A Testimony of Healing

 

 

            On May 18, 2004, I sent out the following letter to everyone I know, telling of the miraculous work the Lord has done in my family.

 

 

Dear friends,

            I am writing this letter to follow the pattern of the psalmist who proclaims with the voice of thanksgiving and tells of all God’s wondrous works. (Psalm 26:7) The Lord has accomplished much wondrous works in our family of late, which it seems only fitting to publicly share with you. But first, some background information may be helpful.

            In late 2002 I was diagnosed with having Asperger Syndrome, which is a form of high functioning autism. Having this diagnosis has enormously helped Esther and myself to understand some of the peculiarities inherent to me - peculiarities which had hitherto caused a degree of confusion. Since Asperger Syndrome, like all of the autistic spectrum disorders, is often transmitted genetically, my diagnosis alerted us to potential challenges we might face with our children. In fact, early on Matthew began to show definite signs of the disorder. The older he grew the more acute his symptoms became until by four years old he was manifesting all the typical traits of a child with A.S. For example, if anything out of the ordinary happened to our routine, Matthew would become so traumatized or over-stimulated that it would take him days to re-stabilize. As a consequence we found that we had to simplify our lifestyle considerably for the sake of Matthew, even turn down invitations from others. Matthew developed fixations and rituals which dominated his life and from which deviation became impossible. In addition to this, Matthew exhibited behavioural problems which made our household fraught with difficulty.

            Timothy was born on 27th May 2002. At the time we were facing the above challenges with Matthew, Timothy was obviously too young to notice any range of symptoms; nevertheless, the more he matured the more concerned we became. Timothy was showing signs of unresponsiveness that seemed so similar to patterns that had developed in Matthew.

            Esther began reading up on A.S., and we found that many parents had been helped by putting their autistic children on a diary and gluten-free diet. We cut all dairy and gluten out of Matthew’s diet and there was an improvement. Though the screaming and tantrums became less, the basic problems still persisted. We found that if we introduced dairy or gluten back into his diet, even in a limited degree, the problems became worse, his face would become pale and he would begin having diarrhoea. I decided that we should put Timothy on the diet just in case he too suffered from a similar intolerance.

            This state of affairs persisted until January of this year. One evening, Esther and I made very specific prayers to the Lord for the boys’ healing. The next day we noticed definite improvement. With Timothy, the improvement was instantaneous. Esther said it was like having a new child – he was responding to us normally and began to have a peace about him that hadn’t been there before. With Matthew the improvement was more gradual, spanning about a week until all the symptoms were gone. We put the boys back on a normal diet and found that again there was none of the symptoms that had previously been associated with certain foods.

The passage of time has only confirmed how different things are. Matthew and Timothy are developing normally, and looking at them now one would never guess what things were like before their healing. We are so thankful to the Lord, and wanted to share our joy with all of you. We know that there are many people in the world whom the Lord has not healed, and we pray that in time all such people will be touched.

That is not the end of our catalogue of thanksgiving. The other event for which we continually thank the Lord happened in Esther’s life just under a year ago. In order to appreciate the significance of what I am about to share, some background information is necessary. For some years Esther struggled with various physical problems, associated with chronic fatigue. The older she grew, the more significant these problems became, often causing her to become severely exhausted by the least exertion. If something happened that was strenuous, she might need an entire day or more to recuperate. In addition to this, Esther found that there was a correlation between her fatigue and the consumption of certain foods, particularly yeast. This suggested that she might be suffering from a disorder known as Candida, in which an internal yeast infection draws on the body’s reserves to such an extent that the sufferer has little energy left for anything else.

On the 25th of July last year, Esther was miraculously healed of all these conditions. Again, the passage of time has only confirmed the release. From my point of view, I feel like I have a new wife! Whereas before Esther was becoming progressively weighed-down and unable to cope, now she is full of life, happy and stable. Also, she has been able to return to a normal diet. It is so amazing that we can hardly believe it. She even has so much energy now that she is able to give to others outside the family, and has begun having other home-schooled children join us for school on Wednesdays.

Whereas the healing of the boys came in direct response to a specific prayer, Esther’s healing came unexpectedly. On the morning of July 25th, some family gathered at our house to pray. Esther’s brother, John, was given Revelation 2:2-5 – the passage which speaks of those who get so caught up in the Lord’s work that they forsake their first Love. As John read out the passage, he spoke about how even the Lord's work and our obedience to Him must not come before the Lord Himself. John felt that the Lord was calling us back into what matters more than anything or anyone else: a completely unchallenged love relationship with Jesus. As he spoke, Esther said to the Lord that that was what she wanted – she did not want her work for Him to become more of a priority than the Lord Himself. Though she couldn’t see that she had done this, she felt that the Lord was speaking to her. She let go of thinking she knew better about her own heart, and acknowledged that the Lord was challenging her. At first it was just a mental acknowledgement, but then when John re-read Revelation 2:2-5, the words became immediate and alive for Esther and nothing in the world mattered anymore compared with Him. In that moment, Esther knew that she could never produce anything worthy enough for the Lord, and yet in that state she knew He loved her. She felt totally undone and yet made so wonderfully whole all at the same time.

After this experience, Esther began to discover that her life was changed. In addition to the areas I have already mentioned, she found she was not subject to certain fears in the way she had been before. She was released from certain oppressions and she felt the joy of being alive and in the Lord in a more immediate and vibrant way. And, of course, Esther was no longer trapped in a body and mind crazed with fatigue. She now has energy and joy and can eat normally as I said earlier.

            Reflecting over these miraculous events, we know that it is only by the Lord’s undeserved grace that these releases have come. We have certainly not done anything to earn them, nor can we claim to be particularly special. We stand in awe of the Lord and His mercies, continually thanking Him for what He has done in our lives. As I was reflecting this morning over all the Lord has done in our family, I thought the least I could do in return was to write this testimony.

I realize I have not given any update on the family – that was not the purpose of this letter. Rather, I have wanted to share this good news in order that you all can join with us in thanking the Lord for His goodness.

 

With love,

 

          Robin, Esther, Joseph, Miriam, Matthew and Timothy

 

 

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