There were 9 witch doctors...You need to dig

I never EVER want to give credit, glory or power to the Devil, but i do recognize that he exists and is one nasty dude(along with his armies).. OK, so many people already quit reading-as i just made them uncomfortable, but i encourage you to read on (if you are still with me here).

Spiritual warfare is real; good, bad, and ugly.  Something i experienced while in a coma in the hospital 2 years ago is something i have yet to talk about much(and have never shared openly).  I guess i wanted to be careful in not talking too much about a negative experience, and lets face it- you put up with ALOT of updates about my medical condition(sometimes folks just need to move on)

I have felt a burden for sharing this for a while now, so here goes:

Coma, drugged, unaware of time, circumstances and surroundings.  I could see out of my room in ICU when i awoke... it was very cold(and by default i was shivering), The window across the way was broken.  It had snowed, and a tree fell through it and they could not repair it quickly-so there we all lay- cold patients.  The lady across from me had just passed away- leaving behind a 7 year old and a nursing baby (i thought it was odd that while she was in a coma too, they allowed the baby to nurse).  She had a major head wound, and what looked like a cast on her entire head.

Then they came...through the window they crawled in.  I was panicked!  9 witchdoctors came to collect her body, but first-the rituals.  I saw it all, the removal of the cast on her head, filled with "fluids", a straw handed to the child who was to walk around the body 7 times and drink the fluid.  Paints rubbed on her and child, figures and small stick statues hung from the IV poles.  They looked at me as to say "you are next"  I reached for my phone and started taking pictures.  They carried her off through the broken window and no one tried to stop them.  The nursing staff calmed me down and said that when it comes to that part of culture, the government and families can not intercede- the Witch Doctors have domain.  Later that evening one of the ceiling tiles was loose and there was a cobra hissing whenever anyone tried to replace the tile.  He was a BIG snake.

I woke the next morning with a tracheotomy (that's the tube through the throat to breath) and was not able to talk. Still panicked and insistent on what i witnessed the night before. Luckily while dating- Charlotte and I took sign language courses for fun- so we were able to slowly communicate. I became angry at her when she showed me my phone and the pictures were not there.  I accused her of deleting them for some reason.  She calmed me down in a way that only a soul mate can, and we began to talk and debrief.

NONE of that big paragraph happened...  Let that sink in.. NOTHING- not one bit of it.  It was and IS still real to me, my perceptions were my realities whilst in a coma.  The cold air of a sterile room in a hospital keeping germs low, the noises of construction, sounds of people coming and going, and the drugs- OH LORD, the Narcotics are awful- I see now why the dark world loves to use them- it opens you to things you NEVER want to experience (i am even filled with a little fright and much emotion as i type this).    Cobra-had to be my breathing machine hissing with every strain for breath...

We live in a dark part of the world, rituals and witch doctors ARE real, curses are real, spiritual warfare is real.  Even had a counselor suggest that part of my condition was from a curse of the witch doctor in Swaziland. Was it?-i dunno.  But i do relive this in my mind every day since.

What i DO know is the steadfast love and strength of our Father, it was in those dark times that Charlotte and mom prayed over me, put earbuds in my ears with Christian music, and hundreds of encouraging notes came in with verses from the Lord, cards hung on the wall.  The thing i cling to is that HE is greater than ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.  Look, if you have read this far and you know me, you know i have never been outwardly "religiously cookoo"(be honest, we have all thought at one point in our lives that someone we know that was heavily involved in religion was a bit weird... something we have all seen has made us go hmmmmm).  I Love the Lord and do my best to do as He asks and if it is weird or freaky to you, i am truly sorry, i NEVER want to cause someone to not enter into a relationship with our REAL GOD out of seeing or hearing from someone that is cookoo for coco puffs.  

Moral of the story- Get people to pray for you, over you and with you.  Seek out those that would encourage you.  Turn your face toward the Lord.  The enemy is strong, and trust me- he does not want you to succeed in following Christ or bringing others along to follow Him. I see now that what may have been an attempt to discourage us out of ministry, God has used this to bring us into deeper relationship with Himself.  We had a choice; abandon or dig.  Sometimes you will have to rely on those around you, when you haven't the strength or wherewithal for yourself. BUT, when you have a choice to do the same every day.  I pray you DIG and DIG DEEP.  His Word is truth, it brings LIFE.

Thanks for listening(reading)  May the Lord guide you and keep you safe.  Lean not on your own understanding!- i encourage you TODAY; with reckless abandon, FOLLOW Jesus!