I apologize in advance if I offend anyone. I know the subject of religion effects people in all kinds of ways.

I grew up without any talk in my house about God or church. No religion classes or anything. I was not taught about God and the bible. It just wasn’t part of my life or my beliefs. I wasn’t told to believe in God but I also wasn’t told not to. I just wasn’t told anything. So when this subject comes up I just try to stay out of it. I feel like I have nothing to add to the conversation. And, if I do chime in I get the funny looks “You don’t believe in God?”  My answer is, with a shrug “Not really”. However, I do believe we are taught by others what to believe. For example I was taught and told all about Santa Clause. I believed in Santa Clause. If I was told and taught about God I suppose I would have believed in him as well.

So this brings me to my story….

Yesterday I had a pretty intense panic attack at work. It lasted about 3 hours. I took my Klonipin and I just couldn’t shake it. I went outside to calm myself and sat in my car. I decided I would go back in the office and tell my boss I needed to leave. As I was on my way back up to the office I got a huge wave of nausea so I went in the rest room instead. No one ever goes in this bathroom. So I figured I would have it all to myself. Then a woman comes in and gives me a forced “hello”. I don’t want to just stand in the bathroom like a nut but I just can’t leave. I feel like if I took a step away from the wall I was leaning on I would have just fallen over. The woman comes out from her stall and looks at me with caring eyes.

“Are you ok?” she says

“No” I say “but I will be. I have panic attacks and I’m just waiting in here for it to pass”

“What is causing it” she says

“I don’t know” I said “but I get them all the time.”

“Oh you poor thing” she says “I’m going to say a prayer for you”

So right there in the bathroom she closes her eyes and says a prayer for me out loud. So I too closed my eyes. As she finished praying my eyes filled with tears.

“Thank you so much” I said with tears rolling down my cheeks. “No one has ever prayed for me before”

“Your welcome honey, God bless you”

And with that she walked out of the bathroom. I wiped my face dry, took a deep breath, and went back to my office where I was able to finish out the rest of my day.

Had the prayer worked? Hmm…. I want to think that it was just the human connection. That someone had taken 5 minutes out of their day to focus on ME. To do good for me and not for themselves. But I don’t know. Had the power of prayer helped my panic attack pass? Keep in mind this was a 3 hour panic attack, gone totally after a small prayer.

I don’t know what to think about it. But what I do know is, for once, I didn’t feel so alone.

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Honeyface said:

... Oh Kellybeth - WOW! That is a very, very powerful statement! I'm sure it was a great feeling that someone took the time to pray for you, but I for one gotta believe that it was Divine intervention going on here. God shows up when we need Him the most. Who is to say that He didn't show up to let you get to know Him better. I love these "God" experiences (I most especially love when they happen to me, but...it's aways great to hear when they happen to someone else too.) Have you ever prayed yourself? I know you said that you grew up not knowing anything about God, but now that you are grown up, have you ever taken the time to ask God to show Himself to you? Then sit back and watch Him work. He may not answer you right away as He did in the bathroom at work, but I guarantee you He will answer. I thank God for the woman in the bathroom that helped you out today - He used her to help you and to open a door for you - all you have to do is let Him in. PM me if you ever want to talk more about this - I would be more than happy to help you if you have any questions. HF

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June 18, 2008
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Honeyface said:

... Oh Kellybeth - WOW! That is a very, very powerful statement! I'm sure it was a great feeling that someone took the time to pray for you, but I for one gotta believe that it was Divine intervention going on here. God shows up when we need Him the most. Who is to say that He didn't show up to let you get to know Him better. I love these "God" experiences (I most especially love when they happen to me, but...it's aways great to hear when they happen to someone else too.) Have you ever prayed yourself? I know you said that you grew up not knowing anything about God, but now that you are grown up, have you ever taken the time to ask God to show Himself to you? Then sit back and watch Him work. He may not answer you right away as He did in the bathroom at work, but I guarantee you He will answer. I thank God for the woman in the bathroom that helped you out today - He used her to help you and to open a door for you - all you have to do is let Him in. PM me if you ever want to talk more about this - I would be more than happy to help you if you have any questions. HF

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June 18, 2008
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lrouse said:

... Hi KellyBeth, What a wonderful story. I too grew up like you. Although my Mother is a baptized Catholic, She converted to Judaism to marry my Father. They were divorced when I was 6 weeks old so my mom went back to a defunct catholic sort of non religion and my dad practiced his religion only on high holy days. So needless to say we weren't really religious either. You know, go to Church and tick of Dad or go to Synagogue and tick of Mom LOL so we did neither. Now when people ask me of my beliefs I tell them I think there is a God but I am not sure but I will find out when I die. People who are very religious take offense to that. I have though found some solace in prayer and also had a very scarily similar situation as you with a stranger praying for me and having a miraculous result. Was it coincidence? Or was it Divine Intervention? I will never know. But as I have lost loved ones it is a lot more comforting to believe that they are in a nice place in heaven. I don't know quite why I have written so much here, I guess I just wanted you to know that I understand what you went through and what you must be thinking now. I say to each his own. I do belong to a prayer chain and I will pray for others but I sort of do it in my own way.

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June 18, 2008
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lrouse said:

... Hi KellyBeth, What a wonderful story. I too grew up like you. Although my Mother is a baptized Catholic, She converted to Judaism to marry my Father. They were divorced when I was 6 weeks old so my mom went back to a defunct catholic sort of non religion and my dad practiced his religion only on high holy days. So needless to say we weren't really religious either. You know, go to Church and tick of Dad or go to Synagogue and tick of Mom LOL so we did neither. Now when people ask me of my beliefs I tell them I think there is a God but I am not sure but I will find out when I die. People who are very religious take offense to that. I have though found some solace in prayer and also had a very scarily similar situation as you with a stranger praying for me and having a miraculous result. Was it coincidence? Or was it Divine Intervention? I will never know. But as I have lost loved ones it is a lot more comforting to believe that they are in a nice place in heaven. I don't know quite why I have written so much here, I guess I just wanted you to know that I understand what you went through and what you must be thinking now. I say to each his own. I do belong to a prayer chain and I will pray for others but I sort of do it in my own way.

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June 18, 2008
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maddie said:

... God works in mysterious ways... Whatever you believe, Kellybeth, the woman's kindness and her prayer broke through your isolation and fear to help you. I don't believe God exists only in church buildings. I think he is out there on the streets and finds a way to reach us when we need Him. He also plants seeds for our faith in Him to grow. If you want to understand more - ask Him. You'll be shown the way.

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June 19, 2008
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maddie said:

... God works in mysterious ways... Whatever you believe, Kellybeth, the woman's kindness and her prayer broke through your isolation and fear to help you. I don't believe God exists only in church buildings. I think he is out there on the streets and finds a way to reach us when we need Him. He also plants seeds for our faith in Him to grow. If you want to understand more - ask Him. You'll be shown the way.

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June 19, 2008
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