The next morning, Dr. Zuchak shook Cooper’s hand. “It’s been an interesting experience, but now it’s time for you to go home.”
“Really?”
“You have a clean bill of health. I still don’t know…” She held up a hand. “I know. I know. I’m still having trouble wrapping my brain around it.”
Rachel smiled. “Don’t worry. God’s patient. He’ll be there waiting for you when you’re ready.”
“That’s exactly what my husband told me last night.”
“He sounds like a smart man.”
“He is. The nurse will be here soon with your discharge papers.”
“Thanks so much, Dr. Zuchak.”
She shrugged. “You’re welcome. Even though I’m pretty sure I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
Raul walked in as the doctor walked out. “Good Morning. Wow, you look a lot better than the last time I saw you, Cooper. You had us plenty scared.”
“I’m all better now. Raul, thanks for all you did. Rachel said you were here the whole time.”
“I certainly was. And I have to tell you what happened out in the waiting room was miraculous. Wish you could have seen it for yourself.”
“I’d have liked to but I was a little busy. In here.”
“I’ve got to tell you, Rachel, when Cooper told me that God had given you the gift of healing, I was a bit skeptical. But I’m not any longer. I want to help you in any way I can. And I’m not the only one. Every person in the waiting room came up to me. I have their names and addresses for you. They each wanted to thank you. Personally.”
“Oh, how sweet. I’ll get back to them as soon as we get home. Even though, we’ll be sort of busy.”
“With what?” Raul asked.
“We’ve decided to move back home. Then we have to figure out a way for Rachel to use her gift. We’ve got an idea but it’s in the rough stages right now.”
“What are you thinking?”
“We’re thinking of a retreat. Sort of like a bed and breakfast, but it would be a spiritual retreat where people can come and focus on God and his healing power.”
Raul nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
“We’ll need to think about it some more.”
Rachel added, “And pray about it, of course.”
“Of course. But it sounds like a great idea. And I’ll help make it happen.”
The nurse walked in. “I’ve got your walking papers, Miracle Man. Everyone is talking about what happened.”
“Everyone?”
“Oh, yeah, everyone.”
“What do you mean?” Rachel asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough, my dear.” The nurse patted her arm. “I just hope you’re ready.”
As they left the front entrance of the hospital, a crowd of people stood around. They closed in around Rachel and Cooper. Some held microphones that were shoved at them.
A woman from the crowd yelled out. “Rachel, heal me. Please.” That started others yelling the same thing. The people pushed in closer.
Rachel grabbed Cooper’s arm and leaned against him. “I didn’t expect this.”
“Neither did I.”
A woman with a microphone pushed through the crowd. “Mrs. Summers, we heard that you healed all the people in the ICU yesterday. Can you tell us what happened? How did you do it? Can you do it again?”
“I didn’t heal anyone. Only God heals.”
“But—”
Mark Matthews pushed his way through the crowd with a camera crew close behind him. He looked at the other reporter. “This is my story, Anne. Back off. Good to see you again, Rachel.”
Rachel turned her face from the cameras. She leaned into Cooper. “Please get me out of here.”
Cooper held onto her arm as they retreated back inside the hospital.
Mark walked through the double doors talking as he followed them. “But Rachel. I thought you’d be pleased to see me. There are the craziest rumors going around. Everyone’s saying—”
“Not now, Mark. My husband’s been very sick. We’re going home right now.” She tugged on Cooper’s arm.
*
Nia laughed as she shook her head. “I guess you got back at him, right? For the bad show he did ‘bout you. Making fun of you and everything. Served him right.”
Rachel smiled. “That wasn’t what it was about at all. I was just shocked by the whole thing. I had no idea they were out there waiting for me. I might have been better prepared if I’d known. I did talk with him eventually, and some of the other reporters. I was big news for a while.”
Cooper nodded. “Until something else took hold of their interest.”
“Well, I wouldn’t of talked to him.” Nia shook her finger at Rachel. “You’re just too nice. He didn’t deserve it.”
“I suppose he didn’t. But then again, none of us deserve God’s love and mercy and He gives it to us freely.”
“Like I said. Too nice.” Nia looked up from topping the pizzas with cheese. “So you moved down here. To this house?”
“Not quite. But it wasn’t too far from here.”
“Actually, just a few miles down the road,” Cooper said. “Our daughter lives in that house now. With her husband and Jarrod.”
On cue, the kitchen door opened. A pretty woman with dark black hair walked in. “Hi, Rachel. Are we too early? Did you have a good trip, Cooper?”
“A great one, honey.”
“I’m Janet.” She smiled then walked over to hug Rachel. “I wanted to come sooner but Rachel warned me to stay away. She didn’t want to be disturbed. Had a special guest she needed to tend to.”
Nia looked from Janet to Rachel and then at Cooper. “You’re allowed to call them by their first names?”
“Didn’t they tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“I haven’t gotten that far in the story yet, Janet.”
“Rachel and her stories. Not that they aren’t great stories. Rachel’s had a very interesting life. Anyway, I’m not their biological daughter.”
“You’re not?”
“I came to The Puzzle House when I was sixteen, with my Mom, and I never left. Well, I guess technically I did leave since I don’t live here. But—”
“So Rachel healed you?”
“In a way. But not the way you mean. We came because my Mom had ALS. Lou Gehrig Disease. Rachel and Cooper opened their house to us and we stayed until my mom died.”
“She died. Rachel didn’t heal her.”
“Only God heals. But yes, God, with Rachel’s help, did heal my mother.”
“You said she died.”
“There are many kinds of healing, Nia. Not just physical healing. And as far as I’m concerned, spiritual healing is much more important than the physical kind.” Janet sat down on the stool beside Nia.
“That’s easy for you to say. You ain’t the one dying.”
“Oh, sweetheart. It’s not easy for me to say at all. And I’m not discounting anything that you’re going through. And I don’t want you to die.” Janet took her hand. “But I really don’t want you to die angry and bitter. That’s the way my mother was when we first came here. She was so angry about the ALS. I didn’t even know the person she’d become, but Rachel gave me back my mother. The sweet, kind, loving one.”
“But she still died.”
“She did, but she died at peace. And she’s with God now.”
Nia bit down on her lip.
Still holding her hand, Janet smiled. “Go ahead. You can tell me what you’re thinking. I’m tougher than I look.”
A small smile crept on Nia’s face. “I ain’t got nothing to say. I sort of see what you mean.”
“It takes a lot of energy to stay angry all the time. Believe me, I know. It wasn’t just my mother who was angry. So was I. As I said, I got healed here, too.”
Nia dusted off her hands. “I’m going to lay down for a while. I’m tired.”
Jarrod walked in. “Aren’t you eating
pizza with us? They look great. One thing’s for sure. They will taste as great as they look. Grandpa’s a great cook.”
“I’ll be back. Just need to rest for a few minutes.”
“Let me help you upstairs.” Jarrod held out his arm.
Brandon walked in. “That’s OK, Jarrod. I’m going up anyway.”
“Where have you been?” Rachel asked.
“Putting the horses away.” Brandon smiled. “Did city girl tell you what happened?”
Rachel held up a hand. “Well, what we did discuss was we both want to see you go to Atlanta, get on a bus, make three transfers, and end up at the mall.”
“What’s a transfer?”
Rachel and Nia looked at each other and started laughing.
“What? What’s so funny?”
That made them laugh even harder.
“Come on, city girl. I need to clean up so I don’t smell like a horse at dinner.”
She held onto Brandon’s arm as they walked out of the kitchen.
When the two had left, Janet looked at Rachel. “What? Did I come on too strong?”
“Not at all. I think she just needs a minute or two to herself.”
“I didn’t mean to chase her away.”
“I’m sure she’ll come back down in a bit.”
Just as the pizzas were being set on the table, Nia walked in. Her eyes were red but she had a smile on her face.
Pizza, laughter, and more stories made the evening go by too quickly.
Before going to bed, Rachel knocked on Nia’s door.
“Come in.”
Rachel peeked in. “Just wanted to see how you were doing. It’s been a big day. Are you feeling OK? Not too tired?”
“I’m a little tired. But it was a good day. It was fun.”
Rachel sat on the edge of her bed. “Same here.”
Nia giggled. “You know I thought you had this sad and lonely life. Just you in this big house with sick and dying people. Boy was I wrong.”
“God has blessed me. I’ve had a great life, Nia. Filled with more love and joy than I had a right to.”
“Yeah, but it’s not all been easy.”
“That’s so very true. Nothing worthwhile…”
“Ever is. I sort of get that now. We might not appreciate what we do have if we never had any bad times.”
“That’s a good way of putting it, Nia.”
“And we might not appreciate the good things if we’re too focused on the bad things.”
“So true.”
“So what happened after you moved back here?”
Rachel sighed. “Oh, a lot. I still had my brain tumors to deal with. And the second treatment was even worse than the first. That’s when I lost all my hearing in this ear. Not easy at all, but God did use that time to continue to teach me.”
“About what?”
“Lots of things. Especially about pain. I mean physical pain. I was never really good at empathy for other people. I was always too busy worrying about myself to think much about anyone else or what they were going through.”
“What’s empathy?”
“It’s being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand what they’re going through. Feeling what they’re feeling.”
“So did you learn to do that?”
“I did, but it wasn’t easy. As I said, the second treatment was even more difficult than the first. I was basically housebound for months during that time. But I kept studying the Bible and learning, so it wasn’t wasted time. That’s when things started coming together for The Puzzle House as well.”
“I guess I’ve been wasting a lot of time being angry and feeling sorry for myself. Or like Brandon says, having a pity party. God must be pretty mad at me.”
“Not at all. God loves you. Very much.” Rachel placed a hand on her arm. Nia leaned in a little closer. Rachel put her arms around the young girl’s shoulders. “I am so sorry this is happening to you.”
Tears welled up in Nia’s eyes. “Me, too.”
She laid her head on Rachel’s shoulders and sobbed. Rachel rocked her and told her how much God loved her. When the storm subsided, Nia moved away from her. “I’m…I’m sorry.”
Rachel straightened up, ignoring the fact her back hurt from the awkward position. “For what, Nia? It’s OK to be sad or angry or both. Or whatever you’re feeling. You’re in a difficult situation. And besides God can take it. As Annie said, He’s tough.”
A small smile played on Nia’s lips. “If you say so. “So you started healing people after that?”
“Not me. God.”
“Cause you’re just the cord, right?”
“Right.”
“And I have to be the one to turn on the light.”
“Right again.”
“With my faith.” She looked at Rachel, tears in her eyes. “But I don’t think I have any faith.”
“Romans 12:3 tell us that God gives each of us a portion of faith. So it’s there, but we have to learn how to use it.”
“But how do I turn on that switch?”
Rachel squeezed Nia’s hand. “I think you just did. Would you like me to pray with you now?”
12
The next morning Rachel stared out the window of The Puzzle Room, enjoying the beautiful sunrise. Just enough light to brighten up the fall colors of the trees. The early morning colors shimmered across the lake.
An amazing sight, but not more amazing than the sight of Nia sitting on her bed with tears streaming down her cheeks as they prayed. As she accepted Jesus as her Savior. That was pure beauty.
Would God heal Nia? As Janet had said last night, there was more than one type of healing. Physically, Rachel thought God would give Nia her miracle, but Nia’s spiritual healing had already begun.
From where Rachel sat she couldn’t see Cooper, but he was out there taking pictures with the hope that one of them would make a perfect puzzle for someone. Many of the puzzles came from Cooper’s camera. Others were from Janet, who had a gift of drawing. Some even came from past guests as well. Brandon had contributed a few. The ones with stick people and tilted houses, from some of the younger guests, were among Rachel’s favorites.
*
Nia opened her eyes. Had Rachel—no God—had God healed her? If the answer was no, she didn’t want to know. She was afraid to move, not wanting to feel the too familiar tiredness. And achiness as if she was just getting the flu.
Staring up at the ceiling, she imagined what it would be like if she stood up and instead of feeling so tired she could barely walk, she’d run down the steps. If she stood up, and there was no pain. If. But she couldn’t lie in bed all day pretending.
Looking at the sun streaming into her window, she might have spent a lot of the day in bed already. Most mornings it was still dark when she woke up.
One thing was for sure, she’d slept better last night than she had in a long time. But that might have been because she’d stayed up so late. She and Rachel had spent a long time praying last night. Then talking. Then praying some more.
There’d been no warmth, no tingling, as Rachel held her hand and prayed—no begged—for God to heal Nia. But Rachel explained that it didn’t always happen that way.
Jesus’s miracles in the Bible were different each time. Sometimes people were healed instantly. Other times, it was gradual. And still other times, it didn’t happen. At all. Would this be one of those times?
She sighed.
Time to find out.
Nia sat up. Tears filled her eyes. The pain was still there. It hadn’t worked. She wasn’t any better than she’d been yesterday. God hadn’t healed her. Curling into a ball, Nia swiped at the tears making their way down her cheeks. Why would He care about her? She was a nobody. She was…
Not true, my dear sweet Nia. Rachel’s voice spoke softly in her head, almost as if she were in the room with her. She’d told Nia over and over last night. You are a child of God, well-loved and powerful. Never forget powerful. You can
be pitiful or powerful, but you can’t be both.
Nia’s gaze fell on the lamp on her nightstand.
Faith. Rachel had told her that faith is believing without seeing. Well she wasn’t seeing any difference, but she could still believe. “Gotta have faith. Faith produces miracles. And I want a miracle.” She reached over and turned on the light. “God, I believe you’re healing me. Even if I can’t see it. Or feel it.” She felt silly talking to an empty room but Rachel had told her it was important to say words of faith out loud. So she did. “I’m getting healthier. Stronger. My cancer is dying. And…and I’m going to live. Because You love me.”
When she wheeled herself into the Puzzle Room, Rachel and Brandon were at his table. He waved. “I just finished my puzzle.”
“Good for you, country boy.”
He motioned for her. “Come see it. It’s pretty cool.”
She maneuvered the wheelchair between the tables.
“Are you OK?” Brandon asked.
“A little tired. I think I stayed up too late talking with Rachel.” She looked at Brandon’s puzzle. It was one of the old-fashioned paintings. It showed two men, one with a beard and one that was naked. Their hands were stretched out to each other but not quite touching.
“It’s called The Creation of Adam. By Michelangelo. It’s part of a painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.” Brandon told her. “It’s a very famous painting.”
“Indeed it is,” Rachel said. “God is reaching His hand towards Adam. And that’s what He does for each of us, He wants to be a part of our lives but in the end, we’re the ones who make that decision by bridging the gap.”
“I saw this painting at the Sistine Chapel. How cool is that? I can’t believe that’s what my puzzle ended up being this time. This is definitely the best puzzle I’ve done so far. It tells me that God’s right beside me. He’s always there watching over me. Protecting me.” Brandon gave a delighted grin.
Nia stared at the puzzle, and then gazed at Brandon. Her stomach twisted. That wasn’t what it was telling her. It was almost as if God was reaching for Brandon like…she tore her gaze away from it. “Well, my puzzle’s a mess. Maybe you should help me with it or I’ll never get it finished.”
“Can’t do that. Only you and Rachel work on a puzzle together.”
Puzzle House Page 12