Have any of you ever been in prison? If you’ve never been in prison then you wouldn’t be able to identify with experiencing the exuberance of having the metal door swing open and stepping out into release and freedom. Well, perhaps you’ve never been incarcerated in an actual prison with concrete walls and barbed wire fences but not all prisons have zip codes and post office boxes.

In 1990 I was taken captive in a prison called “Fibromyalgia”. I was told, it was a life sentence without the possibility of release. But, my God is the God who sets the captives free and opens prison doors. He is the Healing God who remains unchallenged in the face of disease and infirmity. There is nothing too hard for Him. THIS is the very God who told me in the beginning of 2009 that He was going to heal me come the Fall of that year. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He indeed was going to do it. He had told me through the mouths of unexpected people that it was going to happen. Let me tell you a little bit about that story.

A number of years prior to 2009, while hanging onto an end cap in “Job Lot”, exhausted from simply walking from the car into the store, God sent a woman to speak to me about God’s intention to heal me. She walked up to me in the store and told me that God was going to do a miracle for me and it would be a tremendous testimony to all. I was stunned. Speechless. With that, she kissed my cheek and walked away! This strange meeting happened just after I came to a breaking point with all the testing and diagnosing of what was going on in my body. That meeting in turn was just before the diagnosis of “Fibromyalgia” was announced to me. So at this time, tests were still being done.

At my breaking point I had buried my face into the back of the couch where my voice would be muffled and screamed out my fearful cry of anguish. “What is wrong with me, God?!? Am I dying?!? Will I be sitting in a wheelchair soon?!? You’ve GOT to tell me what’s going on here and what I’m supposed to do!!” It was shortly after that that I found myself trying desperately to do a little Christmas shopping when I had this encounter with this woman. At my next doctor’s appointment, the doctor came in and announced he had some bad news. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Mrs. Nett, but you have an incurable disease called, “Fibromyalgia”. You will have it for the rest of your life but we will do what we can to make you comfortable with medication.” I became a statue, unable to move or talk. Time simply stood still. It was then that God, Himself, spoke into my silence. “Remember what I said, Tracy. What medical science will fail do, I will do for you miraculously.” That’s right!! My mind recalled the woman in “Job Lot”! I felt calm as I asked the doctor a question. “Doctor, do you believe that God answers prayer?” He said that he did. “Well then, doctor, I believe that God is going to heal my body and I will NOT have this for the rest of my life.” I actually said it with a smile on my face. He was glad to hear it!
As a side note, I looked him up after God had done what He promised only to find that the doctor had been diagnosed with an incurable disease, himself, and had died years earlier. I was quite sad.

I didn’t know that this was going to be a journey that would last a number of years. But at another point of despair, God sent a retired police officer from Texas, a complete stranger, to remind me of what God had promised me years earlier. He knew nothing about my life or story! Yes, indeed, He sent 2 unexpected people to speak to me as I reached points of crisis in this debilitating free fall into unending pain and restriction. That full story is amazing and speaks of an AWESOME GOD!!!

True to what God had said, He did bring His plan to pass and on Oct.30, 2009, I was healed at a “Barnabas” Ladies retreat entitled “Contending for the Miraculous”. A number of odd things had happened earlier in the year that caused me to KNOW that my miracle was waiting for me at that retreat. I was 100% sure. On the last night of this incredible weekend, I responded to an altar call knowing this was it. The end was in sight. A pastor’s wife who was one of the speakers at the conference prayed a very simple prayer for me. She did not even know me, I didn’t see, hear or feel anything of significance, but I burst into tears afterward thanking and thanking God for setting me free from this horrible prison. The pain left my body and I marked my calendar so I’d remember and celebrate the date of God’s miraculous release from out of my prison of Fibromyalgia. There is so much more to this story but for the sake of time and space, I’ve shared this condensed version with you.

How liberating it was to be out of tormenting pain 24/7 with no hope of cure. BUT GOD! The 19 years of captivity were years of intense heat. They were agonizing but at the same time, they were some of the greatest years of my life. I am not the same person today because I did not dwell alone in my cell. I had my God and my friend with me the entire way. I’ve been asked, if you could go back and go a different way, would you chose to do so? Well, if you asked me along the way, “Hey, would you like to be released?” I would’ve taken that “Get outta jail free” card. But here’s the thing, it takes heat to refine gold. What do I mean by that? I’ll explain next time we meet! If you will join me in the Peacock Garden soon, we can talk more about it! Until then, remember the fact that there are things that are impossible to man, but with God, all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26)