The brave boy stood up as he watched other members of his church rise, too. The pastor had just asked those in need of healing and prayer to stand, and he stood immediately. He was a 10-year old boy who immediately thought of his mom, whose knee was hurting so badly she needed surgery. He smiled as the pastor finished his prayer, whispering Amen.
Miguel* and his siblings had called a Back2Back partnering children’s home, home, for the last five years. Their mom, a single mother, voluntarily left her children there, unable to properly care for them on her own.
Over the last five years, Back2Back staff have diligently worked with their mom, working toward family reunification. “She has always made time to see them, even after they were settled at the home,” shared Rick and Lisa Bursey, Back2Back Linares Co-Directors. “Every summer, she gets the kids and they’re with her over their school break. We always told her, if she ever needed help, we would come get them. She has always remained involved, even when she didn’t have them or see them everyday.”
Together, staff and this family prepared for eventual reunification, trusting her children truly belonged with her. The time was getting closer when their mom started experiencing significant pain in her knee and was told she needed surgery. This delayed their reunion, but her children understood why, and felt called to pray for her.
As Miguel stood in his church, requesting healing prayer for his mom, he trusted in Someone bigger than him, to help bring his family back together for good. And on their next visit, he asked her how she was feeling, explaining he requested prayer for her at church.
“When was this?” she asked Miguel with wonder in her eyes.
As he explained to her it was the previous Sunday, tears ran down her face. “Miguel, I was at home that morning, resting my knee, when I felt a warmth radiate through my body, and a hand on my knee, and all I could do was cry.”
Miguel smiled, hugging his mom as they, along with the Burseys, rejoiced over the healing that clearly took place. She smiled as she looked at Rick and Lisa, then her children, and said softly, “It feels better.”
This is the power of children seeing the safe adults in their lives pray, handing over the uncontrollable pieces of our stories to the One who is over it all. Please join Back2Back in prayer that this family would continue to strengthen together, that healing would continue to be a key part of their story, and that they would never forget they have a good, good Father who can handle it all.
