Howie's Big Adventure

Howie was an adventurous 8 year old who's imagination drove him to dangerous feats of daring, dangerous and daring for an 8 year old that is. One Sunday afternoon Howie's parents (who were pastors in a small Wisconsin community) were entertaining some parishoners at their small parsonage while he was playing the hero rescuing some young girl in distress. Rescuing others had begun dominating both Howie's daytime and night time dreams. He had become obsessed with these imagined rescues since losing his sister to drowning the summer before while they were swimming together at church camp. I don't know if his inability to save her triggered his life-long obsession, but none the less it was there.
As Howie was running, chasing an imagined bad guy, he stepped down on his ankle and heard a crack. Very un-hero like, he starting screaming and crying. His dad came running and picked him up and carried him to the parsonage. In those days, the church didn't provide their pastors with insurance, nor could the pastors afford to get their own. So they had to rely on God. (What a novel idea!) In the living room his parents and their company laid hands on him and prayed a prayer of faith. As soon as they prayed, Howie's ankle stopped hurting so he immediately jumped up and ran off to continue with his interrupted adventures.
Years later, while attending Northwest College, Howie twisted his ankle playing soccer and had to have his ankle x-rayed. The attending Doctor asked him when he had broken his ankle before, and Howie said " I've never broken my ankle." The Doctor pointed to a healed fracture on the X-ray, and said "yes, this is clearly a healed fracture from years ago." Howie then remembered the time when he was 8. He knew that God had performed a miracle of healing those many years ago for a small boy who hadn't even know what was happening. God is so faithful. Even when we don't know what's going on, He does!

James 5:14-15 - Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.