Rush of Heaven, by Ema McKinley

I believe in miracles, and believe that God still heals today.  But every now and then I'll hear a story that takes me from a theoretical belief to "Wow!  We worship a mighty God!"  Ema McKinley's story is one of those.  In Rush of Heaven: One Woman's Miraculous Encounter with Jesus, McKinley tells her story of her injury due to a freak accident at work, her two decades of debilitating pain, and her miraculous healing experience.

While crawling around among the rafters in the stock room at work, McKinley fell and hung upside-down, unconscious, for hours before someone found her and got her down.  As a result of her injuries, she developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), which caused her immense constant pain and forced her to use a wheelchair and need constant medical care.  Then after nearly 20 years of suffering with RSD and a host of related medical issues, she fell off her wheelchair.  She was home alone and helpless.  After several hours, Jesus appeared to her, straightened her distorted joints, and helped her to her feet.  She walked for the first time in years.

A story like this is bound to raise questions from doubters.  McKinley, perhaps anticipating objections, provides copious medical reports from throughout her illness, along with doctors' evaluations after her healing.  There is no question that what happened to her was nothing short of an incredible, miraculous healing.

While the story of McKinley's encounter with Jesus and miraculous healing give her story a bigger audience, perhaps the real story is her trust in Jesus through all the pain.  Her faith and trust in Jesus and his word are, to me, miraculous.  She relied on scripture, her "tasty bread and butter."  "Chronic pain had . . . wound its way into every fabric of my being. . . . My pain definitely forces me to turn to God." "The pain was constant in inescapable.  It stalked me wherever I went.  Even the smallest things could set it off." Yet she constantly turned to the Bible and prayer for comfort.  It makes the little things that irritate me seem petty and insignificant.  What an inspiring spirit!

There were times when reading about McKinley's pain and suffering that the book seemed to slog on and on.  But she went through it for years and years!  When the healing finally comes, the reader gets sense of sharing with her in her joy, after she has shared her suffering.  She doesn't dwell on questions like, Why aren't other people healed of chronic illness?  Why couldn't Jesus have come along around year two or three rather than year eighteen?  What is the meaning of it all?  She simply found a way to rejoice in her suffering, and was fortunate enough Jesus chose to take away some of her suffering in this life.  Christians everywhere can learn from her example and find hope in the "rush of heaven" that we can look forward to, whether in this life or the next.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!