A Great Miracle
Betty Baxter
Introduction
The life
story of Betty Baxter, which you will read here, is one of the most
powerful miracles ever heard of. It is a drama of deliverance in our
time that stands on a par with the greatest miracles in the Bible.
That a young girl, hopelessly crippled and deformed, like the woman
whom Jesus healed in Luke 13:10-13, could have faith that Jesus would
heal her is a challenge to every person who has ever felt the
terrible helplessness that follows long-term illness.
Jesus
appeared to Betty, spoke to her, placed His scarred hands on her
twisted spine, and in an instant He stretched her body out and made
her perfectly well. It is a true story that took place in Fairmont,
Minnesota in 1941. The Fairmont Daily Sentinel reported her healing
in large front-page headlines. Shortly after her healing, 1,000
people gathered in the college auditorium to see and hear her tell
her story.
Betty, now married and the mother of a beautiful
son, now travels full-time with her husband all over America on every
call they receive to come and tell what God has done. They are both
evangelists and often hold revival campaigns with great results.
Jesus of Nazareth, Who Healed Betty Baxter wants to do something for
you as you read. You will not be the same afterwards.
The
Story of Betty Baxter's Healing
As far back as I can remember,
I was not healthy like other boys and girls. My body was twisted,
mutilated and disfigured. I can never forget the terrible feeling
that there was no hope. I know what it feels like to have a family
doctor look into my case and say, "Betty, there's no hope,"
and then be driven from one hospital to another and see the
specialists shake their heads and say, "In this case, medical
science can't do anything!"
I was born with a crooked
spine. Every vertebra was wrong and twisted around each other. As you
know, the nerve centers are in the spine. The X-rays showed that the
bones were twisted around each other, so my nervous system was also
out of order.
One day while I was in the University Hospital
in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I began to shake all over. It was a kind
of tremor at first, but soon I was shaking terribly from head to toe.
I jerked out of bed and fell to the floor. The doctor came rushing in
and got me back into bed. He said: "That's what I've been
waiting for. Now she has St. Vitus's dance and there's nothing to do
but send her home again."
They took wide straps and tied
me to the bed. It didn't stop me from shaking but from falling out of
bed. They kept me tied to the bed day and night and only loosened the
straps enough for my assistant to bathe me. If the straps were
removed, my body would become unruly.
I know what it's like to
suffer. I lived in suffering. The doctors gave me painkillers so I
could endure my suffering. When I came into the world my heart was
not normal and under the influence of anesthetics it got steadily
worse. It happened that I had a heart attack every week.
Finally
my body got so used to the poison that it had no effect. I had to
bite my lips to keep from screaming when the disease raged. Only
after two or three injections could I be free from the torturous,
agonizing pain. I remember the day the doctor took away my
painkillers. He said to my mother, "Mrs. Baxter, this is not
working anymore. Her body has become accustomed to it." He took
everything off my bed and said, "Betty, I am saddened that I
cannot give you morphine injections anymore. That's all I can say
now." I was only nine years old then. Oh, think how long the
nights were, when I lay there and fought with the pain. Many times I
tossed and turned in bed and fought to live and felt completely
powerless. Then I lay unconscious for hours.
I was raised in a
Christian home. My parents did not believe the whole gospel as I do
today, they belonged to the Church of the Nazarene, but they loved
Jesus. Mother had taught me as far back as 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 on the shore of Lake
Gennesaret and that He heals today, if only people would believe and
trust in Him.
When I had these moments of pain, my mother's
warm prayers were the only comfort I received. She lovingly led me to
Jesus and told me that one day Jesus would heal me. My mother loved
Jesus with great love and I believe that she understood Jesus better
than I could ever understand. She seemed to know how to put the right
words to me about Him. She made Jesus so real to me. When I was nine
years old, during a time of terrible suffering, she led me to Jesus
and I was saved.
My dear father did not have faith that Jesus
would heal me, but he was a good father to me and never stopped my
mother from praying for me.
My darkest hour came when they
rolled me down the hospital corridor on an ambulance. The doctor
came, stopped the ambulance and looked down at me: "Betty, we've
X-rayed your back. Every vertebra is out of joint, your bones are
twisted around each other and you need a new kidney. As long as you
have the old kidney, you will have nothing but pain!"
My
father said: "I will do everything in my power to make my child
well again, but I will never cut her with a knife." I have never
had surgery, except for the one time when Jesus intervened surgically
and He left no scars. How wonderful it is when Jesus does something
for us. It is always perfect and never has any after-effects.
"Well,
Mr. Baxter," said the doctor, "we haven't the slightest
hope of getting any order out of this bone mess that's in Betty's
body. Take her home and let her be as happy as possible."
I
was eleven years old at the time and had no idea that the doctor had
no hope for me and was sending me home to die. I looked at him and
said, "Yes, Doctor, but one day God will heal my body. I will be
healthy and strong then!"
I had faith then, because my
little mother had read me the Word of God and told me about Jesus, so
my faith was strong. One of my mother's favorite Bible verses in
those days was, "All things are possible to him that believeth,"
and "All things are possible with God."
They took me
home when the doctor said I would soon die. For some unknown reason I
got worse. The pains I had had before were nothing compared to what I
was going to have after I got home again. Something broke inside me
and I became blind. I lay blind for weeks. Then I became deaf and
could not hear. My tongue swelled up and became paralyzed. I could
not utter a word. But then the blindness left me, and so did the
deafness and paralysis of my tongue.
It seemed as if I was
being held by terrible powers that were trying to destroy me. But
every day my mother prayed with me and told me that God was powerful
enough to heal my body.
I cannot count the hours I lay there
day after day, seeing no one but Father, Mother, and the doctor. As I
lay there for those years, isolated from the world, I discovered one
thing. Doctors can isolate you from your loved ones, they can keep
your friends away from your bed, but they cannot isolate you from
Jesus.
It was during those years of isolation that I became
acquainted with the King of kings and Lord of lords. Many have said
to me, "Betty, why didn't God heal you when you were a little
child and had such faith?" I don't know! God's ways are not our
ways. God's ways are best! One thing I do know now - during these
terrible years of isolation and pain I have really come to know
Jesus. He lives in the valley, my friend! He is the lily of the
valley and there you will find Him, if you seek Him. When you stand
in the shade, you will see Jesus.
Mother used to bathe me in
the mornings and then she left me. A few times I would hear someone
walking quietly by the side of my bed and I wondered if it was Mother
coming into the room as I lay there listening. Then I would hear a
gentle voice that I had come to recognize. It was not Dad's voice and
it was not Mom's voice. It was not the doctor's voice either. It was
Jesus speaking to me. The first time it happened He called me by name
very gently. He knows your name and knows where you live.
"Betty!
Betty! Betty!" He called me three times before I answered. I
said, "Yes, Lord, stay with me and talk to me a little, for I am
so lonely!"
Did He want to stay and talk to me? Yes, He
did. He said a lot, but one thing I will never forget. I think the
reason He told me this was because He knew it would make me the
happiest. This is what He always said: "Betty, I love you!"
Jesus, in His mercy, wanted to look down on me in my hidden position,
as deranged and twisted as I was.
When Dad lifted me up, I was
no taller than my four-year-old brother. Big lumps had grown on my
back, the biggest ones on the top of my neck and then one after the
other down my whole back. My arms were paralyzed all the way down to
the wrists. I could only move my fingers. My head was twisted and lay
on my chest. When I drank water, I had to drink through a funnel
because I could not lift my head. It was in this position that Jesus
whispered that He loved me. I said, "Jesus, help me to be
patient, for I cannot do anything against You as long as I know "that
You love me." Many times He whispered, "Remember, child, I
will never forget you or leave you."
Dear friend, I am
convinced that He loved me just as much when I was a cripple,
forgotten by the whole world, as He does now that I am healthy and
strong and able to work for Him.
I remember when Jesus stood
by my bed, that I said to Him: "Jesus, do you know that the
doctors won't give me any more morphine to ease my pain? I wonder if
you know how bad this pain in my back is, where these lumps are?"
And Jesus said: "Oh, I know! Don't you remember? That day I was
hanging between heaven and earth, I carried the suffering and
sickness of the whole world in my body."
As the years
passed, I gave up all hope of getting well with the help of doctors.
One day my father came to me, lifted my deformed body in his arms,
and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked at me with great tears
running down his rough face. "My dear," he said, "you
don't know, you haven't the slightest idea what money is, but I've
given everything, I've paid everything I have and more to make you
well. Betty, your father has gone as far as he can go. There's no
more hope."
He took out his handkerchief and wiped away
his tears. As he looked at me he said, "I don't think Jesus
wants you to suffer much longer. He's coming to take you home soon,
and when you get inside, stand there and watch for who's coming. One
day you'll see father come through the pearly gates. The doctors say
it'll be soon."
I want to say right away that although I
had given up all hope in human help, I still had faith in God!
One
day before sunset I was attacked by such unbearable pain that I
became completely unconscious. 3 hours later my mother noticed that I
was almost not breathing and I had practically no pulse. She asked
the doctor to come. After an examination he said: "This is
probably the end, she will hardly regain consciousness." I lay
unconscious for four days and nights. The family was called in and
all formalities were avoided.
On the fifth day I remember
opening my eyes. Mother leaned over the bed and placed her cold hand
on my burning forehead. I felt like I was burning up inside. Sharp
pains shot through my back. Mother said: "Betty, do you
recognize me? It's Mother!" I couldn't speak but smiled at her.
She raised her hand to heaven and began to praise God, for she felt
that God had answered her prayers and given me back to her.
As
I lay there looking at her, I thought, "What would I rather do,
either stay here with Mom and Dad or go to the place Mom had read to
me about, where there is no pain."
I remember Mother used
to say, "Betty, there are no cripples in heaven." She said
that in heaven there was no sickness or death and that God took His
big handkerchief and wiped all the tears from our eyes. I prayed a
prayer that day that I suppose many others have prayed: "Jesus,
I know I am saved and that I am ready to go to heaven. Now, Lord, I
have been praying for all these years to be healed but I have been
denied. I have reached the end of the road and I don't quite know
what You are going to do. Please come and take me to heaven!" As
I prayed, a thick darkness came over me. I felt the shield of death
creep through my body. In an instant, I felt cold and completely
surrounded by darkness.
As a child, I had always been afraid
of the dark, so I began to scream, “Where am I? What kind of
place is this? Where is my father? I want to be with my father!”
But my friend, there comes a time when your father and mother cannot
go with you. They can stand and watch you take your last breath, but
only Jesus can walk the path of death with you!
As the
darkness descended upon me, I saw through the darkness a long, dark,
narrow valley. I walked across this valley. I began to cry, “Where
am I? What kind of place is this?” And far away I could hear my
mother’s voice speaking softly, “Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for
you are with me!”
I remember saying, "This must be
the valley of death. I asked to die, because I wanted to be with
Jesus, and then I must walk in it." And I walked through that
dark place. My friend, as sure as you live, every one of you must die
once, and when death comes to you, you must walk through this valley.
I am convinced that if you do not have Jesus, you must walk through
it alone in the darkness.
I had hardly entered the valley when
the place was illuminated as if it were the brightest day. I felt
something strong and firm take hold of my hand. I did not have to
look. I knew it was not the hand of father or mother. I knew it was
the strong and wounded hand of the Son of God, the one who had saved
my soul.
He took my hand and held it tightly, and I walked on
through the valley. Now I was no longer afraid. I was happy, for now
I was going home. My mother had said that in heaven I would have a
new body, one that would be straight and healthy instead of twisted
and shrunken.
Finally we heard music in the distance, the most
wonderful music I had ever heard. We walked faster. We came to a wide
river that separated us from this beautiful land. I looked across to
the other side and saw green grass, flowers of every color, beautiful
flowers that would never die. I saw the River of Life flowing through
the city of God. On the bank stood crowds of people who had been
redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb, and they sang, “Hosanna
to our King.” I looked at them. Not one had a lump on their
spine, and their faces were not tortured and twisted with pain. I
said, "In a few minutes I will cross over to join the heavenly
choir of worshippers, and the moment I stand on the other side I will
be straight and healthy and strong."
I was eager to cross
over. I knew that I would not cross the river alone, for Jesus would
be with me. But at that very moment I heard the voice of Jesus, and I
listened attentively, as I usually do when I hear the voice of the
Master. Very tenderly and with great kindness Jesus said, "No,
Betty, it is not your time to cross the river yet. Go back and
fulfill the calling I gave you when you were nine years old. Go back,
for when the fall comes, your healing will take place!"
As
I stood there listening to Jesus' words, I must admit that I was
disoriented. I remember saying, as tears streamed down my face, "Why
should Jesus deny me when I am so close to happiness and health? I
have never known a good day in my life. Why can't I go in now, when I
am so close to heaven?"
Then I thought, "Oh, what am
I saying?" Turning to Jesus, I said, "Lord, I am
distressed. Your way is better than my way. I want to go back!"
I
slowly came back to consciousness. Then the doctor said that I would
not live beyond the summer months. The week after that I could not
speak. The lumps got bigger and I could hear Mother say, 'Dad, look
at the lumps, how hard they are and how they have gotten bigger. She
must be suffering terribly."
I couldn't tell her how much
I was suffering because I couldn't get a word out. I know what it's
like to be in such great pain that I have to bite my lips to keep
from screaming in pain so that mother could get some sleep.
Early
summer came. Everyone in Martin County, Minnesota, knew that Baxter's
little girl was dead. Sinners and saved people came to my bedside,
but most of the time I was unconscious. When I was conscious, they
patted me on the shoulder, said a kind word, and quietly walked
out.
But during the time I was unconscious, I never gave up
hope. I couldn't speak out loud, but I said in my heart, "As
soon as fall comes, I'll be healed, won't I, Jesus?" I never
doubted because Jesus never broke a promise! Jesus stands by His
word. I kept my faith that He would heal me sometime in the fall.
On
August 14th of that summer, I got my the ability to speak. I had not
spoken for weeks and I said, "Mom, what day is it today?"
She said, "August 14th." My kind father came in the
evening. I said, "Daddy, where is the big chair? Please put some
cushions in it and then sit me in it." The only way I could sit
in the chair was with my head resting on my knees and my arms hanging
down by my sides. I said, "Daddy, when you go out, lock the
door. Tell Mom not to come in for a while. I want to be alone."
I
heard my dear father cry as he left the room and he didn't ask me
anything. He knew why I wanted to be alone. I had an agreement with
the King.
My friend, I want to tell you that you too can make
an appointment with Jesus when you want to talk to Him. He is ready
to talk to you at any time of the day or night.
I heard Dad
lock the door. I started crying and the tears flowed. I didn't know
how to pray. All I could do was talk to Jesus, but it felt good to do
so. I said, "Lord, you remember months ago, when I almost got to
heaven but you wouldn't let me in. Jeus, you promised that if I
wanted to go back, you would heal me when autumn came. I asked Mother
this morning what day it was and she said it was August 14th. Jesus,
I guess you don't expect autumn to come yet because it's so warm yet,
but Lord, I wonder if you couldn't just call this autumn for this
year and come and heal me? The pains are so terrible, Jesus. I've
gone as far as I can go. I can't stand the pains anymore. I wonder,
Lord, if you won't call this autumn and come and heal me."
I listened! Heaven was so quiet. But I
didn't give up. I prayed a little differently than most people, I
think. If I don't hear from heaven, I pray until Jesus answers me. I
listened for a while longer. When there was no answer, I started
crying again. I said, "Lord, I want to tell you what I want to
do. I want to make a deal with you. If you will just heal me and make
me well inside and out, I will go out and preach every night until I
am 90 years old if you want me to." Listen, God knew I was
sincere. I prayed again, "Lord, I want to do more than that. If
you will heal me so that I can walk and use my arms and be strong and
normal, I want to give you my whole life. It will no longer belong to
Betty Baxter. It will be yours and yours alone."
I
listened after I had made these solemn promises. This time I was
rewarded. I heard the voice of Jesus speaking clearly to me. He said
these words: "I will heal you completely on August 24th, Sunday
afternoon at 3 o'clock."
A wave of hope and expectation
rolled through my entire body and soul. God had told me the day and
the time. He knows everything, doesn't He? The first thought that
came to me was: Now Mom will be happy when I tell her this. Just
think how happy she will be when I tell her that I know the day and
the hour. Then Jesus spoke again and said to me: "No, don't tell
me about this until my time comes."
I thought: I have
never kept anything secret from Mom. How can I not tell her about
this? Before I was healed, I was very afraid of doing something that
would displease the Lord. That's why I didn't dare tell my mother
that I knew the day or the hour.
After Jesus had told me this,
I felt like a new person. I no longer remembered my terrible
sufferings or the nervous throbbing of my too-big heart. August 24th
was coming soon and I was to be delivered. I heard a door open and
Mother came in. She knelt down by me and looked up into my face. Oh,
how I wanted to tell her what Jesus had told me. It was the hardest
thing for me not to tell her everything.
I looked at Mother. I
thought that something had happened to her now. She looked so
beautiful and young today. Then I thought that the reason she looked
so bright and good was because I knew the secret of my healing the
following Sunday. I looked at her and I was convinced that something
had happened to her. Her eyes had never had such a shine before. Then
she leaned over me, brushed the hair from my forehead and said, "My
friend, do you know when the Lord is coming to heal you?" Oh, I
knew it, but I was not able to tell it.
I couldn't say "No,"
because then I wouldn't be telling the truth! So I said, "When?"
Mom
smiled and said, "August 24th, Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock."
I said, "Mom, how do you know? Have I lied to you so that you
found out?" She said, "No, the same God who speaks to you
speaks to me too!" When my mother said that, I became doubly
sure that God would heal my body on August 24th and make me well. I
said, "Mom, I'm getting taller, aren't I? Have the lumps on my
back gone?" She looked at me and said, "No, Betty, you're
getting more stooped every day, and the lumps have grown bigger too."
I said, "Mom, do you still believe that God will help me on
August 24th?" She said, "Yes, I do. All things are possible
if we just believe!"
A new skirt
I said, "Mom,
listen to me. I haven't worn a skirt since I was a little baby. I've
been wearing this nightgown all my life. I haven't had shoes on my
feet. Mom, when Jesus heals me Sunday afternoon, I want to go to the
house of God in the evening. The stores are closed on Sunday. Mom, if
you really believe that Jesus will heal me, can't you go to the
Fairmont this afternoon and buy me some new clothes? Mom, you can,
can't you?"
Mother showed her faith by her works. "Yes,
my child, I'm going into town today and get you some clothes to wear
Sunday night," she said. As she was about to leave, Father
stopped her: "Where are you going?"
"I'm going
into town," she said. "What are you going to do there?"
he asked. “I’m going to buy Betty a new skirt,” she
said. “No, mother, you know we can’t buy her a new skirt
before she leaves us, and let’s not think about it until it
does,” said my dear father. “Oh no, she has received
Jesus’ promise that He will heal her on Sunday afternoon,
August 24th, and I have received the same message. Now I’m
going to Fairmont to buy her new clothes!”
My mother did
as she said and brought them in and showed them to me. I thought the
skirt was the most beautiful I had ever seen. The shoes were of the
finest leather and they were so beautiful.
Now the old blue
skirt is packed away among my things in the bottom of an old chest in
my mother's home up in Iowa. After I was healed I wore it until I
tore a hole in it rubbing it against the pulpit from which I
preached.
I said, "Mom, don't you think I'll look pretty
when I get straight and can put on that pretty skirt and those pretty
shoes?" When someone came to visit me I would say, "Mom,
bring the skirt and the shoes here and let my friends see them!"
They looked at me and at the skirt and then at my mother. I knew they
had their own thoughts about me, but I knew what was going to happen
on August 24th.
An old neighbor of ours, a drunkard, came in.
I made Mom show him my new clothes. "Have you ever seen me
walk?" I asked him. "No." "Would you like to?"
"Yes, I would like to!" "Then you can come here on
Sunday afternoon, because at 3 o'clock Jesus will come here and heal
me. If you can't come here on Sunday afternoon, then come to the
Gospel Tabernacle in the evening, because I'll be there."
He
looked at me and said, "Listen, I want to tell you that if the
day comes when I can see you standing up and can see you walking, I
will not only become a Christian but also a Pentecostal. Yes, there
are people standing there and saying, "If I could see a miracle,
I would believe!" But if you don't believe before it happens,
you will probably come up with some excuse or another afterwards too.
This man has seen me standing up and seen me walking and he has also
heard me tell my life story but he is not yet saved.
Saturday,
August 23rd came. My mother always slept in a bed in my room to be
with me. That night after everyone had gone to bed, she came in and I
fell asleep. One night I woke up. The moon was shining through the
window and on the end of my bed. I heard someone mumbling and I
looked to see if Dad had come into the room to talk to Mom. Then I
saw someone kneeling with her arms raised in the moonlight. It was
Mom and tears streamed down her face. She prayed, "Lord, I have
tried to be a good mother to Betty. I have done all I can to teach
her about You, dear Jesus. I have never been away from her, but if
You will heal her, I am willing to let her go anywhere You want her
to go, even if it is across stormy seas, so that You may do these
things for her tomorrow that no one else can do. She is Yours, Jesus,
tomorrow is the day. You're going to set her free, aren't you,
Jesus?"
I fell asleep again. I couldn't get up and pray,
but Mother took my place. It is because of her faith that I believe
in God today and have healing in my body.
Sunday morning came.
Father took my brothers and sisters to Sunday school. They said he
was praying for me with a broken heart, saying that I was much worse
and that I would soon die if God didn't intervene.
I asked my
superintendent to be there that day at 3 o'clock, but he said he had
an appointment to fulfill with a church in Chicago and that was the
most important thing to him at that time. My mother invited a few
friends, saying, "Be sure to come and be here about 2:30 for the
10:00 a.m. service." 3 it will happen."
They came at
2 o'clock and said, "Mrs. Baxter, we are early but we know
something is going to happen and we don't want to miss this
experience." That was the atmosphere that surrounded me when I
was healed.
At fifteen minutes to three, Mother came to my
bed. I said, "Mom, what time is it?" She said, "Exactly
fifteen minutes before Jesus comes to heal you!" I said, "Mom,
lift me up and put me in the big chair." She carried me away and
put my contorted body in the chair and propped me up with pillows. I
saw my friends kneeling on the floor around the chair. I saw my
youngest brother, who was four years old, and I noticed that I was no
taller than him when I stood. He knelt beside me, looked up at me and
said, "It won't be long now before you are much taller than me."
At ten minutes to three, Mother asked what I wanted them to do.
"Mother, start praying! I want to be praying when Jesus comes."
I heard her crying and praying to Jesus that He would fulfill His
promise and heal my body.
How Jesus Came
I did not lose
consciousness but I was lost in the Spirit of God. I saw before me
two very old trees, standing there tall and slender. As I looked at
them, one of them began to bend until its top reached the ground. I
wondered why one of the trees would be bent that way. Then I saw
Jesus walking along the road. He came walking between the trees and
my heart rejoiced as it always does when I see Jesus. He came and
stood by the bent tree. As He looked at me, He smiled and placed His
hand on the bent tree. With a crack and a snap it stretched itself up
so that it became like the other. I said: "That's how it will be
with me. He will touch my body and my legs will crack and snap and
then I will stand up and be healthy."
Suddenly I heard
the sound of a strong storm coming. I heard the wind howling. I tried
to speak through the storm: "He is coming. Can't you hear him?
He came at last!" Then suddenly the noise stopped. Everything
became still and calm and I knew that in that stillness Jesus would
come.
I sat in the big chair - a helpless cripple. I was so
hungry to see Him. Finally I saw a white shining cloud taking shape
but it was not the cloud I had been waiting for. Then Jesus came out
of the cloud. As He came slowly walking towards me, I saw His face.
What impressed me most about Jesus were His eyes. He was tall and
broad and He was dressed in a shining white robe. His hair was brown
and parted in the middle. It fell in waves down his shoulders. I can
never forget His eyes.
Many times when the body is worn out
and I am asked to do something for Jesus, I sometimes want to say no.
But when I remember His eyes, they compel me to go out into the
harvest field to win more souls.
Jesus walked slowly toward me
with His arms outstretched toward me. I noticed the deep scars on His
hands. The closer He came, the more I felt it. When He came right up
to me, I felt small and unworthy. I was nothing more than a little
forgotten girl, delirious and crippled.
Then He smiled at me
and then I was no longer afraid. He was my Jesus. His eyes held mine,
and if I have ever looked into eyes filled with beauty and
compassion, they were the eyes of Jesus. Not many people have I met
who have eyes like Jesus. When I see someone who has this love and
compassion in their eyes, I want to be near that person. That is how
I feel about Jesus. I want to live as close to Him as
possible.
Jesus came and stood beside my chair. One part of
His robe was loose and fell to the inside of the chair, and if my
arms had not been paralyzed, I could have touched it. I thought I
would have a chance to talk to Him and ask Him to heal me when He
came. But I could not say a word. I just looked at Him and kept my
eyes fixed on His dear face, trying to tell Him how much I needed
Him. He bent down and looked up into my face and spoke softly. I can
hear every word now because they are written on my heart. He said to
me tenderly, "Betty, you have been patient, kind, and
loving."
As He said these words, I thought I could suffer
for another 15 years if I could only see Jesus and hear Him speak to
me again.
He said, "I have promised you health, joy, and
happiness." I saw Him reach out His hand, and I waited. Then I
felt His hand touch the lumps on my back. Many people say, "Don't
you ever get tired of telling about your healing?" No, because
every time I tell it, I can feel His hand again.
He placed his hand on the middle of my
back on one of the large lumps. At the same time, I felt a heat like
a burning fire, which penetrated my whole body. Two warm hands took
my heart and squeezed it and when the warm hands put the heart in
place I could breathe normally for the first time in my life.
Two
warm hands stroked my stomach and digestive organs and I knew that
all my internal organs were healed. Now I did not need a new kidney
and I was able to eat all kinds of food because He had healed
me.
The hot feeling went through my body. Then I looked at
Jesus to see if He would leave me when I was healed inside. Jesus
smiled and I felt His hands on my lumps and when His hands took hold
of my back, such a current went through me as if I had touched a
strong current. I felt this sensation like an electric current and I
stood up on my feet completely straight and upright.
I was
healed inside and out. In ten seconds Jesus had healed me and made me
completely well. He did it for me in a few moments, as no doctor on
this earth could do. THE GREAT DOCTOR did it and He did it
perfectly.
You say, "Betty, how did it feel when you
jumped out of the chair?" You will never understand it until you
have once been a hopeless cripple. You will never understand it until
you have sat in a chair without hope. I ran to my mother and said,
"Mother, feel, are the lumps gone?"
She felt up and
down my back and said, "Yes, they are gone now. I heard the
bones snap and crack. Betty, you are healed! You are healed! Praise
Him for that!"
I turned and looked at the empty chair and
tears were streaming down my cheeks. My body felt as if it had no
feeling because I had no more pain and I had always had pain.
I
thought I was so tall because I had been bent almost double with my
head down on my chest, the lumps were gone and my back was straight.
I lifted my arms and pinched one of them. My arms felt - they were no
longer numb.
Then I looked at my little brother who was
standing next to the chair. Big tears were streaming down his cheeks.
As he looked up, I heard him say, "I saw Sis jump out of the big
chair. I saw Jesus heal Sis!" He was really excited.
Jesus
was still standing right behind little brother. He looked at me from
the sole of my foot to my head. I was straight and normal. As He held
my eyes with His, He began to speak slowly. And what He said, you
will never forget. "Betty, I have fulfilled the desire of your
heart: to be healed. You are normal and healthy. You have your health
now. You are completely healthy, because I have healed you." As
He paused for a moment, He gave me a searching look and with
authority in His beloved voice He said: "Remember every day to
look up to the skies and be alert. The next time you see me coming, I
will be in the sky and then I will not leave you behind but I want
you to be with Me always." My dear friend, He will come again
soon!