It all began in a BJ’s restaurant.
You know, the place with the tiny, crunchy, yummy fries and the home-made root beer. Such a normal place.
Little did we know, the moment that would change the entire trajectory of our lives was about to happen. To say it was weird and awkward would be an understatement. I mean, what could really happen at a BJ’s? That weird and awkward and wonderful and amazing and blessed moment….
“Psssst! Babe!” my husband whispered. “I think something happened to my leg!”
I give him this look like, “Shut up you weirdo. We want to make a good impression on our new friends, here.”
“No really! My leg feels really weird!”
For over 15 years, he had been struggling with back pain due to an accident he had when he was 14 years old. His femur was broken in two, and unfortunately, was set incorrectly in the cast, causing his broken leg to grow back 3/4 of an inch shorter than his other leg. Therefore, causing a myriad of problems with his spine. He asked our new friend, Sheri, for some ibuprofen.
“Why do you need ibuprofen?” she asked. My husband proceeds to tell her why.
“What needs to happen for your leg to be healed?” she asked.
Jokingly, my husband says, “Um, I guess I need my leg to grow back.”
He and I just kinda laughed, as if that would really happen. They smile, and we continue our conversation. She whips out her Bible. Small, worn, with lots of highlights and underlines.
Obviously, it had been read...A LOT.
I remember Sheri specifically talking about Peter and John in Acts Chapter 3, where they are going into the Beautiful Gate. They came upon a lame beggar who is asking them for money. She leans over to me, pointing to the words, as she reads the words aloud to me:
Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!
Their boldness was inspiring. Aren’t they embarrassed to talk about their faith in public? Who carries their Bible around in their purse? Christians aren’t supposed to do that kind of stuff. We're supposed to fit in. We should be passive, and NEVER bold.
They asked us questions, like, “How long have you had this pain?” “What is life like for you?” “Would you know it if you were healed?”
Then abruptly our food came, which I’m glad it did, because this conversation, as fascinating as it was, was almost more than I could process. I was ready for some relief in the form of interruption, ya know? I mean, let’s not get all crazy here.
But they were not going to let this one go. As we held hands to pray over our dinner, like good Christians do, I remember Sheri specifically leaning over to touch Jason’s hand. As she prayed, she did not just say some rote prayer, “God thank you for this food.” This girl got ON IT. It was short, and sweet, but powerful! I remember she specifically said, “I command Jason’s leg to grow, in Jesus’ Name.”
Whaaaatt???? What did she just say? But she said it so nonchalantly during our prayer for our food. As if she did this kind of thing all the time. As if it was “normal” for her.
The evening continued uneventfully, or so we thought. Just a “normal” dinner with some new friends. Trying to get to know each other. But from our perspective, we were in awe. We had never met a couple like this before. I had been a Bible Belt Christian for over 20 years, and yet I had never heard anyone speak about their relationship with Christ like they did. They spoke as if He was their best friend. They spoke and talked about how God had answered their prayers and how He still answers their prayers. They can hear Him speak. Like they have this two-way radio straight to God…and He answers back! They have a faith that is genuine, personal and oozes love and peace. As if they had been with Jesus himself. I had never heard anyone pray that way before. I kept thinking, "I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE."
When they left to go to the restroom, Jason gave me the funniest, wide-eyed, look.
“Babe, I think something really happened when she prayed for my leg!”
My poor husband. You see, I had been a Christian longer. And I KNEW that’s not how God worked. (ha!) So I wrote him off. I just didn’t understand it. Or better, I just didn’t believe it.
As we were walking to the car after dinner, which they paid for, my husband takes Sheri’s husband Ty aside and says, “Hey, back there when you prayed for my leg? I think something happened!”
“Yup,” Ty replied.
“No, really, I think something happened to my leg. It feels like it’s going to explode! I can’t even walk right. Like, um, I think it grew.”
“Well, isn’t that what we asked God for?” Ty responded.
I tried not to let my mouth drop. WHAAAAATT just happened??????
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