Hip Hip Hooray!

It’s a beautiful sunny day in early Spring, when I manage to persuade my elderly mum out of the warmth of her house, and we decide to drive to the river.

Walking at a snail’s pace from the car park, we are heading towards an empty bench, when we see another woman getting there first.

Mum expresses disappointment, but I reassure her. “I’m sure she’ll be fine for us to share the bench,” I say.

My reasoning is right, and it doesn’t take long for us to strike up a conversation. She tells me her name is Rebecca. She comes from Hong Kong, and she is in the UK for work. But she regularly feels homesick.

Her mum sadly died during the Covid pandemic, and seeing me with my mum has reminded her of her loss. She also worries about her dad because she lives so far away.

“I really wish I could run by the river on a sunny day like today,” she says, looking straight ahead and pointing towards the tow path, a few metres in front of us.

Then she tells me how she used to run marathons; how running always helped alleviate her anxieties. But then she injured her right hip, and now it’s too painful and inflamed to run.

Even as she is telling me her story, I feel an oh-so-familiar surge of courage and compassion rising up within me, and I know that this is a God-ordained moment …

***

“I’m a Christian and I believe in Jesus,” I say, before taking a deep breath. “I believe He can still heal people today. Would you like me to pray for you?”

She immediately bursts into tears. “Yes please,” she says, without hesitation.  

Sitting to my right, I’m aware that Mum is humming the tune to an old hymn, “Crown Him With Many Crowns.” I glance and see that her eyes are shut, her face turned towards the sun, and it feels appropriately fitting.

Turning back to my left, I ask Rebecca where she is most in pain. She indicates an area on her right hip, and I get her permission to lay my hand there.

“Thank you Jesus that you love Rebecca,” I declare out loud. “Thank you that you still heal today.” Then I pray a simple prayer, in Jesus’ name, calling on her hip to be healed, and commanding the pain and inflammation to go.

Turning her face towards me, her eyes are wide open. “Why’s it burning hot?” she asks.

“That could be Jesus healing you,” I say. I wait for a few moments, praying under my breath, and then I make a suggestion. “Why don’t you walk around the bench to test it?” I say.

Tentatively, she stands up and walks away from the bench, heading for the tow path.

Mum looks up, as this is happening. “Where’s she going?” she asks me.

“She’s testing her hip to see whether Jesus has healed it,” I tell her, reaching out my right hand to reassure her.

Then I call out to Rebecca for an assessment. “How’s it feeling?” I shout.

She is walking in a wide loop around the bench. With each circuit, her stride is getting stronger and her smile is getting broader.

“The pain has gone,” she declares. “It’s completely gone.”

“Jesus has just healed your hip,” I tell her. “He loves you, Rebecca, and he wants a relationship with you.” Immediately, her eyes well up again with tears.

“Why would he love me?” she asks, sitting down again on my left.

Taking another deep breath, I explain the Gospel to her as concisely as I can. We talk about faith in Jesus, and I invite her to make a commitment to him. But she says she’s not yet ready.

Praying under my breath, I remember that there is a Chinese Christian Church, which meets on the other side of town. So I get out my phone to find their website, show it to her, and suggest that she connects with them.

“Their services are bi-lingual,” I say, “so you’ll be able to speak your mother tongue with the people who go there.” She is delighted at this prospect.

When the time comes for us to part company, she leaves us with a swing in her step.

“Thank you,” she says.

“Please don’t thank me,” I say. “Thank Jesus.”

***

How many of us cross paths with people, like Rebecca, during the course of an average week?

Maybe, like me and my mum, you might find yourself sharing a bench with them on a beautiful sunny Spring day? Or maybe it will be while you’re standing in the queue for the bus, or at the school gate; in the supermarket checkout, or by the office coffee machine?

God knows who is in need of Jesus’ healing touch. He knows who is ripe and ready for a faith conversation. He knows who needs to hear the Gospel.

Why don’t you take a moment to ask God now for eyes to see these people? And why don’t you ask him for compassion to see them as He does, and courage to offer them prayer in Jesus’ name?

And if you are someone who is feeling more like Rebecca in this story, why don’t you call on the name of Jesus for what you need?

As ever, constructive comments are welcome below.

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Photo from Sharan Ang via Pixabay