Sheryl Estridge, was feeling really ill back in June this year, worse than she had had felt for months. Having Multiple Sclerosis (M.S) meant that she had a lack of mobility, fatigue, struggled to climb stairs, had a lack of balance and co-ordination and was in constant pain.
“Despite this, I was determined to attend my first Tuesday evening service at my church, Renewal Christian Centre. I was enjoying it, but I had to sit down fairly soon after it started.
“At the end of the service, (Senior) Pastor Dave (Carr) called the sick to come forward for prayer. Instantly, I had negative thoughts; ‘I’m not ready to go up – it’s my first Tuesday service.’ I compared the distance from where I was sitting to the exit door with the distance to the altar. The exit was closer but somehow I couldn’t leave.
“Then I thought, ‘How will it look if I go up for prayer this week and end up going up another week if it hasn’t worked?’ Just then Pastor Dave said to the congregation, ‘I will pray for you every week until you receive your healing.’
“Wow, that was my cue! I worshipped (sang and thanked God) while at the altar. Pastor Dave anointed my head with oil, prayed – and yes, I fell to the ground under the anointing (the power of God, which means you don’t hurt yourself).
No Pain
“As I was leaving Church, I dropped something. I easily bent down at the waist to pick it up – with no pain! This usually meant having to move the item to a wall with my feet, then slide down the wall slowly and reach down for it.
“I walked to the car with no pain! I drove home with no pain. I walked upstairs with no pain and the fatigue had gone too!
I only remembered to thank God for my healing as I parked my car at home ten miles away because I was so shocked that God had instantly healed me. It usually takes weeks for me to get back to some normality when MS really flares up and often it gets worse before it gets better. God’s goodness to us isn’t dependent on what we do, it’s putting our faith in action that gets Him to respond.
“I thank God for Pastor Dave and for the privilege of serving at Renewal Christian Centre. This experience has been absolutely awesome; I have never experienced anything like this. I am at peace despite the obstacles M.S has put in front of me.”
Diagnosis
“When I received the diagnosis with MS in 2003, I was in my first year of teaching and the symptoms were getting worse. I was having numbness in my legs and feet. I was also losing the sense of touch in my fingers.
“I was admitted to hospital and stayed for two weeks; walking meant I had to drag my feet. It was a time that I spent drawing closer to God (praying and reading my Bible more). I went through many tests. I started to feel better so I didn’t worry too much. A short while after being discharged, I was called back into hospital and told I had M.S. I couldn’t believe it and I was scared.”
MS is the most common disease of the central nervous system – the brain, spinal cord and the nerves connecting to the rest of the body. It occurs when myelin, a fatty tissue that protects the nerves becomes scarred (or suffers sclerosis) in many (multiple) places, which disrupts the way in which messages are carried to and from the brain. This interferes with a range of the body’s functions causing typical symptoms like fatigue, loss of vision in one eye, blurred or double vision, dragging a foot, weakness of limbs, reduced coordination, balance problems, numbness, ‘pins and needles’ and burning sensations in the limbs and digits.
The exact causes of MS are unknown but are commonly thought to be a combination of environmental and genetic factors. It can be triggered by a virus and cannot be cured by medical science, only managed with medication.
“After the diagnosis, I was able to trace the symptoms back to my early childhood which amazed me. Wow! God kept me for all these years!
“I had symptoms like incurably dry feet, painful, itchy fingers and toes. As a young adult, I had my tonsils out but got double vision. About 15 years ago, I couldn’t get out of bed one morning. Doctors said it was an arthritic episode – there is arthritis in my family. I thought that they must have been right; they’re the doctors after all but on reflection all of these symptoms amounted to MS.”
Peace
“As a teacher, the symptoms were particularly hard to cope with and by 2007, I simply couldn’t function well enough at my school. I tried supply teaching to ensure I could pay my mortgage but it was a struggle; I couldn’t be sure when I would be well enough to work and when I did I was on £10,000 less per year. All of this caused me stress and my health was just plummeting. I was putting myself at risk thinking about keeping my house; so in March last year, I gave up the house and resigned from my job as a teacher.’
“I have nothing but peace right now; all I desire is to be close to God; it was Him that gave me the courage to let go. I know that before my healing, I was very close to having a serious relapse but God stopped it.”