Prayer
As
a baby I was diagnosed with a rare skin disease, urticaria pigmentosa. It is a
glitch with the mast cells in the body.
It left me with brownish red spots of varying sizes and shapes, much like
a cat or a dog has. They were everywhere on my body except for my face and
hands. These spots would become raised if I was introduced to anything I was
allergic too and the itching would be nearly unbearable. The most painful thing
was not how they felt but how they made me feel.
My parents were very faithful believers,
and called upon the elders of the church to pray over me, and anoint me with
oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:14).
I was given a Priesthood Blessing. I do not remember this experience. However, I was told about it many
times throughout my life. In this prayer I was blessed that, “If you are faithful, by the time you
are old enough for it to be important to you, you will be healed.” I thought it
was “important” when I was in kindergarten and asked to come up in front of the
class where the teacher pulled up my dress, and pulled down my socks to reveal
spotted legs. She then warned my classmates to never call me Spot or Leopard Girl.
Up until that point I had not been called those names. In Jr high school when
we had to shower and change clothes in front of others for PE, I really thought
that would be the time when it was “important.” During high school I lived in
the Philippines and it seemed every Youth Group activity was set around a
swimming pool or the beach. Once again, I felt it was “important,” to be free
from spots.
During this time my parents continued to
work with doctors for answers, treatment and a cure. As my dad was in the
military we moved often. Each new doctor seemed very interested in seeing
something so rare and did their best to come up with answers and help. Twice I
was hospitalized after their attempts at treatment, which caused anaphylactic
shock.
One doctor, suggested sunbathing when
weather would allow and when it wouldn’t, the use of a sunlamp. Something so
easy was the most helpful treatment to have been suggested. My spots slowly started
to fade. By my senior year most could be hidden by a modest bathing suit. I
continued to pray that in God’s timetable they would disappear. A week before
my wedding, when it was very “important” to look normal, I only had one spot
remaining. It was on the inside of my upper arm hidden from view. By the end of
that year I was spot free.
Perhaps it’s a simple thing to write about
or consider. However this experience was life changing and transforming for me.
As a child and youth I hated being so very, very, different and the cause of
whispered concerns by strangers of
“catching THAT girls disease.” I cried many a tear because of how different I was. Yet, I am a better person from the experience. I have great compassion
for others who feel, look, or act, different. Perhaps it’s the closest I will
come, to understanding the feelings of the Biblical Leper. I too was healed.
I came to know that prayers may be answered right away, in twenty-two years, or in the next life, but they will be answered.
