A Lesson on Hearing
by JIm Stewart c2009

One day in April 2007, I was in a bit of depression. It seemed like no matter who I turned to, there was no relief. Things just did not seem to be going my way. I had been running, running from God. I found myself  debating with God. All my life I have had this debate. I could not understand why negative things were happening to me. It seemed like if I did something good, something negative would happen to me. I was complaining to God about this. I would say, "How can you ignore me when I keep spreading your word."  It was during one of these debates that I went totally deaf.  Doctor after doctor could not explain the cause for this loss of hearing. Hearing aids only made the sound muffled. This put a strain on the people that I love. I kept praying that my hearing would be restored. Day after day, month after month I prayed. I became angry and bitter over my situation. Her I was a cancer survivor, who faught and defeated cancer. Why could I not over come this deafness?  Then one day instead of drowning in my sorrow, I was asked to lecture on "Miracles and Angels." How could I pull this off? I could not even hear myself speak. Where was my miracle now, God? I was convenced that I needed to give this lecture. I could still talk, I just could not hear. I accepted the invitation.  I greeted my audience and explained to them about my hearing. I told them to write down any questions that they may have, so I could answer them. Here I was in front of a crowd and could not hear, but I began my lecture. For some reason, I saw a young girl out of the corner of my eye. I felt like I needed to start off with a story about suicide. I recieved a note from the young girl, She said. "Thank you! I needed to hear that story. I was contemplating suicide before I came to your lecture. The thoughts are now long gone."  I thanked God for this intervention and asked the group to join me in prayer. It was during that prayer that I heard a voice say, "If I restore your hearing, will you start listening? You have not listened to me for a long time. You asked why you lost your hearing. If you were not using it, why have it?" I began crying. The people were looking at me when I said, "Thank you God for what you have given me. I will no longer doubt you." Then as I was saying "Amen," my hearing was restored. I looked at the people and explained what had just happened. I told them that my hearing had been restored during the prayer. I continued with my lecture and was able to andswer questions that were posed to me, one question after another. They did not want me to leave. My one hour of lecture time had grown into three hours. I sold out of books that day. Oh,I forgot to mention that I was lecturing to a group of Athiest from Siberia.