Meet Kris Phelps

It was a day we had been dreading. The day the doctor delivered the devastating news that my husband had a progressive and incurable disease. We were having lunch after the appointment when a friend called to say that as she was on her knees praying for us, she had a vision. She went on to describe the scene we had just come from. In that small exam room she saw the doctor, my husband and myself, and in addition, Jesus was also there. She said he looked like a young hippie who was in a popular tv commercial at the time. In her vision, she saw Jesus raise his arms over us and say, “I’ve got this”. I clung to this reassuring picture of Jesus, yet I was still living with constant anxiety, fear and grief. Sleep eluded me, as my worries took a toll on my health. How would I care for my husband? How would we live? Who would want to be with us? Would I have to quit working? I persevered in my quiet time and prayer, but prayers consisted mostly of a list of things in my life that I loved and I was begging God not to change. I was paralyzed. Eventually, during a morning quiet time, as I was reading Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change …” I felt and almost heard, the Holy Spirit commanding me to stop being afraid. It became possible for me to more fully embrace the vision that “Jesus has this”. Worry about the future was replaced with confidence that God was with me in this and the future was in his hands, not mine. I was free to pray with more gratitude and then move on to do what seemed to be the next right thing. Do I ever slip back into fearing what’s to come? Of course, but now I can more easily name the feeling and choose to live with a vision of the God who loves me and is with me.