About once a week I get a Christian who writes to me in
response to my column on the website. Some are angry
and tell me about the wrath God will send upon me.
While others seem to feel sorry for me and while they SAY
they aren’t emailing me to convert me, they tell me how
they will pray for me to convert and turn away from my
evil ways. Below is an example of the latter. This person
even goes so far as to tell me they will pray for God to
make his presence known in my life. What follows is a
partial quote from the email:
Now, I did not read Natasha’s email until a few days later,
but sure enough, she was right — something did indeed
happen to me on the 29th. Then again, something tends to
happen to me daily and everyone else as well (and with
my luck lately, it’s usually something BAD). If someone is
desperate enough, they will find SOMETHING to fit this
vague criteria Natasha had set.
But let‘s play along and just say that this terribly painful
spider bite was indeed God’s way of telling me he heard
Natasha’s prayer and was answering it. What exactly
would motivate me to want to follow such a sadistic God?
Then again, isn’t this the same God who killed thousands
of first born children in Egypt in an effort to make people
believe in him? Or the same God who told Abraham to go
and kill is son and then at the last second said “HA! Only
joking!”? So maybe this was God communicating with me
after all!
Or maybe I just was in the wrong place and the wrong
time and got in the way of an angry spider. Or maybe (as
I learned from my doctor’s nurse) it has something to do
with this being one of the worst spider bite seasons
doctors in this area have seen in a very long time. Maybe
it has nothing to do with Natasha, praying or God at all.
In any case, I have GOT to post something on my website
telling Christians that no matter how much they want to,
PLEASE do not “pray” for me. I have had enough trouble
getting my life on track this year, I can’t afford any more
of these “signs from God”!
I just wanted to tell u I think its very sad u
have given up on the concept of God. There
is simply nothing I could say or do to make
u think any differently because you’ve
probably spent many years hearing it all. I
just want to tell u I’m going to pray for u
tonight. My prayer will be simple. “God I
know u exsist but this child of your doesn’t.
Please Lord show her tomorrow, somehow,
someway, that U R Real!!!! “God has always
answered my prayers so I know He will
show U something, I will pray for u to be
open to this as well. The date is Sat. 8/28/
2004. On 8/25/2004 something will happen
in your life. I didn’t say it would be absolute
prove, U must have faith to believe, but God
will provide u with all u need.
With Christ’s Love, Natasha
Well, I have to hand it to Natasha, because — assuming
she meant the Sunday the 29th — something did happen to
me that day. Sometime during that evening I was bitten
by a spider —I don’t know what type. Monday morning I
woke up and my leg was very swollen, red and painful.
Reed took me to the doctor’s office and after checking for
any possible blood clots (there weren’t any) they put me
on medication and told me to keep the leg iced and
elevated.
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Angela C. Byers
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