Thursday, April 7, 2011

Free donuts...SWEET!!!!

Yeah, that was my thought as I walked out of the sanctuary of the Youth Center at Christ Community Church last night! Following the Youth Service some angel from heaven blessed us with a counter covered with packages of glazed, chocolate-covered donuts. On the floor were boxes of tortilla chips, too! Can you say YUMMO!!! :-D The best part for me was just seeing how excited the students were about the free food. One young girl's excitement stood out to me the most. And she had every reason to jump joyously, but the sweet treats were just the icing on an amazing evening for her.

Right before service, as everyone stood in the cafe chatting, this young girl came up to me to say hello. I noticed a brace on her right arm and didn't hesitate to ask what happened to her (seeing people in physical pain absolutley breaks my heart into pieces). She said she had fell outside and not only sprang her wrist, but experienced great pain in both her legs, her left arm and her back. She said she was feeling much better than a couple days ago, but some pain still existed. Later during worship, I was just how intense that pain was for her.

At one point during worship she walked up to me with this wincing look on her face. She walked as if each step sent a shocking jolt of pain up her spine, and she held the small of her back with her "good" hand. She asked me to pray for her because she was in pain and she just wanted it to go away. I don't know why, but I'm always nervous when people ask me to pray for healing for them. I know it's NOT ME doing the healing...anyway...I digress. I gladly prayed with and for her. After a minute God clearly instructed me to tell her to lie down on her stomach at the front of the altar. I told her being on the floor would help relieve some pressure on her back. While she was on the floor I continued praying as I stood farther back in the crowd of worshipping teenagers. I was believing God for her healing.

As I stood and continued to worship, God gave me more instructions. This time, He had me ask another young student, who was standing beside me, to go kneel beside her, lay her hand in the small of this girl's back and pray for healing! This bubbling teen instantly agreed (no hesitation), so I prayed that God would use her for His glory and that His healing touch would run all through her fingertips. What followed still shocks and amazes me this morning!

Worship continued, and afterward students went to the front to profress their love for God. The young girl was still stretched out on the floor motionless, but I noticed she took the brace off of her arm. A few moments later, she jumped to her feet with this gaping grin on her face. Once she held the mic she began to testify to God healing her body. Now, she said she wasn't 100 percent better, but so much better than before. And SHE WAS JUMPING UP AND DOWN!! lol I was so excited for her it almost made me cry (yeah, I'm a big baby...lol)!! I was also thankful for the teen who was willing to pray for her peer. Wow...what an awesome and mighty God we serve!

I'm sure that young girl enjoyed her free donuts. But I wonder if the sweet taste was even sweeter after the experience she had with the Lord. It just always amazes me when God moves, no matter how big or small his movement may seem at the time. And it fills my heart with joy to see the young people of this generation willingly giving themselves to God. He is stirring the hearts of His children, young and old alike. But this is just the beginning...