Bench Press Chest Injury and Sore Back

All That & Kayla

This week my family and I went to Myrtle Beach, SC for vacation. My oldest daughter (Kimberly) and her husband (Grant) and their 7-month-old son (Gunnar) went with us. Also, Gunnar's other grandfather (Gary), Grant's dad. We had a blast. My youngest (Kayla) was supposed to stay an extra week and work with Carolina Opry's own All That clogging sensation group, along with several other guest cloggers, to reproduce another show. Unfortunately, that got postponed until later on in the year, but really this ended up being a greater blessing to Kayla. All That clogging team (consists of 4 guys) are well-known in the competition clogging world. They are regulars at the Carolina Opry and have been for years. They, instead, invited Kayla to join them for 2 shows this week. They are all about 30 years old and Kayla is 19. She was the star of the team being the only female among the 5 cloggers. Very cool.

Kayla's Solo with All That

I learned as the week went on that Grant was having a terrible time sleeping because a few days before vacation he had dropped a barbell on his chest while doing some bench press exercises. The spotter didn't catch it in time and the bar hit him squarely across the ribs, right about solar plexus level. Grant couldn't get comfortable because any way he lay it would put pressure on his ribs and he couldn't breathe without sharp pain.

Grant, Kimberly & Gunnar

So, he was telling me one day while we were down at the beach he had only slept about 30 minutes the night before. With the waves washing over our feet, I said, "Grant, you know Father wants you to sleep and not be in pain. Can I lay hands on you?" He agreed. Grant's dad, Gary, was standing there too. They are both believers in God's goodness and I have laid hands on both of them before. Once for Gary's back, which he got major pain relief from, and once for Grant having a fever of 103, which Grant was healed in about 30 seconds from that. His temperature dropped to 99 degrees in a matter of seconds and he broke out in the sweat. (Awesome Jesus). So, both Gary & I laid our hands on Grant right there on the beach. Jesus must've been standing in the water too because instantly Grant got pain relief (he said about 90%).

Gary then asked me to go ahead and lay hands on his sore back too. He'd had a very successful back surgery several weeks ago but still had some soreness. Me & Grant commanded soreness to leave... it did. Jesus is so reliable!

I don't know what passerby's were thinking about 3 men laying hands on one another in the surf, but, who cares? It worked, and Jesus was honored and happy, I'm sure, to join us in the surf... LOL!

As the day wore on, the little pain that was left for Grant kept diminishing. The next morning he got up and as we were getting some breakfast in the kitchen he said, "Greg, watch this." And took the heel of his palm and smacked his ribcage about 5 times right where the severe pain used to be! Before, he couldn't even touch it without pain, now he's pounding away at it with his fist! Amazing!

Jesus is the same, yesterday, today & forever. His attitude toward sickness has never changed. Wherever there was a crowd of people and Jesus was present, He always healed the sick. It is a very ordinary expression (and proof) of His presence. It should be the same today. Don't sit on your blessed assurance in the pew and do nothing. Don't sit there and waste your life trying to get all your doctrine right. Get up, walk out, and allow Jesus to express His most common attribute through you... healing the sick. If you will believe and understand He is reliable, you will have great results and the greatest fun you've ever had in your life! Every day will become an adventure. I promise. I've never had so much fun!