Last summer, when we were travelling through Alberta, I had a fascinating interview with Doug Rawling and his wife, Robin. Doug is a genuine cowboy, novelist, musician, and pastor. While we were staying in their house, Doug and Robin shared an amazing deliverance story. I hope to share that story in a future edition of this newsletter. This month I’ll relate a healing story they shared with me.

Doug Rawling says…

A bit of background

We were Lutheran, but we’re now Anglican. I’m an Anglican priest. I have a small congregation, but it’s growing. I was feeling grieved over all the little rural churches closing, so I thought, well, if that’s bugging me, I should go to one. I should actually do something about it. We went to a little Anglican church, and one thing led to another, and I became an Anglican priest. The British settled in this area of Alberta first, and because of that, there are a lot of Anglican churches around here.

Carry on with the service

I have two congregations that the bishop gave me to look after. One was an aging church with about four elderly widows attending. I was in the middle of my sermon, and all of a sudden, this one old lady kind of fell over. She had been having some real health issues, weakness, and potentially some problems with her heart.

I realized that some medical issue was going on, so I went down to where she was. Everyone else got up, and we stood around her as she was lying on the pew. She trembled a bit, and then she was still as death. Her eyes were wide open, sightlessly staring at the ceiling. I could have poked them, and she wouldn’t have blinked.

Nobody ever checked her pulse, but in my mind, I knew she died. I thought to myself, Oh, I just hope she is ready. I put my hand on her forehead and said, “Jesus, please take care of her.” Her face twitched, and you could see her come around. I can’t explain it. Then she looked at us and said, “Don’t mind me, just go on with the service.” 

But there’s more to the story. We called 911. They came, did some tests, and brought her to the hospital. At the hospital, there was no sign of her previous medical problems.

There was a retired registered nurse there whom I’ll call Joyce. Joyce was right there when it happened. After it was over, Joyce said to me, “She was gone, you know.” I said, “Yeah, I know.”

People say, “Oh, she probably just fainted.” But why doubt? What was so amazing was that in the moment it was just so normal and peaceful. It was just like, Well, of course, Jesus can do that.That’s not a big deal. She can pass away; she can come back. What’s the difference? They wheeled her out on a gurney to check her out, and then we got on with church.

That was about five years ago. And this Saturday, her husband, her third husband that is, is being buried, but she’s still alive. That church that we started going to with four people on a Sunday now sometimes has 40 people or more. The church won’t hold much more than that.

I don’t think I have the gift of healing, but in that moment, Jesus did what he wanted to do. And he can give you what you need in the moment. God provides what’s needed at the time.

Thank you, Doug! Hopefully we will hear more from you next month.

More about Doug

If you want to learn what a Canadian cowboy does, check out Doug’s YouTube series “A Season on the North Fork”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q23u0ebvZsQ

For Doug’s music and books, go to www.dougrawling.com.

Anglican Church Photo by Mauro-Fabio Cilurzo on Unsplash

Other photos from Doug’s website