My Head is Tingling
In the eyes of most paramedics, there’s little glory in transferring depressed, intoxicated patients from one hospital to another for mental health evaluations. These aren’t the calls we tell our friends about when we get together unless it’s to make derogatory comments about the patients.
Shania had been in Phoenix just long enough to develop a nice tan. Like me, she’d moved here a month ago. She lost her job and boyfriend and having no support system, she moved here and was living with her best friend. But her old pals, depression and suicidal thoughts moved with her and they paid her a visit yesterday. After a hellish 24 hours, we showed up to take her somewhere else.
After the introductions, we loaded her in the back of the ambo.
(That’s what they call it here)
I got the formal questions out of the way and had most of my charting done after a few minutes. I wanted to spend most of the trip learning about her problems and perhaps get the Holy Spirit involved.
After learning we were both new to Phoenix, she told me she was from San Jose which made me think about friends from the Bay area who do street healing. They go to shopping malls, and occasionally emergency rooms healing people. She wanted to hear more.
I explained the history of the modern healing movement and then shared some of my own stories. Her curiosity grew. I asked if she had any pain. “I have fibromyalgia,” she replied.
“Did your symptoms begin after a traumatic event?”
“Yeah – I was in a very abusive relationship and right after it ended, I began having pain.” Fibromyalgia seems to be a manifestation of the spirit of trauma that attacks people after traumatic events.
Can I pray for you to be healed?”
She smiled and said, “Sure.”
I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Holy Spirit, bring your presence and touch her. Heal her memories and remove thoughts of torment. Spirit of trauma, I command you to leave. Pain and inflammation, I command you to leave. Do you feel anything?”
“My head is tingling.”
“Do you feel tingling anywhere else?”
“Nope. It’s just my head.”
“I believe the tingling is God’s way of healing your mind, emotions, and memories.” She was crying tears of joy.
All of our senses; sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch (including pain) travel along nerves in our body. The nervous system is like a bundle of electrical wires, carrying impulses through millions of cells strung end to end. These cells are called neurons.
When the power of God goes through a part of our body, wouldn’t we expect our own electrical system to be affected by that power and send signals to our brain letting it know something is happening? I believe this is why so many people feel tingling when God is healing them.
I spent the rest of the transport teaching her how to keep her healing. “Once your symptoms leave, they might return. The enemy might try to convince you that you weren’t healed. My faith can get you healed, but your faith will keep you healed. If the symptoms do return, stand by faith and believe God healed you and command the symptoms to leave the way I did.”
We arrived and unloaded the gurney and wheeled her inside. Before I left, she gave me a hug and thanked me for caring about her.
Was she healed?
I don’t know. But I do know she was touched by God and that’s what matters. I introduce people to God, and He takes it from there.
I didn’t see depression and suicide during the trip. They come in through open doors. Like uninvited guests, they see an opening and come around to harass defenseless people. They enter our lives because there is no door to keep them out. Just a big hole in our life that leaves us vulnerable to attacks from the enemy.
Jesus said, “I am the door.”
When the door shows up, that hole in your life can be closed off to intruders like fear, depression, worry, anxiety, guilt, and shame. He is our only defense against them.
Shania knows that Jesus is real and that He cares about her. Maybe she’ll learn that he’s her door of safety, too.
Most medics don’t see the glory in psychiatric transfers because they’re looking for something that glorifies them. If you want to be a hero, you need to show off your skills. Healing doesn’t require skill and it doesn’t bring glory to us. It brings glory to God and it’s not our skill, but His power on display. Some people don’t like others being in the spotlight. But I’m cool with it. My only hope of glory is that Christ will be revealed in my life.
This is an excerpt from my book My Craziest Adventures With God – Volume 1.
The old men. I had to laugh out loud when I read that. Listening to you is like hanging out with myself. HE feeds us the same stuff. Gosh I love reading about you and HIM. I am so honered HE brought us together. I hear the word “warhorse”. Yes you riding into the frontlines batteling. I heard the word “tomatoes.” You throwing big fat tomatoes right off HIS vine into the enemies face. You know tomatoes are fruit. hahahahaha throwing HIS fruit in the enemies face. I love it!
Sue, you know I was thinking about you when I wrote this story. Who else knows about those old men?
Tomatoes from the vine…YUMMY!!
Miss ya my sis!
Really? I just got on my face and cried in the spirit to my Father..to think that what HE says through me someone heard HIM through little old me. WOOWWWWW….It makes running after HIM worth every single minute. I love you brother. tears….
The tingling starts top my head and spreads down my shoulders when praying! I feel so ashamed of stuff I’ve done over the years not being right with the lord tears
flow uncontrollably!!!!