* Vol. 12 - 4 God has a way of escape for HIS people as we live on this present earth


Psalm 34:19   Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.


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Comments by Joan Boney:

At the time of this writing, I am 80-years-old. 

I have two eye diseases:  cataracts (common to man to people my age) and also glaucoma

For two or three years, eye glass prescriptions have not been successful in dealing with my vision problems.  I wanted to find another doctor and get a second opinion about my vision.

I looked for a surgeon because I could tell my eyes would not be helped by regular eye doctors as in the past. 

Also many times, I asked God to help me to be able to pass the approaching eye exam required by the State of Texas for driver's licenses.  (When reaching 80 in Texas you are required to have bi-yearly eye exams for renewal of driver licenses.)  I was not at all sure I could pass an eye exam.  I was asking God for help.

As my vision seemed to worsen, I found a doctor to consult.  He was a young surgeon.  I liked his medical resume which I found on-line.  I made an appointment and felt very confident with the tests he did to evaluate my vision.  He then told me a new prescription for glasses would not help my vision.  I needed surgery on both eyes. 

Of course,  I prayed many times about this.

Other people in our church group had the surgery he was recommending and I felt assurance this was the way for me to go.

He operated (laser) on the worst eye.  There was no pain at all.   Very important to me!

Within 5 days, I saw better than I can ever recall seeing and all without any glasses.

I felt now I could pass the up-coming drivers test. 

God answered this prayer in a way I did not expect ... through surgery.

Here is another remarkable story of God answering a prayer in an unexpected way.

Comments by Pam Padgett:

My older sister had been at college two years when I started attending the same school.  She dated a man who was a member of a fraternity, and she had become a member of the fraternity's "women's auxiliary", assisting with fraternity social functions.  She was very excited for me to join the social circles she was in, and especially wanted me to meet members of the fraternity.

The first week of school my sister invited me to go to a student bar where many of the fraternity guys gathered on Thursday nights.  I went, but found what was going on there to be so bad (lewdness, drunkenness ) that I was unable to stay and I walked back to the dormitory.

A week or so later
my sister asked if I'd go to an outdoor luau with one of the freshmen "pledges" at the fraternity.  The luau site was about 20 miles away near a river, and there would be a campfire.  The setting was very appealing to me, plus I was excited about having a date, and I agreed to go.

Then, a few days before the luau, my sister told me that arrangements had been made for one of the other fraternity guys to take me to the luau because my date would be spending the day at the luau site building a hut for us ... a young man I had never even met was building a hut "for us"!

Suddenly the reality of this luau became very clear to me.  This was not going to be people sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows.  The lewdness and drunkenness I had seen at the student bar was probably mild compared to what would be going on at this luau ... and I wouldn't be able to walk home.

I told my sister that I couldn't go along with this and did not want to go, but she kept insisting that it was too late for me to back out, that it was too late for this guy to find another date.

I turned very strongly to God, asking Him to somehow get me out of this situation.  There seemed no way out.  At one point I asked God to let me have appendicitis, preferring to be in a hospital having surgery than to go to this luau.

The morning of the luau
I woke up and checked to see if I might have any pain that would indicate appendicitis, and was disappointed that I felt fine.  I kept praying for God to somehow work this out.  Time was really running out!  When I looked outside, it was raining a little, but not much. However, the rain became heavier and heavier as the day went on.

Around 2 pm I received a call from the fraternity guy who planned to take me to the luau site.  He told me how sorry he was to have to tell me this, but the luau had to be cancelled. 


The luau site had been totally flooded, washing away all the huts that had been built, which would include the hut my date had built for us.    He told me how long the luau had been held at this same site (many years) and, although there had been rain at times in the past, nothing like this had ever happened before, flooding and causing the luau to be cancelled.

I rejoiced, knowing that God had delivered me.