I love your quote from psalms…
And this is going to sound really weird…but I was out for a walk TODAY and you popped into my mind. Before long I was having an imaginary conversation with you in my head (something that often happens when I think of people, I told you I was weird 🙂 ) and in my head I heard myself saying, "Am I right in thinking you used to have MS?" – because I vaguely remembered something you posted a while ago. Then I log on after Shabbat is over and see this….
Such a wonderful post! Thank you for sharing and lifting my day:)