A Testimony of God's Healing
What is it
like to be mostly dead for eight years, then healed by God and alive again? Listen to what God has done…
Hi! Our names are Pat and Chaunte’ Burns. This is as much Chaunte’s story as mine-
she’s been through this with me from the start and never gave up on God. We’ve
been disciples of Jesus Christ for a combined total of 91 years. We’ve been through a lot together and individually,
in those years, but our God has always been there with us.
February 2018. Many of you won’t recognize our names. I was the middle-aged guy sitting half-way
down the left section of the Dome on Sundays, on the aisle. Next to me was my faithful, beautiful wife
Chaunte’. We sat across the aisle and a
little behind from Bob and Eunice, our beloved elders. Still don’t recognize us? Oh, that’s right, you were used to seeing me
wearing a hard collar, a full-length neck brace. I don’t wear it any more. I don’t need it, because God healed me!
In 2006, Chaunte’
and I were living in Susanville, CA. I worked as a Registered Nurse at High
Desert State Prison, a California maximum security facility. I volunteered to work with the prison’s
psychiatric inmates. All went
well at work for three years.
One night
in September 2009 I was attacked by two inmates. My neck was broken and the spinal cord
crushed in four places. An emergency 7 ½
hour surgery was done at Enloe Hospital.
Back in Susanville, Chaunte’ began the 8-year long ministry of helping
me through the changes in our lives. In
2010 the State retired me medically. We
moved back to Chico to be near family and better medical care.
everywhere, even out into the Pacific Ocean. I grew weak and unable to ride in a car for more than 15 minutes at a time, so we gave the boat back to the friend we’d bought it from.
All
gone. In one night Chaunte’ and I lost
my nursing career, my ability to work and earn a living, our beautiful
Susanville home that God gave us (foreclosed on), my friends and colleagues at
work, and finally my physical strength and health went, my ability to do the
most common things of daily living.
Chaunte’ fixed up our spare bedroom as a study, a place for me to
retreat to when the pain became too much for me to be around other people. I thought about Job in the Old Testament, who
lost everything, yet kept his faith in the God who Loves us.
This was a
time of loss, of sadness, of trusting God for our physical and financial
survival. Chaunte’ prayed for God to
heal me; I prayed, others prayed too.
The faithful team members of Neighborhood Church’s “Healing Place”
ministry prayed for us. NCC’s staff
prayed for us, in the church office, in their homes, in the Dome at random
times when they’d see me. I went forward
for prayer countless times after Sunday morning worship. You prayed for God to heal me. You know who you are, and so does our
Father. Thank you for your faithfulness
in praying for us.
Five years
passed. A second neck surgery, this time
at U C Davis Medical Center. Minimal
improvement. Flat on my back 85-90% of
the time and in unbelievable constant pain.
More prayer. “On my bed I think
of You through the watches of the night…
because You are my help.” (Psalm 63: 6, 7a). “Though He slay me, yet will I have Hope in
Him!” (Job 13:15a). And so it went. Days and nights filled with pain, prayer and
trust.
-------------------------
8 years
passed. “Though He slay me, yet will I
Hope in Him”.
--------------------------
On September
2nd 2017 I went to bed at midnight.
As usual, I had stayed up long after Chaunte’ went to sleep, exhausting
myself so I could sleep a few hours before the pain drove me awake. I got up in the morning after an amazing 8
hours of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep.
My first
thought was, I knew God had done something amazing! I was ALIVE again! The constant pain was gone; I had energy,
with a capital E=MC2 !!
Chaunte’ and I praised and thanked God for His mercy to us!
In October 2017, Pastor Andrew asked me to tell you during a Sunday morning worship service what God had done. I told you about God’s miraculous healing and said that Chaunte’ and I would once again sail on San Francisco Bay. Sailing is a vigorous, physically demanding activity, not for the timid or physically under-enabled, especially in the 45-mph winds encountered on the Bay. The very next month, God gave us a beautiful fully self-contained 33’ cruising sailboat. We kept it at Berkeley, right on the Bay, and sailed to Sausalito, San Francisco, everywhere!
Chaunte’ and I praised and thanked God for His mercy to us!
In October 2017, Pastor Andrew asked me to tell you during a Sunday morning worship service what God had done. I told you about God’s miraculous healing and said that Chaunte’ and I would once again sail on San Francisco Bay. Sailing is a vigorous, physically demanding activity, not for the timid or physically under-enabled, especially in the 45-mph winds encountered on the Bay. The very next month, God gave us a beautiful fully self-contained 33’ cruising sailboat. We kept it at Berkeley, right on the Bay, and sailed to Sausalito, San Francisco, everywhere!
You don’t
see much of us these days at NCC- we’re once again sailing our beloved San
Francisco Bay or exploring the many State Parks in and around the Bay Area,
living aboard the boat for days at a time.
Chaunte’ and I hike, take long walks, play with our five grandchildren,
a granddaughter and 4 grandsons! God is
Good, all the time!
After God healed me I promised Him I’d tell
anyone who’d sit still for 2 minutes what He had done for us, how He had healed
me. In the last 15 months dozens of
strangers have heard this story of God’s Mercy and Power. Eventually, this promise led me to witnessing
of God’s Power and Mercy to members of the Berkeley City Council!
-----------------------------------------------
Oh, and the
name of the sailboat God gave us a year ago?
”Malolo” - Hawaiian for “FLYING FISH”.
Once, I couldn’t walk. Now,
because of God, I can fly.
-----------------------------------------------
Are you
sick? In pain? Disabled?
If you read
this and are a Follower of Jesus the Messiah, know that He still heals today. Ask, seek, knock, and Jesus will answer!
Have you
read this and you aren’t a Disciple of Jesus Christ? I challenge you to put yourself in His hands,
to believe in Him, and see His Power and Love at work in you!
---------------------------------------
That hard
collar I wore 24-7 for 8 years? You can
see it on display in ‘The Healing Place” room at Neighborhood Church,
Chico. It is a visible testimony to
God’s Mercy and Love.
Patrick and
Chaunte’ Burns, at Chico, California, December 18, 2018
----------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment