Diane Williams - Angels in Action - Stories to Inspire

Soon though, I became so desperate for a cure I considered treatments that were a little off the radar. I heard about an alternative health care facility called Heal Thyself Nutrition Center. I made an appointment and drove over, wondering what I was getting myself into. After filling out paperwork with the receptionist, I was escorted to the office of Ted the nutritionist, and I sat down opposite him. Immediately he began waving a long chain with a charm on it back and forth across my face. He chanted softly, “Relax, relax.” I did my best to cooperate, but I must admit that I was thinking, This guy is a quack! Still, I was desperate, so there I sat as Ted waved the charm before me and chanted, “Relax, relax, relax…”

I began to slip into some kind of trance. In that tranquil state, I heard Ted’s gentle voice describing how my blood, colon, joints, cartilage, minerals, and immune and digestive systems combined to produce disease in my imbalanced body.

“Your body can be put back in balance, but only you can do it,” he said softly, looking deep into my eyes. “Diane, this is the prescription you will follow for the next twenty-one days,” he said. “First, make and drink raw fruit and vegetable juices.” As he spoke, I viewed the list of fresh juices—spinach, wheatgrass, collard greens and carrots—each combination sounded more disgusting and inedible than the last. I tried to refrain from grimacing.

Ted continued the outline of my daily treatment routine. I was commissioned to pray, read the Bible, and meditate for thirty minutes between four and five in the morning. Next, I was told to drink a vile concoction of hot water, garlic, cayenne pepper, and olive oil. Then I had to exercise, practicing yoga and deep breathing.

Ted said, “It is each individual’s responsibility to access God’s healing power. Here at the center we do that by teaching our participants three steps using the holistic approach—we seek to cleanse the body, the mind, and the spirit.”

The diet, meditation, and prayer seemed completely unreasonable to me. “How could prayer and meditation fix my arthritis?” I asked in disbelief, “You want me to believe that God and juices are going to heal me?”

Ted smiled and nodded.

“Why can’t I eat produce?” I asked. “I’d much rather eat collard greens than drink them.”

“Two basic reasons,” Ted replied. “First, the body needs a lot of nutrients when it is out of balance. In addition, liquid reaches the bloodstream expeditiously, flushing out the toxins. The quicker we excrete the poisons, the sooner we rebuild the body and renew the mind and spirit, bringing the integral parts into harmony and becoming healthy, whole, and complete.”

I was still skeptical. “All that sounds well and good,” I said, “but…but…I’m used to eating and I don’t know God that well. I’m scared I’ll die. I have to eat!”

“Trust God and not only will you be alive, you will be living in a healthy body,” Ted said.

During my orientation I learned that food was not the only thing of which I would be deprived. There would be no television and no radio, except the spiritual, faith-oriented and inspirational messages; no telephone calls, except in the case of emergencies; and no visitors.

“Let’s start your healing process now. The longer you wait, the longer it will take you to be healed, and I know you want to be out of this pain and agony,” Ted said.

My inner voice said, “ Try God and do it now. ”

Every day I prayed, “God, is this what you really want me to do? If it is…help!” Attending my weekly seminars, I was constantly reminded to embrace God—I visited him in nature by going to the beach, listening to the ocean, and going to the mountains for long walks and solitude.

I followed this program tenaciously; I did everything Ted asked, including drinking bitter herbal teas. The first day was fine. The second day I was very hungry—water became my meal between juices. By the fourth day, the hunger was unbearable. I prayed and asked God to take the hunger away. To my surprise, the hunger disappeared almost immediately.

I didn’t recognize myself for those first six days. The exhaustion, frustration, and irritation turned me into a short-tempered, raging woman that even I didn’t want to tolerate. By the seventh day, though, I noticed that I was beginning to be energized. As the days passed, I noticed that people were constantly giving me compliments on my skin, hair, nails, and attitude.

After the twenty-first day, the swelling, pain, and stiffness in my feet and legs had abated only slightly. Unexpectedly, my perspective changed, and I no longer reacted to my situation in the same way. When people said or made negative comments, it did not affect me. The ladies at work used to tease me about my orthopedic shoes. “Those shoes must bring you comfort ‘cause they sure don’t bring you beauty.” These comments used to hurt so much that I’d find myself crying in the bathroom, wanting to hurt them back so much that I would avoid them for the rest of the day. But after my twenty-first day in his program, their words just rolled off my back. During my time with God, I learned to focus on what God saw; He saw their heart instead of their appearance. I Samuel 16:7 says, “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’”

I knew a complete healing would come eventually even if my symptoms didn’t fully leave me. In the meantime, I had changed. I had an unyielding zest for life. I experienced an abundance of peace, joy, and happiness. I felt as though God was my unconditional friend, I floated in His love all day long. I had developed my first relationship with God. People were drawn to me like a magnet, eager to be my friend. Everywhere I went, people would approach me, complimenting me and commenting on my radiance, my serenity. They wanted to befriend me. They asked me what was I doing, and I would share my experience.

My faith was unshakable. I believed I was in paradise, living a life of total bliss.

I embraced my new lifestyle wholeheartedly. I sustained the path I’d set out on. I increased my Scripture reading, and Helen came over more frequently. At the end of a year, Helen became persistent I become a Jehovah’s Witness. I declined and our spiritual relationship began to dissipate, but our friendship was enhanced. Helen felt my biggest miracle was the day I decided to join Marble Collegiate Church.

Speaking of miracles—I got a few I hadn’t thought to ask for. The animosity I had felt toward my employers evaporated. My boss promoted me to a leadership role, which afforded me the opportunity to implement and design projects from inception to completion. I quit two of my three jobs, but I experienced a supernatural financial increase. Money was showing up from both known and unknown sources. I was able to begin giving financial gifts to charitable organizations.

I experienced almost constant physical and emotional pleasure, and the feeling was truly phenomenal. Most importantly, my faith was stronger than ever.

Approximately two years later, I was jumping off the bed as if I were sixteen years old again. I felt like a spring chicken. There was no ache, no pain, no swelling, no stiffness, and no fatigue. I was so happy I cried a river of joyful tears.

I walked into the office one day and Andrea, my co-worker and friend, stopped in her tracks, looked at me with her eyes stretched to capacity, and dropped her folder to the floor. She was shaking her finger as she pointed at my feet.

“Oh my God, you’re wearing heels!” Andrea burst out vociferously. “Your beauty is astounding…are you cheating on your husband?”