The Betty Baxter
Story
As told by herself
As far back as I can remember I wasn’t normal like other boys and girls. My body
was twisted and crippled and deformed. I guess I will never forget that awful
feeling of no hope. I know how it feels to have the family doctor look in my
face and say, "Betty, there is no hope." Also to be carried from one hospital to
another and see the specialists shake their heads and say, "There is nothing
medical science can do."
I
was born with a curve in my spine. Every vertebra was out of place; the bones
were twisted and matted together. As you know the nerves are centered on the
spine. The x-rays showed that the bones were twisted and matted together;
therefore my nervous system was wrecked.
One
day as I lay in the University hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I began to
shake all over. It was sort of a trembling at first but soon I was shaking
violently from head to toe. I shook out of my bed and fell on the floor. The
doctor rushed in and put me back on the bed. He said, "This is what I have been
expecting. She now has St. Vitus Dance and there is
nothing to do but send her home."
They took wide straps and strapped my body to the bed. It didn’t keep me from
shaking but it did keep me from falling out of bed. They kept me strapped to the
bed day and night, only removing them long enough for my nurse to bathe me. When
the straps were removed my body would be raw and blistered.
I
know what it is to suffer. I lived in pain. The doctors kept me on dope so I
could endure the pain. When I came into the world my heart was not normal and
under the power of dope it grew worse. Eventually I came to have a heart attack
about every week.
At
last my body became so accustomed to the dope that it couldn’t take full effect.
I would bite my lips to keep from screaming while the hypo took effect and then
when the pain would not go I would scream for another injection. Only after two
or three injections could I get any relief from the torturing racking pain.
I
remember the day the doctor took me off dope. He said to mom, "Mrs. Baxter, it
isn’t doing her any good. Her body is accustomed to it." He removed everything
from my bed and said, "Betty, I’m sorry but I can’t keep giving you morphine
injections. That’s all I know to do." I was only nine years old at that time. Oh
how long the nights were as I lay racked with pain. Many times I would twist in
the bed struggling for a little relief and feel myself blacking out. Then for
hours I would lay unconscious.
I
was raised in a Christian home. My parents were not full gospel as I am today,
they were Nazarenes, but they loved Jesus. Mom had taught me ever since I can
remember the story of Jesus. My mother believed the Bible and told me that Jesus
was the same Savior today as He was when He walked the sandy shores of Galilee
and that He still heals today if people will only believe and have faith in Him.
Before I go further into my story I want to say that the greatest miracle that
ever took place in my life was not when Jesus healed my crippled, twisted,
deformed body but when He saved my soul from sin. As long as I had Jesus in my
heart, I could go to heaven even though I was crippled and deformed in my body.
But not if I was not saved by the blood of Jesus.
My
conversion happened when I was only nine years old after hearing our Nazarene
pastor, Brother Davis, tell what he said was the "Greatest Story in the World."
It was the oldest story in the world; yet it is ever new: the story of Jesus.
Beginning at Jesus’ birth in the manger, Brother Davis told the beautiful story,
finally ending with the cross and the Resurrection. He told how with His two
precious hands He touched the blind eyes and they saw; how He touched the deaf
ear and if was unstopped; how He cleansed the leper, how He fed the multitude
with a little boy’s lunch; how His feet carried Him over the hot blistering
sands of Galilee while He preached the gospel to the people; how He walked on
the water and did not sink.
He
told how the people after all this took Jesus and pierced His two precious hands
with nails, and thrust a spear in His side and when they pulled it out, blood
and water gushed out of His side and flowed down His limbs, the Royal blood
spilling on the ground. He said this blood had power to save from sin and heal
our bodies from affliction today.
It
was the best story I had ever heard. He began singing in his beautiful tenor
voice: "Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me;
See at the portals He’s waiting and watching, Watching for you and for me.
Come home, come home, ye who are weary, come home. Earnestly, tenderly
Jesus is calling; calling, O sinner, come
home."
Tears began trickling down my cheeks. I found myself kneeling and asking Jesus
to save me. As I knelt, I saw a vision of my heart and Oh, it was
black. I knew I couldn’t get to heaven with a black heart, full of
sin. Then I saw a vision on a hill far away an old rugged cross. I saw
shaping up above the cross bright, sparkling letters, these words which I
read: “HE DIED FOR YOU” I said "Jesus,
now I know that you did and I want you to save me from my sins."
I
saw before me a big door in the shape of a heart, Jesus walked up to that door
and listened in. There was no knob or latch on the outside. (You must open the
door). Then Jesus knocked once and listened, then the second, and the third time
He knocked the door flew open; Jesus walked in and I knew I was saved. I felt
the great burden of sin roll off of me. Jesus is still in my heart today because
if he had gone out I would have known it.
I
told Brother Davis I was going to be an evangelist. Then he gently put his hand
on my head and prayed a blessing over me. Later he told my parents: "Don’t ever
let this girl get away from the call of God. I have never seen a child her age
have such an experience with the Lord as she has."
But
the hand of affliction began to cut my life short. The only relief I got was
through my mother’s prayers. My daddy did not have the faith in Jesus to heal my
body as Mom did but he was a good dad to me and never hindered Mom from praying
for me.
My
mother loved Jesus with a great love. I believe she understood Jesus better than
anyone I ever knew. She seemed to know how to make my faith in Him for Him to
heal me someday.
My
darkest hour came while they were wheeling me down the hospital corridor on a
stretcher. The doctor walked up, stopped the stretcher, looked down at me and
said, "Betty, we have x-rayed your spine. Every vertebra is out of place; the
bones are twisted and matted together. Also you need a new kidney; as long as
the old kidney remains you will have pain."
Dad
said, "No, I am going to do everything in my power to make my child well again
but never shall a knife tough my child." I have never had an operation except
the one when Jesus did the operating and He doesn’t leave any scars. How
wonderful it is when Jesus does something for us; it is always perfect and never
leaves any bad effects.
"Well, Mr. Baxter," the doctor said, "we can never hope to untangle that mass of
bones in Betty’s body. Take her home and let her be as happy as possible."
I
was eleven years old at that time and had no idea that the doctor was sending me
home to die. I looked at him, "Yes, Doctor, but someday God will heal my body. I
will be well and strong then."
I
had faith then for Mom had read God’s Word to me and talked to me about Jesus so
that my faith was strong. One of Mom’s favorite scriptures in those days was,
"If thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeth." Also,
"Nothing is impossible with God."
They took me home where the doctor said I would soon die. I grew worse. The pain
I had suffered before was nothing compared to what I began to feel after I
returned home.
I
would go blind and for weeks could not see; I would become deaf and could not
hear; dumb and could not speak. My tongue would swell and then would be
paralyzed.
Then the blindness would leave, also the deafness and paralysis of the tongue.
It seemed I was caught; some awful power was trying to destroy me. But each day
Mom would pray with me and tell me God was able to heal my body.
I
can’t count the many times that for day after day I saw no one but Dad, Mom and
the doctor. As I lay there during those years of loneliness, isolated from the
world, I found out one thing: doctors can isolate you from your loved ones, they
can take friends from your bedside but they can’t isolate you from Jesus because
He promised, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
So
it was during those years of loneliness that I got acquainted with the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords. Many people have said, "Betty, why didn’t God heal you
when you were a little child and had such great faith?"
I
don’t know. God’s ways are not my ways. God’s ways are best. There is one thing
I do know-during those awful years of loneliness and pain I really got to know
Jesus. He lives in the Valley, my friend. He is the Lily of the Valley and you
will find Him there if you look for Him. Standing in the shadows you will see
Jesus.
Mom
would bathe me in the mornings and then she would leave me. Sometimes I would
hear a soft walk by my bedside and would wonder if Mom had come in the room
while I was not listening. Then I would hear a soft voice that I learned to
know. It was not Dad’s voice. It was not Mom’s voice. It was not my doctor’s
voice. It was Jesus speaking to me.
The
first time this happened He called me by my first name three times, very softly.
He knows your name and where you live.
"Betty!" "Betty!" "Betty!"
He
called me three times before I answered. I said, "Yes, Lord, stay and talk with
me for a little while because I am so lonesome."
Would He stay and talk with me? Yes, He would. He said a lot of things but one
thing I will never forget. I believe the reason He always told me this was
because He knew it thrilled me most. This is what He always said: "Betty, I love
you!" Jesus would look down upon me in my pitiful condition so crippled and
deformed that when my daddy would stand me up I stood only as high as my little
four year old brother. Large knots had grown on my spine, the first one at the
base of my neck, then one right after the other to the base of my spine. My arms
were paralyzed from my shoulders to my wrists. I could only move my fingers. My
head was twisted and turned down on my chest. When I drank water I had to drink
from a tube because I couldn’t raise my head. Yet in this condition Jesus
whispered that He loved me. I said, "Jesus, help me to be patient because I can
do anything as long as I know you love me!" Many times He whispered, "Remember
child, I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Listen friend, I am confident that He loved me just as much when I was crippled,
forgotten by all the world, as He does right now when I am well and strong and
able to work for Him.
I
remember as Jesus stood by my bedside I would ask Him, "Jesus, do you know the
doctors won’t give me any morphine for my pain? I wonder if you know how sharp
that pain is in my back where the knots are."
And
Jesus would say, "Oh, yes, I know. Don’t you remember? One day when I hung
between heaven and earth I took the pain and sickness of the whole world upon me
there."
As
the years went by I gave up all hope of ever being made well by a doctor.
Finally my dad came in and took my crippled body in his arms and sat on the edge
of his bed. He looked at me with big tears splashing down his rugged face. He
said, "Honey, you don’t know, you don’t have the least idea what money is but I
have given up everything, I have spent all I have and more too in order to get
you well. Betty, your daddy has gone as far as he can go. There isn’t any hope
anymore."
He
took out his handkerchief and wiped his face dry. Then looking at me he said, "I
don’t believe Jesus will let you suffer much longer. He going to take you to
that place called heaven and when you get inside stand there and watch everyone
that enters. Someday you will see daddy coming through those gates. It won’t be
long. The doctors say it will be soon."
I
want to say right here that although I had given up hope as far as man’s help is
concerned, I still had faith in God.
One
day just before the sun went down I was struck with such unbearable pain that I
lapsed into unconsciousness. Three hours later, my mother noticed my breathing
was too slow and I scarcely had any pulse. She called the doctor. After an
examination, he said, "This is the end. She will never regain consciousness." I
lay unconscious for four days and nights. The family was called in and they took
up the death-watch.
The
fifth morning I remember opening my eyes. Mom leaned over the bed and put her
cool hand on my burning forehead. I felt as if I was burning up inside.
Knife-like pains were shooting through my spine. Mother said, "Betty, it’s
Mother, don’t you know me?" I couldn’t speak but smiled at her. She raised her
hands toward heaven and began praising God for she felt God had answered her
prayers and given me back to her.
As
I lay there looking at her, I thought, "Which would I rather do - stay here with
my mother and daddy or go to that place mother has read to me about, a place
where there is no pain."
I
remember mom used to say, Betty, there are no cripples in heaven. Everybody can
walk in heaven." She said that in heaven there was no sickness or death and that
God took His big handkerchief and wiped away all tears from the eyes.
I
prayed a prayer that day that I suppose many other people have prayed. "Jesus, I
know that I am saved and am ready to go to heaven. Now Lord all these years I
have prayed to be healed but I have been denied. Lord I have reached the end of
the way and I’m not particular what you do. Please come and take me to that
place called heaven." As I prayed a thick darkness settled over me. I felt
coldness creeping through my body. In a moment’s time, it seemed, I was cold all
over and completely surrounded by darkness. As a child I had always been afraid
of the dark so I began crying, "Where am I? What is this place? Where is my
daddy? I want my daddy."
But, my friend, there’s a time when daddy can’t go with you. There’s a time when
mother can’t go with you. They can stand and see you draw your last breath but
it takes Jesus to go the way of death with you.
As
the darkness settled about me, I saw through the darkness a long, dark, narrow
valley. I went inside this valley. I began to scream. "Where am I? What is this
place?" and from a distance I recognized my mother’s voice speaking slowly, "Yea
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for
thou art with me."
I
remember saying, "this must be the valley of death. I prayed to die and I guess
to get to Jesus I will have to walk it," and I started through this dark place.
Friend, as sure as you live, every single one of you is going to die and when
death comes upon you, you hill have to walk through this valley. I am confident
that if you don’t have Jesus, you will walk it in the darkness alone.
I
had barely got inside when the place lit up with the light of day. I felt
something strong and firm take hold of my hand. I didn’t need to look. I knew it
was the strong and nail-scarred hand of the Son of God who had saved my soul. He
took my hand and held it tightly and I went on through the valley. I wasn’t
afraid anymore. I was happy for now I was going home. My mother had said in
heaven I would have a new body, one that would be straight instead of bent and
twisted and crippled.
At
last we heard music in the distance, the most beautiful music I ever heard. We
quickened our steps. We came to a wide river separating us from that beautiful
land. I looked on the other side and saw green grass, flowers of every color,
beautiful flowers that would never die. I saw the river of life winding its way
through the city of I
was anxious to get across. I knew I wouldn’t have to cross it alone for Jesus
would be with me. But at that very moment I heard the voice of Jesus and I stood
at attention as I do when I hear the Master’s voice. Very softly and with great
kindness Jesus said, "No, Betty, it’s not your time to cross yet. Go back and
fulfill the call I gave you when you were nine years old. Go back for you are
going to have healing in the fall."
As
I stood and listened to the words of Jesus, I must confess I was disappointed. I
remember I said, as tears rolled down my face, "When I’m so close to happiness
and health why must Jesus deny me. I’ve never known a well day in my life, now
when I’m so close to heaven, why can’t I go on in?"
Then I thought, "Oh, what am I saying?"
Turning to Jesus I said, "Lord, I’m sorry. Your way is better than my way. I’ll
go back."
I
slowly regained consciousness. Then the doctor said I would not last through the
summer months. For weeks after that I could not speak. The knots grew larger. I
would hear Mom say, "Dad, look, the knots are so hard and they are getting
larger. She must be suffering."
I
couldn’t tell her just how I was suffering because the words would not come.
Listen, I know what it is to be in such pain that I would bite my lips to keep
from screaming with pain so that my mother could get some sleep.
Early summer came. Everyone in Martin County, Minnesota, knew the little Baxter
girl was dying. Saints and sinners alike came to my bedside but most of the time
I was unconscious. When I was conscious they would pat me on the shoulder, say a
kind word, and pass on.
But
during my moments of consciousness, I never gave up hope. I couldn’t speak out
loud but in my heart I said, "Lord, as soon as fall comes I’ll have healing,
won’t I Jesus?" I never doubted because Jesus never breaks a promise. Jesus is a
man of His word. I kept believing He was going to heal
me in the fall.
That summer on the 14th day of August my speech returned. I hadn’t spoken for
weeks and I said, "Mom, what day is today?"
She
said, "The 14th day of August."
My
daddy came in at noon. I said, "Daddy, where’s the big chair? Please put the
pillows in it and set me in the big chair." The only way I could sit in the
chair was with my head resting on my knees and my arms hanging down at my sides.
I said, "Daddy, when you go out close the door. Tell Mom not to come in for
awhile, I want to be alone." I heard my daddy sob as he left the room and he
didn’t ask any questions. He knew why I wanted to be alone. I had an appointment
with the King.
My
friend, I want to tell you that you can have an appointment with Jesus at any
time you want to talk with Him. Any hour of the day or night, He is ready to
talk to you.
I
heard Dad click the door. I began to cry and sob. I didn’t know how to pray. All
I knew to do was merely talk to Jesus but it got the job done. I said, “Lord,
you remember months ago I almost got to heaven and you wouldn’t let me in.
Jesus, you promised if I would go back that you would have healing for me in the
fall. I asked Mom this morning what day it was and she said the 14th day of
August. Jesus, I guess you don’t count this fall yet because it’s still awful
hot but Lord I wonder if just for this one year you could call this fall and
come and heal me? The pain is so bad, Jesus, I have gone as far as I can go. I
can’t stand the pain any longer. I wonder Lord if you will call this fall and
come and heal me?”
I
listened. Heaven was quiet. But I didn’t give up. I pray differently than some
people, I guess. If I don’t hear from heaven, I pray until Jesus answers. I
listened a while longer. When there was no answer, I began to cry again. I said,
“Lord, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll make a bargain. Now Jesus, listen to me.
I’m going to bargain with you. Jesus if you will only heal me and make me
well inside and outside I’ll go out and preach every night until I’m ninety
years old if you want me to.”
Listen, God knew I was sincere. I prayed again, “Lord, I’ll do more than that.
If you will heal me so I can walk and use my arms and be strong and normal I’ll
give you my whole life. It will no longer belong to Betty Baxter - it will be
yours and yours alone.”
I
listened after I made these vows. This time I was rewarded. I heard the voice of
Jesus speaking audibly to me. He spoke these words: “I am going to heal you
completely August 24th, Sunday afternoon at 3:00 o’clock.”
A
thrill of hope and expectancy swept through my entire body and soul. God told me
the day and the hour. He knows everything, doesn’t He?
The
first thought that came to me was “Won’t Mom be glad
when I tell her. Just think how happy she will be when I tell her. Just think
how happy she will be when I tell her I know the day and the hour.” Then Jesus
spoke again and said to me, “Now, don’t tell this until my time comes.”
I
thought, “I’ve never kept anything from my mother. How will I keep this from
her?”
Before I got healed I walked softly before the Lord for fear I would do
something that would displease Him. I was afraid to tell my mother I knew the
day and the hour.
After Jesus told me this I felt like a new person. I didn’t mind the sharp pains
any more or the violent throbbing of my enlarged heart. The 24th day of August
would soon come and I would have relief. I heard the door open and Mom walked
in. She knelt down on the rug and looked up in my face. I wanted to tell her
what Jesus had told me. The hardest thing I ever did was to keep from telling
her.
I
looked at Mom. I thought, “Something has happened to Mom, She looks so pretty
and young today.” Then I thought the reason she looked so different was that I
knew the secret about my healing next Sunday. I looked at her again and I was
convinced more than ever that something had happened to her. Her eyes had never
shone like that before. Then all at once she leaned over me, pushed the hair
back from my forehead and said, “Honey do you know when the Lord is going to
heal you?” Oh, I knew but I wasn’t supposed to tell. I couldn’t say “No,” for I
would not be telling the truth. So I said, “When?”
Mom
smiled and said, “August 24th, Sunday afternoon at 3:00 o’clock.”
I
said, “Mom, how did you know? Did I let it slip and tell you?”
She
said, “No, the same God that talks to you talks to me.”
When my mother said that I was doubly sure God would heal my body the 24th day
of August and make me well. I said, “Mom, am I getting
straighter? Are the knots going away?” She looked at me and said, “No, Betty,
you are getting more bent every day and the knots are growing larger.”
I
said, “Mom, do you still believe God will heal me the 24th day of August?”
She
said, “Sure I do. All things are possible if we only believe.”
Many people have asked how my mother knew the day I would be healed. While the
Lord was talking to me the rest of the family was in the dining room eating. My
mother had taken a fork full of food and as she was about to put it into her
mouth it dropped back on the plate with a clatter. Then she heard the inner
voice of God speak and say, “I have heard your prayers and I am going to reward
you for your faithfulness. I am going to heal Betty, August 24th Sunday
afternoon at 3 o’clock, and she knows the same thing, as I have already told
her.” So when Mom came in the room she already know that the Lord had told me
the day and hour that I would be healed.
I said, “Mom,
listen to me. I haven’t had a dress on or shoes on my feet since I was a little
girl. I have worn these night clothes all these years. Mom, when Jesus heals me
Sunday afternoon I’m going to church Sunday night. The stores are closed on
Sunday. Mom, if you really believe Jesus is going to heal me, will you go to
Fairmont this afternoon and get me some new clothes? Will you, Mom?”
My
mother showed her faith by her works. “Sure, I will go into town today and get
you some clothes so you can wear them Sunday night,” she said.
As
she was driving away, Dad stopped her. “Where are you going?” “I’m going
to town,” she said. “What for?” he asked. “Well, I am going to get a
new dress and shoes for Betty,” she said. “Now, Mother, you know we won’t
have to buy her a new dress until we lay her away and let’s not think about it
until we have to,” Dad said. “Oh, no, she has had word from Jesus that He
is going to heal her Sunday afternoon, the 24th and I’ve had word too. I’m going
to Fairmont to get some new clothes for her.”
My
mother brought them home and showed them to me. I thought the dress was the most
beautiful I had ever seen. The shoes were patent leather and they were pretty.
Packed among my treasures, in the bottom of an old chest, in my mother’s home up
in Iowa there lies that old blue dress right now.
After my healing I wore it until I got a hole in it where I had rubbed against
the pulpit when I preached. I said, “Mom, don’t you think I’ll look pretty
when I get straight and can put on this dress and these shoes?”
When people came to see me I would say, “Mom, get my dress and shoes out and let
my friends see them.” They looked at me, then at the dress and shoes, then at my
mother. I knew they thought strange of me but I knew exactly what was going to
happen the 24th day of August.
Yes, there are lots of people who stand by and say, “If I could only see a
miracle I would believe.” But if you don’t believe it before you see you will
find some excuse after it happens. I told a neighbor of ours who was not a Christian, that if he wanted to see me
tall and straight, to be at our house Sunday afternoon at 3:00 o’clock because
Jesus is going to come and heal me. he looked at me and
said, “Listen, I want to tell you if the day comes when I see you straight I’ll
not only become a Christian but I’ll be Pentecostal.” Today he is still unsaved.
Saturday the 23rd of August came. My mother always slept in a bed in my room so
as to be near me. That night when she got me all settled I fell asleep. Sometime
in the night I awakened. The moon was shining through the window across the foot
of my bed. I heard somebody mumbling and I wondered if Daddy was in my room
talking to my mother. Then I saw a form on bended knees with arms raised in the
moonlight. It was Mom and tears were streaming down her face. She was praying
“Lord Jesus, I’ve tried to be a good mother to Betty. I’ve tried hard to teach
her about you. Now Jesus, I’ve never been away from her but when you heal her
I’m going to let her go anywhere you want her to go, even across the stormy sea,
because you are going to do for her tomorrow what no one else could ever do.
She’s Yours, Jesus. Tomorrow is the day. You will set her free, won’t You
Jesus?”
I
dropped off to sleep again. I couldn’t stay up to pray but Mom took my place. It
is because of her faith that I believe in God today, that I have healing for my
body.
Sunday morning came. Daddy took my brothers and sisters to Sunday School. They said he requested prayer for me with a broken
heart, telling the people that I was much worse and was going to die if God
didn’t undertake.
I
asked my pastor to be present that day at 3:00 o’clock but he said that he had
an appointment to try out for a church in Chicago and that was the only time he
could go but for us to wire him if I got my healing.
My
mother invited a few friends in, saying, “Be sure and get here about 2:30
because 3:00 o’clock is the hour.
They came at 2:00 o’clock. They said, “Mrs. Baxter, we are early but we know
something is going to happen and we don’t want to miss it.” That is the
atmosphere they had around me when I was healed. At 15 minutes of three my
mother came to my bedside. I said, “Mom, what time is it?” She said, “Just
15 minutes before Jesus is coming to heal you.”
I
said, “Mom, take me in and place me in the big chair.” She carried me in and set
my twisted body in the chair and propped me up with pillows. I saw the people as
they knelt on the floor around my chair. I saw my baby brother, four years old,
and I realized I was so bent that I stood only as high as he did. He knelt down
by me, looked up and said, “Sis, it’s not very long now until you will be taller
than me.”
At
10 minutes of three my mother asked me what I wanted them to do. I said, “Mom,
start praying, I want to be praying when Jesus comes.” I heard her sobbing and
praying for Jesus to keep His promise and come and heal my body.
I didn’t lose
consciousness but I became lost in the Spirit of God. I saw before me two rows
of trees, standing tall and straight. As I watched, I saw one of them in the
center begin to bend until the tip of it touched the ground. I wondered why this
one tree was all bent over. Then down the road I saw Jesus. He came walking
through the trees and my heart thrilled as it always does when I see Jesus. He
came and stood by the bent tree. He stood and looked at it a moment and I
wondered what He would do. Then looking at me he smiled and placed His hand on
the bent tree. With a loud crack and pop it straightened up like the other. I
said, “That’s me al right. he will touch my body and
the bones will crack and pop and I will stand up straight and be well.”
Suddenly I heard a great noise as if a storm was coming up. I heard the wind as
it roared. I tried to speak above the noise. “He’s coming. Don’t you hear Him?
He has come at last.” Then all at once the noise subsided. All was calm and
quiet and I knew in this quietness Jesus would come. I sat in the big chair, a
hopeless cripple. I was so hungry to see Him. All at once I saw a great white
fleecy cloud form. It wasn’t the cloud I was waiting for. Then out of the cloud
stepped Jesus. It wasn’t a vision, it wasn’t a dream. I saw Jesus. As He came
walking slowly toward me I looked on His face. The most striking thing about
Jesus is His eyes. He was tall and broad and was dressing in robes glistening
white. His hair was brown and parted in the middle. It fell over His shoulders
in soft waves. I will never forget His eyes. Many times when my body is worn and
I’m asked to do something for Jesus I would like to say no. When I remember his
eyes they compel me to go out into the harvest fields to win more souls.
Jesus came slowly toward me with His arms outstretched toward me. I noticed the
ugly prints of the nails in His hands. The closer He got to me the better I
felt. When He came real close I began to feel very small and unworthy. I wasn’t
anything but a little forgotten girl who was deformed and crippled. Then all at
once He smiled at me and I wasn’t afraid anymore. He was my Jesus. His eyes held
mine and if I ever looked into eyes filled with beauty and compassion, they were
the eyes of Jesus. There aren’t many people I’ve seen who have eyes like Jesus.
When I see one who has that love and compassion in their eyes I wish I could
just stay close to them. That is the way I feel about Jesus; I want to live as
close to Him as I can.
Jesus came and stood at the side of my chair. One part of His garment was loose
and it fell inside my chair and if my arms had not been paralyzed I could have
touched His garment. I had thought when He came to heal me I would start talking
to Him and ask Him to heal me. but I couldn’t say a
word. I just looked at Him and kept my eyes on His dear face trying to tell Him
how much I needed Him. He leaned down and looked up in my face and spoke softly.
I can hear every word right now because it is written in my heart. He said very
softly, “Betty, you have been patient, kind and loving.” As He spoke these
words I thought I could suffer 15 more years if I could see Jesus and hear Him
speak to me again. He said, “I am going to promise you health, joy and
happiness.” I saw Him reach out His hand and I waited. Then I felt his hand go
over the knots on my spine. People say, “Don’t you ever get tired of telling of
your healing?” No, because every time I tell it I can feel His hand again.
He
placed His hand on the very center of my spine on one of the large knots. All at
once a hot feeling as hot as fire surged through my body. Two hot hands took my
heart and squeezed it and when those hot hands let my heart go, I could breathe
normal for the first time in my life. Two hot hands rubbed over the organs of my
stomach and I knew my organic trouble was healed, I would not need a new kidney
and I would be able to digest my food because He had healed me. The hot feeling
ran on through my body. Then I looked at Jesus to see if He would leave me just
healed inside. Jesus smiled and I felt the pressure of His hands on the knots
and as His hands pressed in the middle of my spine there was a tingling
sensation like I had touched a live wire. I felt this sensation like an
electrical current and stood on my feet just as straight as I am on this
platform speaking to you tonight. I was healed inside and outside. In 10 seconds
Jesus had healed me and made me every whit whole. He did for me in a few moments
what the doctors on this earth could not do. The Great Physician did it and He
did it perfectly.
You
say, “Betty, how did you feel when you jumped out of the chair?” You’ll never
know unless you once were a hopeless cripple. You’ll never know unless you sat
in a chair with no hope. I ran to my mother and said, “Mom, feel, are the knots
gone?”
She
felt up and down my spine and said, “Yes, they are gone!” I heard the bones
crack and pop. Betty, you’re healed! You’re healed! Praise Him for it!”
I
turned around and looked back at the chair that was empty and tears rolled down
my cheeks. My body felt light all over because I didn’t have any pain and I had
always had pain.
I
felt tall because I had been bent almost double with my head on my chest, the
knots were gone and my spine was straight. I raised my arms and pinched one of
them. My arms had feeling. They weren’t paralyzed anymore.
Then I looked and saw my baby brother standing in front of the chair. Big tears
were rolling down his little cheeks. Looking up at me I heard him say, “I saw
Sis jump out of the big chair. I saw Jesus heal Sis.” He was really thrilled. I
picked up the chair, raised it above my head and said, “See what the God I serve
can do!”
Standing right behind my baby brother Jesus still stood. He looked at me from
the soles of my feet to the top of my head. I was straight and normal. Holding
my eyes with His, He began to speak slowly and going to tell you what He said.
“Betty, I am giving you the desire of your heart to be healed. You are normal
and well. You have health now. You are completely well because I healed you.”
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The Pathfinder
Elwin & Margit Roach
PO Box
4004
Alamogordo, NM 88311-4004