Participation Part 1 - From busted to better than Ever

I went to Reality, a church place in downtown Olympia, last Sunday. The experience gave me renewed perspective on two stories I'll share, and provided opportunity to co-labor with Papa for healing.

I don't typically go to places that call themselves church. Church is a who, not a what or a where. But this was an exception; an act of obedience to a series of undeniable words from Papa, which I will compile and share in part two.

The sermon, given by Paul Jones, an elder at Reality, was a kickoff to Advent (no surprise there). Titled "King of Faithfulness," the sermon launched from Psalm 98 and Paul discussed the cycle of pain, patience, and promise that humanity has experienced from Genesis on.

Basically, humanity experiences pain, then must patiently endure until God makes a promise and the pain ends (That's a extreme paraphrase, folks. The full sermon is available for a listen, if you need more detail and accuracy). That cycle is illustrated throughout the Old Testament, and we can see it in the world today.

Vocalist and Drummer participating with audience to sing
"The Fly" Dec 1 at Le Voyeur. Photo by Winter Rain X

So what breaks that cycle? According to Paul: participation.

Now we're getting somewhere.

Paul, using Psalm 98 as a reference, explains the cycle is broken because God participates. "He has remembered his love and his faithfulness," says verse three.

"If you're an underliner, take out your pen and underline 'remember.' If you take one thing from tonight, take this: God remembers," said Paul. "Remember" in this case doesn't indicate that God forgot, and has suddenly recalled his love and faithfulness. Rather, it indicates action; to remember is to act upon his promises. In other words, God participates. God is participating in our lives.


Now we're getting somewhere. 

Paul wrapped things up by asking to congregation to brainstorm ways we can respond, what we can do, knowing that God participates. Without thinking, I blurted out "heal the sick and raise the dead." Several answers were shouted after mine: sing, worship, love, be joyful, be bold.

The sermon ended, and though it had been filled with truth, I was feeling a bit let down. I wanted to keep discussing, I guess. To go deeper. Because if participation is what breaks that crappy cycle, then I want to dive into that participation, not just skim over it with a moment of sparse brainstorming.

After the sermon, we met a couple named Tori and Bethany. Along with some friends and my husband Jeremiah, we laid hands on Bethany to declare health and healing over her stomach and fractured foot. In doing so, I realized what my spirit was still craving to discuss: 1) If God participates with us, how do we participate with God? 2) What do we see God doing?

Bethany had no immediate symptoms, so we weren't able to identify the healing taking place by the alleviation of those symptoms. Due to the circumstances leading Jeremiah (Miah) and I to reality, leading up to laying hands on Bethany, and the very sermon given that evening, I've no doubt Papa was participating in healing her.

Today, I continued to press into Papa for Bethany's healing. "I'm not doubting, but I'm going to keep praying until we get confirmation," I told him. In response, two completely separate but vitally related stories occurred to me:

The Knee 

After I returned to Olympia from a Thanksgiving trip, a regular customer at my coffee shop told me that he'd slipped on a slope while golfing in the rain. Not only did he slip, but he did the splits (a miracle in and of itself) and likely tore a ligament or two. He happened to be golfing with a doctor, who examined his knee and declared the prognosis grim. The knee swelled up like a grapefruit, significantly restricting motion and causing a great deal of pain.  

I saw my golfing friend the day I was leaving town for Turkey Day, and though we were having a great discussion about how crazy God is, he'd said nothing about the injury. "I wanted to ask you to lay hands," he told me later, "but that seemed like a weird thing to do in the middle of a coffee shop, so I didn't." 

What he did do, rather accidentally but no less successfully, was participate with God in receiving his healing. "After you and I talked, I didn't so much pray as lament. 'Aren't you supposed to heal? Then why don't you go ahead and do it'?" my friend described. "I'm telling you, less than an hour later, I looked down and the swelling in my knee was completely gone, as was the pain." He'd injured the same knee once before, and had built up some scar tissue. "I think falling broke up the scar tissue, and it's actually better than it was before." 

The Amp 

Jeremiah's band, Simon the Leper, played a show at Le Voyeur last Saturday. During the first or second song of their set, Miah got a bit lost in worship. From what I saw, he was on the ground playing his guitar while apparently trying to crawl inside his speaker cabinet. I know, doesn't seem possible. But he was sure trying.  

Though unsuccessful at getting inside the cabinet, he succeeded at toppling it over. The song was only half through; the drummer and bassist (Jared and Esa respectively) continued playing while Miah surveyed the damage.  

He noticed one blessing immediately. Somehow, the thousand dollar amp head that sits on top of the cabinet, remained on top of the cabinet - albeit in an altered orientation - after the crash. Had it smacked directly into the cement, Miah might have cried. He hoisted the cabinet and head back to an upright position, and plugged his guitar back in.  

We listened eagerly through the ringing drum and bass for the sound of a guitar. Nothing. Amid the noise, Miah laid both hands atop the amp and bowed his head. As the song ended, he prayed. Still, his guitar made no sound. The following several minutes were significantly quieter as he borrowed and set up one of Esa's amps, which he used to finish out the show.  

Afterward, we discussed the potential damage and cost of repairs. The show was the most memorable and enjoyable yet, for the band and the audience alike. Though Miah had a blast, he was visibly saddened by the state of his amp. Prior to the show, the amp had been making a funny noise which prevented playing specific channels. Recalling the story of my friends knee healing, I said "Your amp is going to work better than ever." I found out later that Esa had said the same.  

The next day, Miah set up his equipment. He discovered a cable had been sheared, replaced it, and tested the amp and cabinet for sound. They worked. "Remember the noise it was making?" he asked. "Gone."

To be continued...

*Video by Winter Rain X, Dec 1 at Le Voyeur