A Date Night Miracle
Denise and I arrived in Tacoma for The Gathering. It had been years since I’d visited the town where so many miracles happened. After a three-day drive from Phoenix, the first order of business was finding a place to eat. Denise and I didn’t date before we got married so we have date night frequently. It’s one way we keep our marriage strong.
I searched for restaurants on my phone and decided on Ricardo’s—an Italian restaurant in Lacey. Sunny skies and temps in the seventies made for a comfortable evening outdoors so we asked for a table on the patio. We ordered drinks and began checking out the menu.
The drinks arrived as I was pointing out “The Tomahawk.” A 30-ounce ribeye for two that a friend had devoured the previous night and mentioned on his periscope broadcast.
A man got up from a nearby table and came over to ours. “Excuse me,” he said. “That’s a really good-looking drink. What’s it called?”
“It’s a margarita. They make theirs with lime juice, agave, tequila, and grapefruit juice. If you like a little tartness, it’s pretty good.”
“Thanks,” he said before returning to his table.
It’s hard for Denise to find lobster prepared the way she likes it, and let’s face it—lobster is too expensive to eat frequently. Even on date night. But the description on the menu gave her hope so she ordered it. I’m a sucker for a good ribeye and Ricardo’s dry ages theirs so I ordered one. We talked while our food was being prepared.
I glanced over at the table where the man who asked about my drink was sitting and noticed that the woman sitting next to him had an immobilizer on her hand. It seemed odd that he would randomly come to our table just to ask about my drink. I don’t believe in coincidences. It seemed more like a Holy Spirit set-up. “Hey, baby,” I said getting up from my seat. “I’ll be right back.” I walked over to their table.
I smiled at the man who had asked about my drink. “You didn’t get the margarita.”
“Nahhh… I decided on a gin and tonic instead.”
“Not a fan of gin myself… but it looks like a nice drink.”
“It’s okay.”
I turned to the woman sitting next to him. “Hi, I couldn’t help but notice that immobilizer on your hand. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure. There’s a lot of pain at the base of my thumb whenever I grab something.”
“How’d you like to be healed?”
“Are you a healer?”
“I am.”
“Then I’d like to be healed.”
“How bad is the pain right now when you move your thumb?”
“It hurts a lot.”
“Hold your hand out for a sec.” She stretched out her hand in front of me and I placed mine about an inch from hers. “I release the power of God. I command ligaments, bones, tendons, muscles, nerves and cartilage to be healed. What do you feel?”
She moved her thumb in circles. Are you serious?”
“Is there any pain?”
“It’s better, but it still hurts a little.”
“Let me try again.” She held her hand out and I placed mine just above hers. “Spirit of pain, I command you to go. Ligaments, muscles, bones, tendons, and nerves, be healed. Check it out again.” Her eyes grew wide as she rotated her thumb in circles. “Grab onto something.” She wrapped her fingers and thumb around the arm of the chair. “It feels great!”
“Jesus is pretty cool, isn’t he?”
“He’s amazing,” she replied. I returned to my seat. Denise gave me a high five.
I don’t like paying a lot of money for a steak, mostly because I can make a better one at home than most restaurants for a fraction of the price. But when you’re on the road, you’re at the mercy of others and our meal was a business expense. The ribeye at Ricardo’s was the best I’ve ever had at a restaurant. Denise loved the lobster.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen someone healed in a restaurant. My mind has been focused on other things. But God treated us to a date night we’ll never forget. It wasn’t just a nice night on the town. It was a reminder that Jesus is willing to demonstrate his love whenever we’re willing to step out of our comfort zone.
Related:
2 For 1 Night at Chili’s
Now that is a date! Love it. Going to have lots of great memories of our group dinners and conversations. Thanks for having fun with us!
I’m so glad you ordered that good looking margarita 🙂
A great true story. Thank you for sharing your simple but profoundly miraculous experience! – Phil
Sounds like a very nice time you all had, but I am a little surprised to hear of born-again believers indulging in alcoholic beverages…they don’t call those *spirits* for nothing, and they are very deceptive and will bite and become a mocker. I pray that you will be decerning. The number one thing that destroys the liver more than anything else is alcohol and it creeps up on a person. Be careful with that.
But it’s so sweet that you two have dates to keep your marriage strong, that sounds like a winner!
God has never said to not drink alcohol in the old or new testament. The warning has been to not get drunk or become a drunkard. Similar to the accepted sin of gluttony. Food is not a sin gluttony is.
Someone has to chime in about the alcohol ?in spite of what the Holy Spirit did in healing this woman. Romans 14:14-17 says that if something is unclean to a person, to that person it is unclean but is not unclean in itself. (17)The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Colossians 2:16 says to not let anyone judge ??⚖️ you in meat or drink.
If the Holy Spirit has a problem with someone having alcohol, then he will let the person know. It’s not for random people with no relationship to the person to come and parrot what religion has told them is the only way to live.
I’ve know a lot of people who have died from alcoholism and also liver disease, so maybe that’s why I see this in a different light but I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit has shown me these things and as far as I know, it’s not God’s best for any of us to ever drink when we’ve got the best high in the whole universe that many people have never even known or experienced. I hope and pray that the Christians who drink alcohol will really pray about why they’re doing it. Before I was a Christian (years ago) I remember a guy that used to go to a bar that I drank at and he was supposedly a Christian, but I didn’t see any difference in him and anybody else in that bar and I had a very ill liver that I could have died at anytime, and I didn’t even know the Lord or if God was real at that time. My thought about that guy was that his God couldn’t be real if he drank alcohol and my liver was failing so bad I could have died, so I figured that God was not real “at that time.” But thank God a few years later, I found the Lord, but it was certainly not through that guy. There’s no condemnation to those who are in Christ, and I don’t wish any condemnation on anybody, but I just think it’s not the Holy Spirit’s best for Christians to be drinking alcohol and there are dark spirits that tempt people to drink, so why would a Christian desire it? If you don’t think what I’ve said is from God then just disregard all of it, but if you think there’s even an ounce of truth to this then please do pray about it and see if alcohol is really something you want to have in your life. God bless.
That is a good scripture that I’m familar with, Romans 14:14 about if something is unclean to someone then it is unclean and alcohol is definitely an unclean substance to me and if it’s not unclean to you then you’re not condemned about it. The important thing is to stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit and what He is saying to each Christian personally, because it’s what He thinks and feels that’s most important.
i love you and your stories