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by Melissa Mathews
(The marriage series will continue next week. But, in honor of President Reagan, I thought you might like a story about him. The following comes from Peggy Noonan's book "When Character Was King."
'Do you know about his ulcer?' Nancy Reagan asked me. We were talking about his early days in the governship. He came home a few months into his new job, looked at Nancy and said he didn't feel good. He told me, 'I spent thirteen years at Warner Brothers, and they didn't give me an ulcer, but I think I'm getting one now.'
And he was. It was a sharp pain in his stomach that wouldn't go away. His doctor examined him and confirmed it. Reagan wasn't sure when it started, but he thought it was when he started to worry about running for governor.
He was embarrassed; he thought an ulcer was a sign of weakness, and he kept it a secret from everyone but the family and a few friends. It hung on for more than a year and got worse until one morning before leaving the house he reached for the Maalox and something inside him said 'You don't need this anymore.' So he put down the bottle and didn't take his medicine before he left.
Later that morning he had a meeting in his office with a man from Southern California who had a problem he wanted to discuss. As he left he turned to Reagan and said, 'Governor, you might like to know I'm part of a group of people who meet everyday and pray for you.' Reagan was taken aback, thanked him, and said he also put a lot of stock in prayer. Later the same day, he met up with another man, this one from North Carolina. And as he was leaving the governor, he turned around and said he met with a group of people who prayed for him daily.
Soon after, Reagan went back to the doctor for a checkup. The doctor poked and prodded and said, 'I don't think you have an ulcer anymore.' When more tests came in, he said there was no sign there had ever been an ulcer.
Later Reagan thought it was the power of prayer that had kept him from taking the medicine, that had told him he didn't need it anymore. It was the power of prayer that had healed his ulcer.
Citation: Peggy Noonan. When Character Was King, pg. 98. New York: Viking, 2001.
Scott and I have been married 22 years and currently live in Northern California where we are beginning year five as church planters. I also teach 12th grade English and love it.
I would love to hear from you. Email me anytime at melissa.g.mathews@gmail.com
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