As a little girl, I adored my Grandpa Wall. He was the smartest, kindest man who ever lived and when he told me Bible stories, the characters came alive. He gave me a love for the scriptures that still carries over to this day.
One of the stories he told was 2 Kings - Chapter 5, about a powerful and honorable man who lived in Syria - named Naaman, who had leprosy. I can only suppose leprosy in their day was like unto but worse than cancer of this day. People shunned you if you had it, because they didn't want to catch it and there was no cure.
Naaman's wife had a little slave girl, who told her there was a prophet Elisha in Samaria who could heal Naaman. Naaman was desperate so he went to the King of Syria, who wrote a letter to the King of Israel requesting Naaman be healed by the prophet Elisha. The King of Israel was scared and rent his clothes believing if Naaman wasn't healed, the King of Syria would make war on him. But Elisha heard about the whole story and said, send Naaman to me that they may know there is a Prophet in Israel and Naaman went to him, arriving in splendor with his chariots, and wealthy gifts. Elisha, didn't even come out to acknowledge Naaman, didn't want his fancy gifts, but sent him a message to go bathe in the River Jordan 7 times and he would be healed.
Naaman was insulted by Elisha, plus this was far too easy to believe possible. He must have thought Elisha should honor him, appear, do some type of ceremony, praying and calling upon his God. Do something that befit Naaman's status with a more believable story. He left angry.
And here's my favorite part:
13 And his servant came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had
bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when
he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
Naaman was humbled, went to the River Jordan, bathed 7 times and was totally healed of the leprosy.
Then there's the ending to the story where Elisha refused his gifts but a servant of Elisha ran after Naaman, lied by saying Elisha sent him to retrieve a small gift, Naaman gratefully gave him some money, and the servant was immediately struck with leprosy and this curse was passed down through his children and their children's children. Ouch. Don't mess with a prophet.
The modern day moral of this story? I see it everyday. People are given diagnosis of fancy, hard to pronounce words like Hashimoto's encephalopathy, autoimmune thyroiditis (SREAT), fibromyalgia, ehlers-danlos syndrome, PCOS, multiple sclerosis, thyroid cancer, bloating, stomach pain, UTI's, chronic fatigue syndrome, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, heart palpitations, floaters, blurry vision, dizziness, insomnia, memory loss, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, Raynaud's syndrome, tinnitus, migraines, vertigo, hot flashes, brain fog, fatigue, lupus, Lyme disease, insomnia, aches and pains, depression, anxiety, hair loss, weight gain, infertility, plantar fasciitis, and fatty liver, etc.
They won't try simple things to fix their problem by doing things that seem far too easy to be believable. And as if that isn't bad enough - they are ticked off at anyone who tries to tell them about the far too easy things to be believable - a possible cure. As if they are too special or important to be cured with food. Sound like anyone you just heard about ... like Naaman? How can food be better than fancy drugs and operations? Give me a break.
Stephen Covey said, "If you argue for your weakness, it is yours."
Going to bathe 7 times in the River Jordan would be quite a big deal for those of us who live in the US ... but drinking celery juice everyday is way too easy to be believable. I join with the servant of Naaman and say, "if you were told to do some great thing (like stints, chemo and operations) would you not have done it? How much rather then when you are told to let food be thy medicine and heal?
What have you got to lose? You can still do your fancy operations and drugs. But a little celery juice (say 16 ounces first thing in the morning), everyday might work. Then add a heavy metal detox smoothie and you may have a River Jordan situation.
Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie Ingredients: 2 bananas 2 cups wild blueberries 1 cup cilantro 1 cup orange juice 1 tsp barley grass juice powder 1 tsp spirulina 1 small handful of Atlantic dulse Optional: water to blend Directions: In a high speed blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. If a thinner consistency is desired, add up to 1 cup of water. Enjoy! (Complements of www.medicalmedium.com/Blog/heavy-metal-detox-smoothie.
CELERY: It's too simple to believe it could work. So is bathing in the River Jordan 7 times.
It's a jungle out there - be safe, be well, be happy.
