by Tom Coghill
Some of us are born different. And the
difference can be both a burden and blessing. I was born a risk-taker. I wanted
to try it all. I peddled across Canada on an old bike, camping at the side of
the road. I tried bungee jumping, and lived in a nudist colony on a tropical
island. As a teen I was free spirited, but not free. At sixteen years of age,
disillusioned and hurt, I began the dangerous journey of exploring psychedelic
drugs. A bad L.S.D. trip resulted in constant, excruciating headaches. To deal
with the pain, I started to use painkillers, tranquilizers, cannabis and
alcohol. Five hazy years of my life were devoted to escaping pain through
drugs.
I become more reckless in my drug use.
With callous disregard for my life, I injected a syringe full of P.C.P. It was
a dangerous dose. This injection severely damaged my kidneys, increasing my
pain level. Anger and self-hatred turned to hardened resentment. I hated the
world, but I had no one to blame but me.
In my dismal existence my short-term
memory was nonexistent, my skin was a sickly yellow. I was constantly tired. My
kidneys burned with pain, my leg muscles would spasm and ache while standing.
As my job required working on ladders for long hours, I lost my job!
One day I discovered a book describing
how a dying man had returned to health. Not only had he overcome a fatal
illness through a strict vegetarian diet and fasting, his new found health
surpassed the vitality of his youth. For me, the message shouted out “hope!” I
fasted on juices made from carrot, cucumber, watermelon, and cantaloupe. After
several short fasts, I felt better physically and mentally. These juice fasts,
three to seven days each, gave me the ability to work, but I was still tired
standing on ladders caused intense pain in my legs.
A thirty-day juice fast was the turning
point in my life. The first few days were difficult, but as I continued I felt
much better. At the twentieth day of the fast, I started working fourteen hours
a day at hard physical labor in the hottest summer weather. I climbed the
ladders with ease. My energy level drastically increased.
There were other improvements as the
fast went on. I needed less sleep, my mind cleared, and my memory was now
functioning. Leg muscles returned to health, and back pain lessened due to the
healing of my kidneys, leaving me a virile young man.
Life changed! Instead of suffering, it
became a joyous experience. The healing came like water to a parched,
drought-stricken heart. The thirty days of fasting on juice was a miracle that
changed my life.
I started to write to help friends who
had health problems. Although I could not spell or type, and had almost no
writing skills, a burning passion kept me going. I wrote for three years, and
yet the writing was missing Christ. It became like emptiness inside. Then the
Lord called me to go north and spend time alone in the wilderness.
The campground was empty; it was too
late in the fall for camping. In the back of the truck I was trying to keep
warm with a small heater. My heart was agonizing over splitting up with a woman
I deeply loved.
Three days had gone by, I was weak,
cold, and distraught. Still, there was no answer from God. I decided to go for
a drive around the lake. It was on this drive that I met the people whom the
Lord had sent. Their words rekindled my vision, my hope renewed. The answer was
given!
In looking back to my discovery of
fasting, I see that it was not an accident. The people who have had such
profound effect on my life have not been there by coincidence. There is clear
evidence of the Master’s hand. I could say fasting has given me back health and
vitality, but healing is a God-given ability; fruits and vegetables are
God-given foods, and fasting is a God-given tool. Yes, I did it; I healed and
even wrote a book on fasting, but in reality, a small child put the pieces into
a jigsaw puzzle as his Father handed him the pieces.
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