I met a woman named Joy while working in the Bagot community. She is a believer and quite influential in the community. I spent some time hanging out on her front porch and she told me quite a few stories about wild and wonderful supernatural encounters with Jesus and angels. This is one of those stories.
Joy was sick. She needed surgery or she was going to die. She had heard about Jesus, but still clung to her traditional animistic beliefs that typified Aboriginal communities for many years (and in many ways and in many circumstances still does). She was very afraid to have surgery and had called for the witch doctor to come to her house and perform a blessing that would protect her during her surgery. She had called him repeatedly for two weeks and he hadn’t shown up. The surgery was the next morning. Out of desperation, Joy prayed to God and asked for His protection and blessing through the surgery. The next day she went under the knife and came out of the surgery with no complications and no difficulties, at least initially. She said that as she went under from the anesthetic she felt the complete peace of Christ and was able to not worry about the outcome. Several days later, however, she became very ill as a result of complications from the surgery. God had showed up for her during her time of need regarding the surgery, so she again began praying to Him and asking for healing, then she fell asleep. Her daughter came home in the wee hours of the morning and as she approached the house she saw a figure that glowed like the sun standing on top of the house. She ran inside and woke Joy explaining what she had seen. Joy calmly told her that she had prayed for healing and protection and God had sent an angel to stand guard on the house through the night. When she woke the next morning, the sickness was gone and she had recovered significantly from the surgery. As friends came over to check on her and found her well she explained that she had found the One True Witchdoctor and His name was Jesus.
Many of the Aboriginal people have stories about supernatural encounters in dreams and visions as well as in their days to day lives. They are a deeply spiritual people. Encounters such as Joy’s are spoken of in the same ways we discuss unexpectedly running into an old friend at the store. I find it incredibly challenging to hear people speak in this way. Why don’t I have similar stories? Do I not believe in God for the things I need? Do I have so many alternatives to look to first that God is my last resort and not my first? I pray that I might look to God first. I pray that I might take seriously the promises that God makes and the statements Jesus made. I pray the same for you.
