I Was Crying in Pain… Then He Made Me Laugh 🤍

Months ago I woke up in the middle of the night, crying out in pain. It was that same sharp pain in my side from the diverticulitis. I could hear myself softly pleading, “Lord, cover me like You cover the earth. Heal my body, Lord.”

I got out of bed and began walking in circles, holding my stomach and crying out to our Father. The pain was so intense that all I could do was call out to Him.

After a while, I asked David to pray for me. He’s been working so hard at the shop, barely sleeping, but he placed his tired hands on me. I guided them to the place where the pain always is. He prayed… then gently laid back down.

A little later, something in my side began trembling. It felt like something was jumping in that very spot where the pain always sits. It startled me. I was still hurting, so I went downstairs to let Walter out and start the morning routine.

When I came back upstairs, I leaned over and laid half my body across the bed while still standing and whispered, “Lord, please heal my body.” Then I stood up straight and waited there for a minute… completely still… looking forward and quietly saying, “Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Father. I praise You.”

I turned to go back downstairs but felt drawn toward the bathroom instead.

So I walked in and sat cross-legged on the little rug in front of the tub, leaning my back against it. That bathroom has become a sanctuary for me. So many prayers. So many worship songs. So many tears with Abba right there.

And as I sat in that quiet space, I heard Him speak:

“Do you feel 16 again?”

I laughed. Out loud.

“Do I feel 16 again?” I said.

Then I called out to David, “Babe! The Lord just asked me if I feel 16 again!”

Joy rushed over me. I couldn’t help but smile, and I know He was smiling too.

I got up and walked out of that bathroom differently. My steps felt lighter. The pain was gone. And my heart? It felt young. Like a sixteen-year-old girl who had just spent time with her Daddy. I was smiling ear to ear.

Those words kept echoing in my spirit: Do you feel 16 again?

It made me laugh… but it also pulled something out of me. Joy. Laughter. Strength. Expectation.

How would I feel if I were 16?

Light, Strong, Full of energy…not weighed down!

He shifted my focus.

I went to work carrying that same joy in my spirit, and as I sit here now writing this, two scriptures are bubbling up in my heart:

Psalm 116:1–2 (TLB)

“I love the Lord because He hears my prayers and answers them. Because He bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath.”

Proverbs 17:22 (TLB)

“A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick.”

He met me in the middle of my pain. He lifted me. He changed my focus. He filled me with laughter and joy.

And now I find myself wondering…

When did life start feeling heavy for you?

When did laughter become rare?

When did you stop feeling light?

Maybe healing doesn’t always begin in the body. Maybe it begins in the heart.

Maybe it begins with one simple question that shifts everything.

What if He is leaning close to you, even now…not disappointed, not distant…but tenderly asking,

“Do you feel young again?”

And what if the joy you miss isn’t gone…just waiting for you to sit with Him?🤍🦋