Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Chapter 39 - The Gift of Healing

December 26, 1948

Solomon sat on the rocky promontory jutting out over the cliffs above Rooster Cove. A winter wonderland spread out as far as he could see. The responsibility of the Sign weighed heavily upon him. He prayed for hours, “Oh my God, I bear witness to my powerlessness and to Thy might. I ask Thee to remove the veil from my eyes that I may know Thy desire for Thy people. Guide me in Thy ways and strengthen me in Thy service. Thou art the All-knowing, the All-wise.”





The sun was setting when Solomon walked in the back door. Becky and Jerry were in the kitchen cooking supper. They both stopped and studied him. He looked radiant. Lightness was in his step, and brilliance was in his smile. But most important, a knowing was in his eyes.


Solomon lifted the lid of the pot simmering on the cook stove. “Mmm...It smells good,” he said.

Before he could replace the lid, he heard shouts coming from the front yard. He looked out into the twilight and saw people hurrying up the incline to Jerry’s cabin.


Jerry’s closest neighbor at the end of Rooster Cove Road, Clarence Dover, was high-stepping in the snow carrying his five-year-old daughter, Roxanne. She looked lifeless as her head dropped backwards over his arm. His wife Myrtle followed across the yard. Clarence hesitated when he looked at the snowdrift blocking the front door.


Jerry ran out the back door and around the cabin. “Bring her in the back,” he shouted.


Solomon met them on the back stoop. He took the child stabilizing her neck with one hand. He brought her into the house with the family in tow and laid the girl on the kitchen table. She was limp as a dishrag. Clarence and Myrtle both talked at same time. Apparently, the Dover children had been sledding when the sled had crashed into a tree. Roxanne’s head had been dashed against the tree.


Myrtle grabbed Roxanne’s toboggan by the ball on top and pulled it off exposing a gash at the base of her skull. Solomon carefully palpated the area. He moved Roxanne’s bloody and matted hair revealing a gash. But even more disturbing was her left occipital region. It was depressed and soft. Her pupils were unequal. Bloody fluid oozed from one ear. Solomon touched a napkin to the fluid. The drop of blood formed a small circle within a wider circle of clear fluid. It was positive for the halo effect. Solomon knew that Roxanne had a depressed skull fracture and that she was loosing spinal fluid out of her ear.


Roxanne’s eyes fluttered then slowly opened. She blinked and looked up at the adults surrounding her. She started to whimper.


“Oh, she’s coming out of it,” Myrtle said as she scooped Roxanne into her arms. “It’s okay, sweetie. You just passed out when you hit your head.”


Solomon gasped as Myrtle picked up Roxanne. She did it so quickly that he couldn’t have stopped her if he’d tried. He was flabbergasted. The child seemed fine.


Roxanne laid her head on her mother’s shoulder and put her thumb in her mouth.


Solomon looked for the gash and felt for the depression in the child’s skull. Both were gone.


Roxanne turned to see what he was doing, and then she pulled away, “Mommy, wanna go home.”


Solomon couldn’t believe his eyes…but he believed his heart.


Roxanne’s mother might have missed the significance of her daughter’s healing, but Roxanne’s father understood it loud and clear. Clarence had seen this kind of injury when he worked for the logging company. He knew that nobody recovered like that when their skull was bashed in to a soft pulp. Clarence stared at Solomon and said, “You got the gift of healing.”


Solomon excused himself and went into Becky’s bedroom. He shut the door behind him. Becky followed him and stood behind him. “What happened out there?” she asked.


“I don’t know,” he said. “I was examining Roxanne. I saw the injury. It was a depressed skull fracture. It was a mortal wound, and suddenly it was gone.”





Becky and Solomon watched the Dover family walk across the front yard and down the logging road. They went back into the kitchen where Jerry was scrubbing bloodstains off the table.



Jerry looked up at Solomon and said, “Clarence says you have the gift of healing. Why don’t you tell us what’s going on? I don’t think this is the last we’ll hear about this.”


“You’re probably right,” Solomon said. “Earlier today the Pure One drew me into his presence in the Light World. It was amazing, Becky. He’s amazing. Your son told me that I’ve been given the power to heal the sick and to raise the dead. He even said that I can calm the storm.” He shook his head like he didn’t believe what he had just said.


Becky looked puzzled.


“I don’t understand this either,” he said.


Jerry said, “Are you like Jesus? You know, He told his followers that they could do the same things that they had seen Him do.”


“No,” he said, “I’m not like Jesus! I’m just me! I’m just Solomon!”


“I have a feeling that’s not what Clarence Dover thinks,” Jerry muttered.





Solomon realized that his surroundings were slowing down again. The circles Jerry was scrubbing on the bloodstains became slow motion and then stopped. Suddenly he was in the presence of the Pure One again. This time the atmosphere was a glowing forest green. It was thick with emeralds floating in it. Large and small emeralds slowly swirled around the Pure One. Light reflected off the emeralds sending rays of green light in all directions. Feelings of serenity and peace washed over Solomon.


The Pure One smiled and said, “I see that your power to heal perplexes you.”


“Yes,” Solomon replied, “I don’t understand. I didn’t do anything. I don’t know how it happened.”


“Your soul can act without your knowing it,” the Pure One said. “The healing of the little one was a miracle for you to see that your powers overrule the laws of nature. But...remember too that your powers are a test for you.”


“Use your powers when the outcome will promote spiritual growth. And remember that suffering promotes spiritual growth. You must weigh the results of using your powers. Sometimes your soul will exercise its powers like it did with the injured child...without your having any control over it. Other times you will have to make the decision. If you are not able to accomplish healing with your medical skills, then ask yourself, which will offer the most spiritual growth…the healing or the suffering? And I warn you…the suffering will often be your answer.”

Solomon put his hands on his hips and looked down at his feet. He looked troubled. “You’re right; this is a test for me.”


“In both your world and the worlds to come, it is a test for you, Solomon.” The Pure One’s words echoed as he disappeared.





After supper, Solomon and Becky retreated to her bedroom. They hadn’t been alone in days. The tenderness Solomon felt for her had grown exponentially. Their whole world had changed. The cradle sat empty in the living room. The stacks of baby clothes were folded and lying on the changing table.


Swollen breasts were a constant reminder to Becky that her baby was gone. Solomon bound her breasts with bandages and sat on the bed. He leaned back against the headboard and pulled her into his arms.


“How long will they feel this way?” she asked.


“They’ll ease up in a couple of days,” he said.


She was quiet for a long time. Finally she said, “Why did this happen, Solomon? Do you know? Did I do something wrong?”


“No, Becky. It wasn’t your fault,” he said. “The Pure One was determined to detach from this world.”

Copyright © 2008 by Robbin Renee Bridges
Coping with Grief through Afterlife Communication
http://www.spirit-sanctuary.org/

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