House Blessing & Warfare

Before we began our rabies treatment my husband had a sinus infection. He didn't realize it until more recently because there have been so many other physical ailments plaguing him. These rabies shots lower your body's immune system - it is advised not to get the pre-exposure shots if you have even a moderate cold. So Ben has had this sinus infection that just won't get better and was making him feel totally exhausted yet he doesn't get a fever with it. He made an appointment for himself and was able to see the on-call doctor that day (which was two days ago). The doctor prescribed some strong antibiotic to knock out the infection and also had blood drawn to check for Lyme disease, West Nile, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The doctor thought there was only a small chance of it being one of those but we really appreciated the doctor being so thorough. Then the doctor said something we totally did not expect.

"Have you ever heard of spiritual warfare?" he asked my husband. After some interesting conversation the doctor recommended that my husband go through the house and cast out the evil spirits in the Name of Jesus Christ.

We were out in town pretty late for the doctor's appointment so we had dinner out, Ben took his first antibiotic pill, then we headed home. About an hour after taking the pill, which was time enough for us to eat and drive home, Ben started having an elevated heart rate and it seemed that his heart would "jump" once in a while. That is one of the more severe side-effects for the pill and we were worried that he was having a negative reaction to the pill. Two calls to the doctor on-call at the hospital and several hours later his heart calmed down and we did not end up at the ER like we feared we would. He has taken the pill since then and not had the same problem. Our thought is that his body is just so beat up and worn out that the introduction of a strong substance sent his body into panic mode.

Now today is Sunday and church is cancelled out here. Ben really needs to get some rest so he can finally get better - he's been sick and afflicted for two months in a row now. What we are going to do today is have a house blessing. I'm am so very relieved for it. We need it.

When I was a child I could see shadows from the corner of my eye at my great-grandmother's big empty house and it always gave me a creepy feeling. Whether that was a child's imagination or... (Anyone else get those sorts of feelings or am I alone in this?!) Anyways some months ago before all this stuff happened to us I had the same experience in this house - seeing shadows move outside the window from the corner of my eye. Every time I would check there was nothing there and it was really creepy. So I prayed that our guardian angels would drive them away and protect us from evil. I haven't had that experience again since then - prayers answered. These are some of the reasons why wanting a house blessing has been rattling around in the back of my head.

We know we are being afflicted by the accuser (and if we didn't know it, the bat was a big clue) and friends and family have thought so also but to hear a medical doctor say the same thing was stunning. What dark cloud do we have over our heads? Nevertheless I teeter from thinking that our afflictions are nothing - they could be much worse - and remembering that our lives are hidden safe in Christ to the other end of the spectrum of feeling totally crushed by our trials. Throughout all we continually lift our prayers and supplications (not only for ourselves but for you also who pray with us) to Jesus Christ our God, the lover of mankind in Whom we have our confidence. Lord have mercy upon us. Keep us in your prayers for they are doing much good for us.