A Miraculous Healing

I had just finished gardening when I found some rubbish to go into the bin. The side gate was locked and the bin was just out of reach on the other side. Being stubborn I decided to stretch through the gate to lift the bin lid. I stretched so hard that I pulled my shoulder. I felt the most horrendous pain that I thought I was going to pass out. In my desperation I cried out to Jesus, over and over, ‘Lord, please take this pain away, heal my shoulder, repair what ever damage has been done and heal my shoulder…’ After thirty seconds the pain stopped. It didn’t come back. I could move my arm and my shoulder was absolutely fine.

AN ACT OF FAITH REWARDED

David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing” – 2 SAMUEL 24:10

I had been feeling a bit frustrated for quite some time and I couldn't put my finger on the reason why. Then, I was reading 2 Samuel when I came across chapter 24, verse 10. I couldn't understand why King David should feel so guilty about counting his fighting men. It's just a census! What's the big deal? But I couldn’t get this passage out of my head, which just made me feel even more frustrated.

I went away for a while and prayed before coming back and reading it again. When I read it the second time I learned why David felt so guilty. It was his pride that had compelled him to take the census. He was admiring his own strength and power, and putting his faith in his military might, when really it was God's strength and power that had put him where he was.

Last year I asked God to give me a sign as to whether or not I should leave my job at a cinema, as well as my home town of Warrington, and move over to Thurnscoe in South Yorkshire. I received an answer from him the very next day in the form of a letter at work. Head office was now offering all projectionists the option of voluntary redundancy. I took that to mean that God wanted me to go so I applied for the redundancy.

After talking it over with my wife-to-be Anny, and praying on it some more, I decided that if the redundancy did not come by March I would simply hand my notice in and leave, trusting that the Lord would sort me out. However, in February, I was told that in all likelihood I would not get my redundancy until the end of April. So I decided to stay until then, thereby ignoring what I said I would entrust to the Lord. Then, in March I was told that the redundancy would actually be in May, not April. Again I reasoned that I should wait for it, forgetting still that I had already committed to giving my notice in March, regardless of whether or not the redundancy came.

After reading the passage about David in 2 Samuel I came to realise that I had been acting as he had. I was putting my faith not in the strength of God but in the strength of other things, in this case, money. After accepting this fact I decided that I would hand my notice in the next time I was on shift. This was Monday the 14^th of March. When I arrived into work I found that the General Manager was not on shift, so I would have to wait until the following day to hand my letter to him. Instead I resorted to simply telling my line manager of my plan to leave.

The following day I arrived at work and went straight to the General Manager’s office to hand in my letter. When I got there he told me that he had already discussed options with my line manager that would help me to leave and still walk away with my redundancy. If I quit my job I would still need to work a month’s notice. My General Manager said that if I were prepared to stay on for a few days more, three to be precise, then he would see to it that I would get my redundancy on the 15^th of April.

I was absolutely amazed. How awesome is God? The answer is VERY AWESOME!

I had decided to forget about the redundancy money. Instead, I was going to trust in the Lord, in his strength and power. In an act of faith I was rewarded. God saw what I was willing to let go of and decided to give it to me anyway. Praise the Lord!

Worst. Job. Ever!

Worst job I had was my first proper paid job. I worked 12 hours every Saturday at a pasta factory. Basically, I would stand at a conveyor belt all day upon which little plastic pots would go past. As each pot passed me by I would have to put the correct weight of whatever ingredient I was doing into it. Basically my job was this: Weigh cheese, pour cheese into pot. Weigh cheese, pour cheese into pot. Weigh cheese, pour cheese into pot... FOR. TWELVE. WHOLE. HOURS!

I got a 45 minute lunch break and two 15 minute breaks. But they started the moment I left the factory floor. The canteen was right on the other side of the factory near all the managers offices and it took a while to remove wellies, overalls, hairnets and gloves before we could get down there. Not to mention having to put all that crap back on before we went back in. All that would take a good seven minutes, which meant that on a 15 minute break you'd only get about eight minutes actual break time.

I wouldn't sleep on friday nights because I would be counting down the hours on the clock. It was dark outside when I went into the factory and dark again by the time I got out.

One time a guy accidentally hit me with a crate and it caused me to fall over. I was perfectly okay but I pretended I'd hit my head just so that I could get the hell out of there. It's not like you could even talk to the person next to you because of the constant noise of machinery. It was hell. I think it gave me repetitive strain injury.

I did that job for a year simply because I was fresh out of high school and didn't know any better. I just assumed 'This is it, this is what it is to be employed!'

However, all these years later, I can honestly say that I am glad of the experience. No job I've ever had since has even remotely fazed me. I can pretty much stomach anything an employer throws at me because of working in that place.