Thursday, January 8, 2009

Kathryn Kuhlman pt 2

APRIL 1975

Manny, Danny and I were toward the back of some huge arena in Miami watching Kathryn Kuhlman. We had a car accident two months before and we looked like it. Danny's arm was in a sling because he had a broken elbow along with a shattered hip with pins and metal bars put in from our accident. I on the other hand had recovered quite well in the last 2 months. My blood level felt like it was back to normal, I was no longer dizzy from my head concussion, I could breath properly after having lung contusions (that's how I lost 1/3 of my blood), and I had become very good at walking around with crutches. My cast, due to come off in June (if everything went well), traveled from the top of my left hip to the bottom of my left toes. Manny had a few bruises and nothing else. But the 3 of us together looked like a mess.

I always felt so blessed during the 2 previous Kathryn Kuhlman services the 2 years previously, but during this service I was filled with doubts and questions.

The same routines took place - the songs, the choir and the preaching. KK told her audience that God had revealed to her that before she would die there would be a service where everybody was healed... I don't think that ever happened and when she said that, I doubted it.

According to her routine, while she preached with over the top drama in her long white gown, people began to be healed and while people were being taken to the stage to testify about their healing. Meanwhile in the audience Danny started to stretch his arm wondering if it was being healed. One of the ushers saw Danny stretching his arm still in the cast and thought for sure he was being healed, so he grabbed Danny and took him up front. Manny followed him up front, because they were best friends.

On stage they told KK about the car accident and she found out that there was another one from the accident in the audience, so I was shuttled up to the main stage as well.

On the main stage KK asked me a few questions and then told me that I was healed and that I should put aside the crutches and walk across the stage. I had a cast up to my hip, and told her that I couldn't walk because of that. She then said, "When you get your cast off you will find that you are healed." With that she reached her hand out to me so that I would be slain in the Spirit (which means I was suppose to fall backwards). I had already decided that I didn't know if this was that scriptural so was not going to let her push me down, and I wasn't going to go down just because I wanted to. I planned to stand my ground, but before her hand even reached me I fell over into the arms of one of the helpers who placed me gently on my back on the floor.

I felt awesome and praised God while trying to lift up my arms to praise him, but my arms would not move.

Fun experience, but it did nothing for my faith either way. It didn't harm it and it didn't help it. On Judgment Day God will not ask us about our spiritual experiences of falling down; He will ask us if we fed the hungry and helped the poor, clothed the naked and visited the sick and those in prison.

The service ended on the highest note - 3 young men (2 still in their teens) healed after a life threatening car accident. The only problem was, I still had a cast on so couldn't tell if I had been healed and Danny wasn't really sure he had been healed. In fact, the next day Danny told me he thought nothing had changed. Nevertheless, on the way out of the auditorium as my mind raced with conflict and more doubt, people clamored to touch us because the power of God rested on us.

I didn't feel like it.