Poison Ivy Healed

Sometimes all it takes is a true understanding of God's nature to heal our ailments. This boy's healing of poison ivy is a great example.

By F.G. age 11, MA

Categories: Health

One day I was playing in the woods with a new friend. We were catching frogs in the pond. The next day, when I woke up, I had poison ivy all over me. The worst part was my face. I was really scared because I thought that I wouldn't be able to play with my friends. And I was worried about how I looked.

Every morning for the next few days, I would go out to the basketball hoop and shoot basketballs. One day, my friends came out and wanted to play with me. But I remembered I had poison ivy. One of them said, "That's too bad. I guess you have to stay away from us." I felt bad because what I had thought (about not being able to play with my friends) had come true.

So I went inside and told my dad. My dad called someone to help me pray. The next day, Dad came up to me and had a little sticky note. On it, it said something like, "God's nature is divine, it cannot be harmful." I thought about this idea. I realized that the poison ivy was not from God, so it couldn't be powerful. It was an error of thought, trying to make me believe that it could take away my friends and ruin my day, my happiness, and all the fun. But I knew that it couldn't because God is in charge, and He always helps us with all of our problems. Every night I would pray and think about this sticky-note statement, understanding what it meant.

One morning, I woke up, and the poison ivy was worse. I thought it would never go away. I went to my dad and told him that I couldn't keep from scratching. He told me to push myself to not scratch. I did the best I could.

Pretty soon, I woke up one day, and it was gone. It had healed within a week, much shorter than usual. I realized that it had been healed because God had been with me the whole time and had never left me, even though it sometimes seemed like it. I got up and went outside. There was still a little on my hands, but that went away in one more day. I was able to play with my friends again. Of course God wouldn't take away my friends; God wants only good for me, including friends and fun times.