JESUS HEALS A PARALYTIC

 

NAOMI

He was only a young man when he had the accident that caused him to be paralysed. We were just married, him 20 and me 16, the memory of the wedding ceremony had barely faded when our whole world was turned upside down.

 

Set upon, he was, by a group of thugs, robbed him of all his money, but much worse than that, robbed him of his carefree life, left him for dead. A friend found him, a crumpled heap in the road, barely able to move and a group of them brought him home on a makeshift bed. We prayed that when the bruising and swelling went down he'd get some use back in his legs and injured arm, but it wasn't to be.

 

So for twenty years I've been the one struggling to keep us afloat. There've been no children, how could there be, that was something else we were robbed of. But even with only two mouths to feed we'd have sunk long ago if it wasn't for his friends helping out however they could. They've stuck by him all these years.

 

They've come most days of the twenty years , carried him up to Capernaum on a bed, and left him there to beg. He hated it in the early days, he'd got little enough dignity left, that was the final straw. But we'd got to eat somehow and so, day after day his friends fetched him and brought him back again.

 

So as far as I was concerned that Wednesday was a day like any other. They fetched him, as normal, said nothing (didn't want to raise my hopes) and set off for Capernaum.

 

Less than two hours later the door burst open and this group of people fell in, laughing and talking all at once and praising God and standing, standing in the middle of them was my Joe (I still get shivers down my spine when I think of it).

 

And what a story they had to tell. They'd heard that this Jesus who'd healed loads of people was in Capernaum and they made this plan to take Joe along and see what happened. When they got there, the place was crowded out with the Scribes and Pharisees and they couldn't get near Jesus. I couldn't believe what they did, they lowered him through the roof right at Jesus’ feet. Apparently Jesus said, "Your sins are forgiven" - I don't know how he knew about them, I could have given him a list!- and then  he said, "Get up, take your mat and go home," and Joe did, just like that.

 

I praise God every day for what's happened. But that doesn't mean it's always been easy. There have been a lot of adjustments to make. For twenty years I've run this house, and run Joe the way I wanted to. Suddenly I've got this husband who wants to take charge. To begin with, until he found a job, he was under my feet, in the way (I'd been used to my own space).  I'd built my life around caring for him (he couldn't do much for himself) and my role had been taken away in a flash.

 

It's only now, six months on, that I'm really starting to enjoy this wonderful new life and looking forward to more changes to come. Me and Joe, we've been  making up for lost time - if you get my drift -  and I'm bearing the child I thought we'd never have, the first of many, I hope.

 

If it's a boy I think I'll call him Jesus.

If it's a girl it's going to be Faith. 

 

That'll always remind me that if you trust in God he'll restore your life.