The Banker’s Mum

When traveling for pleasure, we generally eat whatever pleases us. One of the perils of traveling for ministry is found in the command of Jesus to remain in the home where you find a person of peace and eat what they put before you. (See Luke 10:6-7) This command wouldn’t bother me so much were it not found smack in the middle of the rest of his instructions to the disciples, where he told them to heal the sick that were there.

I’m not a big fan of religious legalism. But I think God honors our obedience when we obey from a heart of love. I really wanted to obey the command to eat what was put before me. I’ve been a picky eater my entire life and one thing I’m trying to do is to be more open to different types of food.

Earlier in the week, my host introduced me to vegemite. He was gracious and allowed me to smear it lightly on a piece of toast instead of putting on a thick layer. It wasn’t all that bad. I ate the entire piece of toast, which impressed him.

Knowing this was our first trip to Australia, he wanted to expose us to the richness of an authentic Aussie dinner. So he bought a kangaroo roast, some herbs, and vegetables and asked his mum to make dinner for us.

His mum is an excellent cook. The veggies were delightful. She did a decent job with the kangaroo roast, though I prefer meat with a little more fat and kangaroo is extremely lean. The flavor was a bit wild, as you might expect. I noticed that my host didn’t eat more than a few pieces. I followed suit and threw in the towel after my third piece.

After dinner, his mum told us that she has degenerative joint disease in her spine, which causes her vertebrae to click and pop when she moves. I prayed over her back for a few minutes until it got nice and warm and told her, “You’re healed, now stop being a sissy.”

On the follow-up visit, a week later, she reported that the popping and clicking was gone. To thank us, she cooked a slow-roasted lamb.

It was delicious.

Sometimes obedience can be a blessing.

This is an excerpt from the book My Craziest Adventures With God Volume 2.