Persevere in God

Read article on http://www.thesalarmy.org/DTMG/miracle12.htm (Article reproduced below).

I have to be frank, this happened in a place that I least expected to happen since I always thought that healing takes place more in "charismatic" churches rather than traditional churches. But God can work anywhere and so I learnt.

Even as I struggle with pain caused by my slip disc this morning, it was pure exciting to wake up to this article.

Firstly because the article featured something close to my heart-volunteers-and it was just amazing seeing someone in pain as Ema continuing to serve God and mankind and how God honors her and touched her.

This has been quite aligned to what I have been sensing from God recently about "saved to save" and continuing in whatever He calls me to.

Secondly, it excites me because it yet again reminds me of how real God is and how much He cares for us. Yes, I would believe Ema would have gone through periods where she asked God "why?!" only to not hear any response. 17 whole years! But I am reminded again and again from Romans 8:28 that God works for the good of all who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. God is real and not slow as we humans understand it but He loves us and has His plans for us. "For I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future" (Jer 29:11). The "prospering" we know here is not merely wealth kind of prospering but God's prospering in the whole sense of the word: lacking nothing in maturity so we can grow to the full version of who God intends us to be, joy (different from happiness), meaning and purpose, peace, love etc.

Thirdly, it gives me hope in my own life circumstances. I believe that whenever things like that happen, God is glorified and made known, as if God is showing Himself yet again in a bid to ask us to return to Him in genuine love, not just worshipping Him ritually or for what He can give us in return for the worship. There is hope because God knows what we need (not want), and He provides in His time.

Need rest, ask God. Need peace, ask God. Need forgiveness, ask God. Need restoration, ask God. Need healing, ask God. Need provisions, ask God. Man can never give as God gives. Ask and believe in Him. It might take some time but God has everything in His control. God works for the good of everyone. It took Ema 17 years and 8 hours of final crying out but both her and God did not give up. 

God Heals Salvation Army Volunteer’s Crippled Body

Longtime Rochester Salvation Army volunteer Ema McKinley is gaining worldwide attention following a Christmas Eve miracle that has Mayo Clinic doctors scratching their heads: One day she was crippled, the next she was walking.

Ema, 65, fell off a ladder in 1993 and developed Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSD), a rare nerve disorder that cripples limbs and causes extreme sensitivity to touch. RSD pain – known as causalgia – is said to hurt more than anything known to man, surpassing cancer, amputation and child birth, according to the McGill Pain Index. By 1995 the RSD had taken over Ema’s entire body (see photos). For the next 17 years she was stuck in a wheelchair with her spine bent 90 degrees, her left foot shriveled and her left hand locked shut. High-pitched noises, bright lights or even the rumbling of a semitrailer made her skin feel like it was being burned by a blowtorch.

Photos of Ema's spine condition, hands and feet prior to the miracle that healed her. She lived like this for 17 years.

“A gust of wind made my arm feel like it was in a 400-degree oven,” said Ema, whose daily intake of morphine was often 2,000 mg – literally an elephant dose. (She still suffers from RSD, though the pain is not as severe.) Ema's Faith Ema decided to follow Jesus Christ and make Him her Lord and Savior in 1964. Her faith remained unshakeable during the 17 years she spent in a wheelchair. Despite being deformed and in torturous pain, she was never bitter at God. Instead, she was committed to spreading His love everywhere she went. “You could ask the door guys at Mayo Clinic, the clerks in Walmart – everywhere we went, people were touched by Ema because she always had a smile on her face,” said Cathy Ruggeberg, Ema’s personal caregiver since 1994.

Ema at her Rochester home, standing with son Jason Lano and caregiver Cathy Ruggeberg.

The Miracle God rewarded Ema for her faith last Christmas Eve. After accidentally falling out of her wheelchair at about 1 a.m., she spent the entire night on the floor of her home screaming for help and writhing in impossible pain. Then God showed up. Suddenly, she could feel Him healing her spine. She watched as He opened her hand and regenerated the rotten flesh covering its underside, skin that hadn’t seen the light of day in 17 years. Not only did God straighten her foot, he grew it back to its original size. When God was finished, He appeared to Ema in a white robe, offered His hand and helped her to her feet. She could walk. “This miracle was just so over the top – God is trying to get the attention of His children,” Ema said. “If anybody ever hears anything I say, I want it to be this: This is not just my miracle. This is everybody’s miracle. This is all about God and how much He loves each and every one of us, and what He can do for us if we just let Him.”

No Medical Explanation Doctors at Mayo Clinic, arguably the finest hospital on the planet, confirmed they’ve been treating Ema for nearly 20 years and that her spine, foot and hand healed overnight. They cannot explain how.

“While I currently cannot offer a clear medical explanation for her dramatic improvement, and cannot speculate regarding other possible interpretations, I am nonetheless delighted with Ema’s recent progress,” Dr. David Bell, Ema’s primary doctor at Mayo Clinic for the past nine years, said in a statement. Sharing the Miracle Word of McKinley’s miracle is spreading around the world. She was recently interviewed by FOX News and the 700 Club and has begun speaking at countless large-scale faith conferences. McKinley appeared Aug. 4 at the Embracing Miracles Conference in Rochester.

Ema has been serving meals at the Rochester Salvation Army for 27 years. After her accident, she could only greet dinner guests at the door (see video). Now she can serve meals again.

Video Interviews

• Ema describes being in a wheelchair for 17 years (watch video)
• Ema’s son, Jason Lano, explains seeing her after the miracle (watch video)
• Ema’s caregiver, Cathy Ruggeberg, explains seeing her after the miracle (watch video)
• Ema describes how the miracle happened (watch video)
• Ema's message to everybody (watch video)