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I just want to witness to the amazing, powerful, and personal outpouring of the Spirit, the healing graces experienced, and the deep sharing and caring at the recent Sept 23-26 Healing Conference. I went not knowing what to expect. I havn't taken the time to retreat/renew like this for several decades. It was a transformative experience for me.
First and foremost, the redeeming Body of Christ of those attending made for a community of faith and compassion that was very alive; filled with the Word, glorified by song, made incarnate by prayer. There was such a strong witness to the healing grace of Christ at work in the world, and confirmation of on-going healing, that through the shared prayer in groups and in pairs, I felt very strengthened, even empowered to carry forward as an instrument of that grace back in the parish. Last Sunday, I found myself spontaneously laying on of hands for healing with two handicapped members of our parish. I had not often initiated such a prayer ministry without being invited. It was warmly accepted and much appreciated.
But second and more important to me has been the recognition by means of this Healing Conference that it's not really skills in healing that I needed but a real change of focus in my life towards my wife and our marriage. God was surely at work through the Conference participants to reach me and direct me to attend to things I have not focused on in many years in our marriage.
The sequence of events went like this: The prayer group the first day brought me to my knees, in recognition of the spiritual emptiness of our marriage. Marlon brought me The Word of God directly, that forgiveness and love is always an immediate priority. Kenny and the group prayed mightily for my spirit and our Holy life together. I cried to the Lord. That evening, during meditation or in a dream, I'm really not sure which, a had a vision of an angelic like form, in just the flash of a moment, fully embracing me about the neck, chest and shoulders of my upper body, giving me the assurance that 'everything was going to be okay.' The next day, David opened to me a roadmap to recovery in our marriage relationship by moving towards a "whole," "Shalom," allignment of spirit, body and soul. We prayed about that and the assurance was granted. It would be. And in fact, it has already started to come into being. I had a most reassuring conversation with my carmate, Barbara, on the way home. At home, for the first time in months, maybe even years, my wife brought to my attention an article she wanted me to read on "What makes a happy family?" That was in local news coverage of a new Rabbi's commitment to the influence of Sabbat on a Jewish family. This laid the groundwork for my easily introducing the need for us to talk, meditate together, pray together, and share the 'roadmap' document that would bring focus to our marital allignment of spirit, body and soul. And would you believe, during that same week, our son, for the first time in my memory sent me an email prayer of St. Theresa. God be praised. Our conversations have continued enthusiastically and prayerfully, feeling very much of the Spirit, filled with grace and compassion. We have turned a corner and are together in a new way. And I believe it was and is the community of prayer from many people that made possible this healing, and have brought tears of joy and expectation that things will not be the same again,...the drought has ended, the water has turned into the wine of His Grace, and we will be Whole.
David Benedict, Williamsburg, VA Member of St. Martin's
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