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                              The Leaf Of Life


                              By Phil Scovell






          Her email said she was thinking about riding a horse in the woods
     and Jesus wanted to take her some where but she was afraid.
          She  had been  diagnosed a  few years  earlier with  a Borderline
     Personality Disorder.   That generally  means they don't  know exactly
     what   you  are,  psychologically  speaking,  and  the  diagnosis  can
     therefore possibly  include, or  not include,  bipolar, schizophrenia,
     multiple  personality, and a  number of other  psychotropic disorders.
     Borderline Personality Disorder  sort of covers a whole  lot of things
     without being responsible for anything specific.
          We had prayed three times  before but with disastrous results two
     out  of the  three  times.   In fact,  I  had been  doing  my disciple
     ministry,  and Bible  teaching, in  our talks  rather than  conducting
     intercessory prayer sessions with her  due to her unfavorable  result.
     This time, I felt something was different.
          I reached  for the  phone after  reading  her email  but my  hand
     stopped  in mid air.  I sat and  thought for a couple of minutes.  Her
     children  weren't  at home  because  they  were  with their  dad  this
     weekend.  This would mean she would be  alone.  Not good.  I had tried
     finding someone  in her  area to  whom she  could go but  money was  a
     problem, for one, and few ministries offered free services or ministry
     by  donation.   I reached  for the phone  a second  time and  dial her
     number 900 miles away.
          When she answered, I began talking with her.  She was  crying and
     afraid.  Most  of her lonely  weekends without her children  were like
     that.  The  pharmaceuticals didn't help all that much either.  I asked
     a few questions about the horse and commented on what she had reported
     about feeling that Jesus wanted to take her somewhere.  I just started
     praying around the  things she had mentioned  and asked the Lord  what
     was going on.   Soon she described  being in the woods  with one small
     horse  and Jesus standing near her.  She  could not climb on the horse
     because she was  too little.   This was  typical of her  life and  the
     failures she  had experienced  which created  impossible barriers  for
     her.  I  prayed.  Jesus picked her  up and sat her on  the saddle.  He
     then  began leading  the horse  through the  woods but,  she reported,
     there wasn't a bridle on the horse.   She said that the horse was just
     following Jesus  and He,  Jesus, didn't  need to  lead him.   My  mind
     immediately went to one  of my own places of deep  healing.  Jesus, at
     the end of  the prayer session, walked me  into the field next  to our
     home with two red kites.  Soon, in the same  spot my father had taught
     me  how to fly  kites before he  died, I was flying  kites with Jesus.
     Later, several  days later,  in fact, I  realized that  my kite  had a
     string I was holding and controlling to keep it aloft.  The kite Jesus
     was flying had no  string.  Now, here was this woman  on the other end
     of the  phone, on the  back of a  horse with  no bridle and  Jesus was
     leading him through the woods with the little girl on his back.
          Soon, as we prayed, they approached  a large stream.  Jesus  took
     her off the horse and they both sat and removed their shoes and socks.
     It  was clear he wanted  to cross the stream  but the little girl said
     she was  afraid.  I  prayed.   Jesus took  her little  hand and  began
     slowly helping her make her way across the stream.
          Half way  across, they came to a small  pile of rocks that served
     as an island in the middle of the stream.  The water on the other side
     was  rushing.  The  rapidly flowing water frightened  her and the wind
     picked up and she thought she might be blown off the small island they
     were on.  Leaves  fell and were caught in the wind  and many fell into
     the stream.
          Suddenly, the picture  froze.  The wind  went away and the  water
     stopped moving.  I had experienced this with other  people when things
     stopped or they  felt blocked, and frozen  in time.  Sometimes  it was
     demonic in nature so we prayed some more.
          Taking her hand again, Jesus  began slowly walking her across the
     still crystal clear water.   A large maple leaf hung  suspended in mid
     air as  they traversed the rest  of the stream.   Crying, she  told me
     that for  some  reason, she  wanted  the Leaf.    I prayed  and  fully
     expected  the Lord  simply to  say,  "You can  have  it little  girl."
     Instead, to  my surprise, and  her's, Jesus said, "Little  girl, every
     thing  I have belongs  to you."   If you are  unfamiliar with Biblical
     covenants, including  the new  covenant we have  with God  through the
     finished  work of  His Son  in  our behalf,  this statement  will have
     little, if any, meaning  to you.  To me,  on the other hand, I  nearly
     jumped out of my chair  with joy.  The woman cried even  harder at the
     news because  she had never  experienced the  love of Jesus  with that
     much power and depth before.
          Back on the small island of rocks, she had said that she knew she
     was supposed to get  to the other side of the stream  and when she did
     so, she would have all new clothes.  This  had meaning for her because
     her  mother had always forced her to wear what she wanted her to wear.
     This made her hesitating about going forward.
          Another thing  that made her  hesitate besides the  rushing water
     and blowing  wind, was her two pigtails.   Her mother always tied them
     very tight and  they hurt her head.  Jesus gently  untied them and set
     her free from  the discomfort so her  hair could hang  free.  Since  I
     knew  from  past   conversations  with  her,  the  rigid   and  strict
     relationship  with her mother as a little girl growing up, this gentle
     act of the Savior spoke volumes to me.
          Upon reaching the  opposite shore, the  little girl was  carrying
     her  large leaf  and  she suddenly  had new  clothes she  was wearing.
     Looking back, she was  worried about the horse.  I prayed.  Jesus told
     her they would go and check on him.  They crossed back over the stream
     with no  problems and soon they  were walking through huge  trees with
     leafs changing to beautiful colors and falling to the ground.
          Soon they came  to a valley.   The  horse was in  the valley  but
     seemed to be  running away,   but Jesus  assured her that  he was  her
     horse and he would always be around for her to ride.
          I have purposely left out all the things I prayed throughout this
     prayer session with  this woman.   Why?   Because what  I think  isn't
     important.   Needless to say, Jesus destroyed lie after lie that tried
     to stop  this woman from receiving what the  Lord had planned for her.
     The parts you have read about were the places of healing that may take
     years of Christian walk to recognize the spiritual impact she embraced
     with the Creator of the universe as we prayed that day.
          I  told  her  that  she  likely will  never  see  a  leaf without
     remembering exactly what Jesus said to her.  She told me that the back
     of her hand  looked like the  large leaf with its  veins.  That's  how
     close to  Jesus she had become.  Is it over?  Not until Jesus comes or
     we die.   Otherwise, it is a perpetual walk  with the Lord as He leads
     the ways.