When I was growing up, there was a man in our church who was my role model. His name was Larry. He was 28, married, with two children. He loved his wife and family very much, naturally. He was a minister in our church, although he wasn't our pastor.
He was a diabetic. We had prayed many times over the years for God to heal Larry of this terrible disease. One time, Larry confessed to me that he didn't think God would ever heal him. I asked him why he felt that way, and he said that it wasn't a lack of faith that God COULD heal him, but that his diabetes reminded him of just how frail he was as a human. Now, Larry was 6'4" tall, he weight about 220 lbs, he was strong as an ox. Yet, without his repeated injections, he would die.
When I was around 17, Larry developed colon cancer, which I later found out was very common among diabetics. Larry had served in the Navy in Viet Nam, and was therefore eligible for VA benefits.
The doctors at the VA did not diagnose Larry's condition in time to stop the cancer from spreading throughout his body. I drove him to the VA hospital more than once for him to receive his chemo-therapy, which literally drained him of his strength. Larry would sleep all the way home during the 3 1/2 hour drive. He did this as many as 3 times a week until it was determined that further treatment would be useless.
Naturally, as a church body, and as friends and family of our brother, we prayed constantly for Larry. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, there were people praying for him. We began to pray for a healing of this deadly cancer that had invaded Larry's body.
Larry died on July 7, 1981. His wife, his father, and his best friend, Hal were with him in the hospital when Larry died. The three of them witnessed something I had never heard of before. About 30 minutes before Larry passed away, he became totally conscious, apparently free of the effects of the morphine and other drugs that had controlled pain, and sustained his life. Larry shared verses of scripture, word for word with clarity. He expounded on them with insight.
During this time, his pale, baggy skin regained its color and tone. The muscle tissue that had wasted away during this nearly 18 month struggle seemed to regain it's volume. Then Larry passed into sleep. He never recovered. I don't know just what Larry said with his last breath, because I wasn't there, and after all, it was 20 years ago.
Larry's wife and father requested an autopsy be performed on Larry's remains, which was at first refused by his doctors. But upon insistence by the family, an autopsy was performed. That autopsy revealed that Larry's body contained not one single cancerous cell. Larry officially died from a condition known as ketone acidosis (I think that is the right term, and spelling). That condition results when the body is severely dehydrated, and the body chemicals that are carried by the body fluids, primarily blood, become out of balance.
The official explanation was that due to the intense chemo-therapy, and the depletion of necessary chemical reactions due to the cancer (even though there was none, now), Larry's diabetes had gone out of control, causing his death.
GOD HEALED LARRY!!! There is absolutely no doubt in our minds. Yes, Larry died; but not from cancer. In his death, he was able to reach many people, and bring them to life in Jesus.
From the author: There is no ownership of this true story, and as many years have passed, I may have lost much of the detail, however, you may pass it along, use it or parts of it, or a summary of it, as you see fit. I know it is a true story because these are my recollections. I knew Larry well enough to know that had he survived, he would be the first one to tell you it was all about God’s mercy, and God’s ability to make the impossible possible.