Kidney Roast Part 1: The Story

Friday, my coworker Jessi and I manned the coffee stand at Group Health. Jessie just went through a round of antibiotics to combat a kidney infection, and has been feeling better. But yesterday, her kidneys were aching and negative side-effects from the antibiotics were beginning to cause problems.

During her bout with the kidney infection, Kendal and I laid hands on Jessie's back. She guided us to the location of her kidneys, and we prayed. Afterward, she felt better. We felt relieved that she was open to the healing idea and that we actually gave it a shot.


This time was a little different.

Jessie clocked out promptly at two p.m. and gathered her belongings. For the first time during our shift, there were no customers waiting to be served. So I stopped her and placed my hands over her kidneys. I began praying, giving thanks for who Jessie is and the health that is her inheritance. "The river of life flows from Your throne, which is inside Jessie and I. I release it," I said. And someone in dire need of a cookie walked up.

I stopped and served the cookie. Usually I would have considered the interruption the end of our prayer, but Jessie waited around and without hesitation I returned my hands to her back and continued praying.
Thirty seconds in, another customer walked up. I politely helped her choose a pastry, which required a description of nearly every option in the case.

Again, with newfound stubbornness, I calmly returned my hands to Jessie's back. Not that I'm unhappy to serve the needy, but we must pick and choose our battles. This was mine, and I was not going to be distracted.

The third time, we finished our prayer on our terms. I began to speak about the happiness Jessie carries with her, declaring it unshakable and infectious. Heat began to kindle in my hands, intensifying until I couldn't ignore it. I pulled them an inch or so away from Jessie's back, and still the heat radiated. "That got really warm," I said.

"Every time you've prayed, my kidneys have gotten really warm," she said to my surprise. "Not just warm, but really hot. I wonder what that is."

"That's the Spirit of God healing you," I said.

"I wonder if I can feel it before you do."

I hadn't thought about it, but it made instant sense. "You would feel the heat before I do, because God's spirit is radiating from within you. It's coming from you, not me."

Jessie left, feeling warm and well. As she walked out, I began to feel warmth in my own kidneys. As I made the next customer's drink, my left kidney stayed warm but my right kidney began to get increasingly hot. I had to pause the drink process to re-gather my thoughts because the heat was so distracting.

When I had a chance, I sent Jessie a text. "Funny story, my kidneys on the right side particularly have been super warm since you left."

"Ha, that's crazy! That was my bad kidney!" She replied.

When I got home from work, I shared the story with my roommate Meghan. "That's kind of weird," she said. "I was laying in bed earlier, and my kidneys started to really ache." With raised eyebrows, I asked what time she thought that might have been. "Right around two."