That afternoon, I decided to stop on my way home to see my mother, something I rarely did because of my exhaustion and because of my tight schedule of preparing lessons, grading papers, and fixing dinner. When I complained about the pain in my feet, she said, "It sounds as if you are developing arthritis; that's the way mine began." I didn't think she could be right; I was "too young" for arthritis, I thought. But then, she went on, "And if you are craving anything, it is poisoning you. Corn is the worst offender!" As she told me of the intense pain that had led her to that discovery, I thought again that that could not be the problem. I had stopped eating popcorn about a year previously because it was making me sick, even though I was craving it. And I had not eaten any corn in recent memory.
The next morning, I reached into the pantry for the instant grits I had been craving for about 3 months, eating them every morning and sometimes at night before I went to bed. "Wait a minute," I thought, "that's corn!" Intrigued, I got out all my books on natural healing and began doing some research. I discovered that all the nightshade vegetables ---corn, potatoes, eggplant, and potatoes -- aggravated arthritis. I also discovered that corn was at the top of every list as the worst offender. So I decided on an experiment: for one month, I would avoid all those foods. At the end of the month, all the very expensive shoes I had been buying and then putting in the Goodwill Bag came out again. To my delight, I discovered that as long as I did not eat corn or the other vegetables (which I had grown in my backyard and loved), I could wear every pair of shoes I owned. After my body had been purified, if I cheated and said that "one" tomato wouldn't hurt, I knew the minute my feet touched the floor in the morning that I had eaten something on the forbidden list -- sometimes, even without realizing it.
All these years, I have been entirely free from arthritis, except when I cheated, and I have become positively evangelical in my determination to help others avoid the pain and inflammation I had experienced at one time. I have "given my testimony and my witness" to family, friends, and even strangers in airports all these years. Whenever someone gives me an opening, I will tell my story with joy! Even if I do not have an opening, if I see someone in obvious pain from arthritis, I want to tell them to try my remedy.
Last week, I ate corn for the first time in about 15 years, and by 2:00 am, I had to get out of bed because the swelling was so painful I could not find a comfortable spot. Yesterday, I ate corn again -- just a little that happened to be floating in the white turkey chili I had ordered. I slept well, but as my feet touched the floor this morning, I realized that I would not be able to wear shoes today. My body was in a little pain, since I was not entirely poisoned, but my spirit was, like the crippled man healed by Peter, "walking, and leaping and praising God!" (Acts.3). Spiritually, I was literally jumping for joy, thanking God for all the pain, swelling, and inflammation He had delivered me from all these years. The small pain I have today reminds me of all the pain I have not had all these years, and I am so grateful that I could fall down with my face to the floor in worship, praise, and thanksgiving to God, who inspired me to stop that afternoon, and to my mother, who shared her story with me.
This experience leads me to a couple of conclusions about our spirituality. First, if we are not evangelical about our experience with God, it may be that we have not yet realized how much pain we have been delivered from. It may be that we are "suffering in silence," thinking that life is supposed to be full of pain and misery, that we are "suffering for our sins," or whatever. If we are not willing to "try Jesus," it may be that we have not actually been in enough pain, or not helpless enough to deliver ourselves from pain, to turn to him. The woman at the well, after five husbands, and a new guy, obviously was thirsty enough to crave the living water He promised to give her -- and as a result of drinking this water, she left her jug at the well and ran to the city to tell others that she had been set free from constant pain. Many cradle Catholics grow up with doctrine, but fail to realize that doctrine will not "deliver us from evil" any more than the Law and sacrifices of the Old Testament could purify us from sin. All the Law and the sacrifices could do was to make us acutely aware of the pain of sin. We still needed a Deliverer, Someone to set us free from our psychic pain and suffering.
Those who have been addicted and set free; those who have been clinically depressed and delivered, know the Song of Isaiah 61:
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release for the prisoners...
to comfort all who mourn,...
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
The next time we are accosted by a true witness, a true evangelical, instead of being annoyed by his religious fervor, we should recognize, "Here is someone who has been delivered from pain by the ministry of Jesus Christ in his life." And instead of pushing him away, we might ask, "Tell me your story; what pain had you in its grip? How were you delivered?" Because, believe me, once we have been delivered from pain, we want the world to know that deliverance is available to all who will "try Jesus!"
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