Praise report

[Flyin6]

Something has been going on with me for the past 6-7 weeks.
It landed me in the Emergency room a few weeks ago with chest pains, fluid retention, and other heart attack symptoms. I went through a heart echocardiogram and an Angiogram. They found a small/minor blockage that was not enough to worry about, so they did nothing.

All the while I was experiencing growing all-over body pain. Annoying at first it felt like you would after a vigorous workout the day before. It lasted through the hospital stay and has increased with almost every passing day. Matt put me up for prayer here a couple of times anomalously and that did help. The heart study conducted by a research cardiologist here in N KY determined I have a pretty healthy heart and circulatory system. He said I was about a 50-year-old man, although I will soon spin the calendar to my 70's.

For no connected reason, the day before the emergency room visit, I finally threw in the towel on resisting healthy eating and committed. I was a hefty 253.5 starting that adventure. I switched to clean eating only. We cleaned out our pantry, fridges, and freezers and were left with almost nothing. No processed anything and what I do have meets the caveman-style eating regiment of the "Whole-30" lifestyle thinking.
That has resulted in a pretty significant body change. I had a distended belly, which is almost flat once again. I have shed 20 pounds, although I am not trying to lose any weight. I would have been one super healthy dude but something was dragging me down.

Back then I became convicted again about tithing. You see although I have been a tither for most of my Christian life, for the past few years, I have fallen away. Right after I got out of the hospital, even though I was feeling bad, I went to church. Our pastor preached about tithing again but from a different perspective. He said, do you feel like you are stalled in your walk? Feel like there is some barrier you just can't resolve? Well, I had to answer yes on at least two counts. He continued to say, if you aren't tithing then you are not completely sold out for God and Christ and you are not walking in sync with your heavenly fathers.

Well, guilty as charged.

My health has continued to deteriorate in the weeks since. I have actually been considering I may be approaching my death. I have had body pain all over which is pretty severe, mostly joint, but muscular as well. For a while I could get maybe 2 hours of chores done, then I was either sitting or lying down to try and get comfortable. I have been keeping myself on high doses of aspirin and Tylenol, but that has not been working lately. My strength has gone away. I could barely lift a pitcher of water, or walk to the car, or sit on the pot. It has been awful.

But I guess the aspirin kicked in or something Sunday and I felt I just needed to be in God's house, so I drug my carcass into church. I love it there and always love hearing the words and getting a chance to sing where no one can hear me...My voice is not exactly one of a singer! We had a guest pastor from Kissimmee FL on Sunday, and he blew the place up. Started with 10+ minutes of singing praise and worship that just sort of happened. If you don't know one of Christianity's little secrets, then let me share. Praise is our primary weapon in God's arsenal. It is a thermo-nuclear device that will fire up the almighty and get things done. Just read the Old Testament and armies who led with praise and worship onto the battlefield oftentimes did not have to raise a sword and still destroyed the opposing army.

Well, we did that and then this pastor led right off with talking about how tithing or not tithing is a declaration as to whether you really believe or not. He said it is more than a test but shows the surrender of one's control to our king. Well, that was it for me. I had been praying about it and I was hearing the truth. Tithe! Now here's the private part I'll share. For years I have prayed about this or that. And do you know how sometimes you sort of hear his voice? Like immediately before you even say what you want to say you hear something or a thought forms? Happen to any of you? Well for me, for years, I have heard one word, and that word is TITHE. I'll lift up Kathy for healing or the farm for protection and always, that thought forms, or I think I just heard it...Are you tithing? Not kidding, it happens like that for me.

Well Sunday when I felt and heard it, I opened up the church app and I tithed. I didn't hesitate I just did it. I did not check any balances or try and determine if by tithing I wouldn't be able to buy a this or that. No, I just knelt at the foot of the throne, the throne which will soon judge me, and I tithed. I told God I was sorry for being selfish and please accept my apology and forgive me.

I came home Sunday and just fell into a deep cycle of pain and weakness from whatever sickness is affecting me. I thought, well, I think this is it, I will soon go home. I started making plans to leave Kat and the world just like you would if you were certain you were dying. I could not get up out of the chair I sat in on Sunday, I didn't have the strength, so I just sort of slept there. I lost my appetite, and my attitude just sank into a pretty dark place. I got a little angry with God and I literally told him that I did not feel him anywhere around and how could he allow me to suffer this way. I told him to take me, and I said some unkind things to him. I asked how he could let preachers run about saying that tithing would break chains, lead to healing, and all the rest when it seemed to be killing me!

Kathy was scared watching her husband decline from 5-6 weeks ago lifting weights and walking everywhere to one who could not lift a glass of water, and I couldn't. So, she reached out all over for help unbeknownst to me. It takes 6 months to get into a rheumatology clinic, so she was threatening to call an ambulance. I did not feel I would survive the week and wanted to be home when I passed, so I was fighting her on it. I did take a moment in the middle of all that suffering to ask God to please somehow heal me, and if there was any chance allow me to go to my Army reunion in Dallas because I wanted to see my friends again before I passed. I prayed over that, then I sort of gave up on the idea of having any future.

Then, Monday we got an appointment with Tri-State Arthritis and Rheumatology for Tuesday morning! My personal doctor also called and asked if I could come in beforehand. I somehow got ahead of six months of people and was actually seen Tuesday morning. They did a workup on me and right on the spot diagnosed me with Rheumatoid Arthritis that had a vicious onset but very likely also had something called "Long Covid". Most of my joints are under attack from my own immune system and would have crippled me or worse, had it not been discovered when it was.

They gave me a long-lasting very high dosage of steroids and set a follow-up appointment for the middle of October. They said I would start improving very quickly and that afterward depending on whether they find it is actual RA or Long Covid, could treat me for either and I could live a normal life. Are you hearing me? Do you understand what just happened here? I was at the bottom, at what I thought was the end of this soldier's life and I was mentally transitioning. But I asked God to heal me. I asked him to do it miraculously or otherwise, but please heal me, and he has.

As of my writing, I have gained at least half my strength back and am mostly out of pain.

Looking at the sequence of events here:

For years God has been telling me to tithe again
I have been ignoring him mostly.
I fell out of health and was declining fast.
I do believe I would have died in a week, maybe two max.
He reached out to me several times through preachers with the same message all recently.
Finally, this past Sunday, I heard his call with my heart, and I tithed.
Then I gave up hope but prayed anyway for healing.
Two days later I am typing this message, a man on the mend. I am healing and getting stronger!

God wasn't gone when I asked him where he was. He was setting things up to heal me.
When I was starting to give up on him, he ignored that and got me an impossible appointment.

I now feel it is important to someone out there to share this experience, because you, too, are holding back.

Hallelujah, Father, thank you for not giving up on me when I seemed to be giving up on you!

[Atkinsmatt]

Amen.

[oklawall]

Praise God

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[stlaser]

Amen, glad you’re feeling better.

[EL TATE]

Jordan Peterson and his daugher might be a little kooky, but they went full carnivore diet on their RA and have reportedly severely reduced or stopped all of their medication to treat it. autoimmune is a beast. My diverticulitis will rear it's ugly head with the oddest of foods or combos of foods, so I keep a notepad of what makes me feel like crap, and what doesn't. Funny how God can gently tap you on the shoulder for years and go unheard until he has to smack you over the head with a hammer to get you to listen. if i had addressed my issues 22 years ago who knows how much better off i would be.

[Flyin6]

Yea, copy all that
I doubt I am out of the woods just yet, just experiencing some relief.
Blood tests are all coming back.
Mostly all good, but what's bad that they are finding is not a little bad, but way bad.
The body inflammation score is currently 8X the normal healthy human max.
I scored a positive on the Auto-immune big test. That says it is or not, one of 150 autoimmune disorders.
Some liver numbers are going through the roof right now, but today's examination of my liver showed no hardness at all.
Something is there, but people do not know exactly what yet. Have more blood tests and two ultrasounds, tomorrow and Monday.
I will be well examined for sure and maybe be able to point to something definitive.

[oklawall]

Will be praying that the find the root cause and get it fixed

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[Flyin6]

Will be praying that the find the root cause and get it fixed

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Thank You

[JR]

Hope it keeps going the right direction.

I am working on a couple things as I have been in the ER twice in the last 2 years.

[Flyin6]

So, I will turn 70 in April.
I'll likely pass on in my 80's
But of what?
Things that are starting to identify themselves in my late 60's-early 70's
Life is fatal!