Faith

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Faithful Is He



This true story has needed to be told for over 17 years now. I had only a small part but I have decided to try to put into writing a testimony that will, I hope, build up someone’s faith for another such miracle.

You may choose to believe or not, and as I cannot claim credit of great expansive
education (only a little more than High School), I just simply ask you as a Christian,
to digest this story and use whatever part you can to build up your own personal
faith in Christ’s blood. We are told His stripes are for our healing. It happens
all the time, but this one instance is very special to me and all the people involved
are personally known by me.

It happened that I had a great heartache that was threatening to take over my life.

I sang in a gospel trio and the other two girls were like sisters to me. In all our
years we never had a disagreement or an argument. As they watched me pinning
away they had great empathy for my heartache and prayed with me on numerous occasions.

One of the women in the church had a father-in-law who had been stricken with Lymphoma. Our prayer line had been activated several times to pray for him the first time he had chemotherapy, and the second bout with it, we were called even
several times a day. This man was a full time preacher in a little country church.

One particular Wednesday night, I took my heartache again to the altar for prayer.
That night our lead singer, Reta, was also helping with those who came for prayer.
She began to pray with me. Soon our tears were mingled together and shortly afterward,

I felt her body swoon and she collapsed on the floor, still weeping. I stayed there awhile,
then slipped back to my place in the pew, but she kept weeping and just lay there praying.

This continued through the service. Once she made it to the altar, but went back to the floor. Toward the end of the service she got to the pew but lay over, still weeping quietly.

Later, she told me during this time, she saw oily hands, and recognized them as her
own. When service ended, her face was swollen from the tears and weeping and she felt compelled to pray for “someone”. The father-in-law was mentioned, but he was in a hospital 120 miles away. Someone suggested we call his home and see if they were home yet. Getting no answer, it was decided that our pastors and
Reta, would go on to the hospital even though it was already late. As they started out the door, someone said, “Try one more time.” So they rang the number, this time getting an answer. They had just arrived home and some of the congregation had met them and helped to carry Rev. Lloyd Mattocks in and set him in his
recliner. They asked if they might come and pray for him at that time and he said for them to come.

It was an hour’s drive to his home and when they arrived, they were welcomed in and offered coffee which they declined saying, “We came to pray.”

Our pastor had brought the bottle of oil and as we usually did, he started to touch the tip of Reta’s finger to the bottle. She said, “No, preacher, just pour it over my hands.” So he did. They began to pray all together, some in the heavenly language.

Rev. Mattocks had a tumor in his stomach that he could feel. This man was 6' 5" and in his prime weighed about 220. This night he weighed 127 pounds. He was a walking skeleton. Someone in a concentration camp might look like he did.

Reta laid her hands on his stomach and they prayed on. Somewhere during the prayer they both looked up. “It’s gone!” he said and they began to praise the Great Healer. Joy overflowed them all.

Rev. Mattocks told me later he never went to sleep that night, instead he prepared sermons all night and toward morning (feeling good) he thought “It’s getting light and the grass around the church needs mowing so I’ll just get that done.” After that, he decided to do the bar ditch and edge around the trees, then he said, “My neighbors don’t know about this, so I think I’ll cut their grass and wake them up
with this good news.” (Which he did - still weighing in at 127 pounds.)

Today he stands tall and sturdy with his full weight back. Drs. have searched a number of times for any sign of the cancer which almost took his life 3 different times but no sign of it has ever been found.

The first time the lymphoma was found, he went through chemotherapy and his reaction to it was very adverse. He almost lost his life. The second time it came back the chemo itself almost killed him. The third time the doctors said
they had literally burned up his blood vessels and they would certainly cause his death if they tried again and felt it more humane to just send him home to make his arrangements. They gave him 10 days to (possibly but not probably)
60 days to live, on that Wednesday morning. But the evening gave him a whole new life. He has given his testimony many times, and I wanted so badly for him to write his testimony. Finally he told me why he did not. “Because,” he
said, “I have to remember how very ill I was, and I won’t give the devil that much
attention.” So I asked permission.
This is one miracle I have studied for many years since it was so close to home. Maybe I found one key element. I don’t really know, I just remember all the empathy that was flowing for my heartache, from another Christian who was “bearing my burden” so heavily. Something serves as a catalyst for a raindrop - perhaps it’s that way for a miracle too. The yielding
of her spirit may have triggered it - her sweet compassion for my ache.
I will ask when I get to Heaven.

There are healings, there are miracles. This one was so precious to witness.
With 10 days to live, he was healed and seventeen years later no trace of cancer
has been found though they have looked long and hard.

When God does a miracle, He does it well.

This is a true story known by so many in our area it has almost become common.

Not to me. I love the Lord for what he did for Rev. Mattocks and for a faith that has been only more and more steady through the years as I have studied what happened that night. To me it will always be a beautiful story of compassion, mercy, love and truth. I do hope you can find the faith to believe it. If so,
your own miracle may not be far behind.



Joan Clifton Costner

Copyright

http://underhiswings0.tripod.com

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