Testimony of Healing February 3, 1997 Issue

I enjoyed running long distance on the cross-country and track...

Michael D. Bergenheim

I enjoyed running long distance on the cross-country and track teams in junior high school and on through the first couple of years in college. When I returned to running on a college cross-country team one fall, however, after not having run with a team in six years, I began to experience pains in my back. While running, I would have a difficult time inhaling enough air. If I slowed down, I was able to breathe normally and relieve the pain. This went on for a year and a half.

I never spoke with anyone about this. I was very embarrassed to discuss it. I thought I'd just get by carefully, and hoped it would just go away. I wasn't praying about it at that time.

One rainy spring day, our track coach decided that the team should run indoors. There were two sets of long stairs at each end of the corridors of the athletic building. Running up and down the stairs was supposed to be an effective exercise in preparation for running on steep hills. After I'd run on the stairs a couple of times, the pain returned worse than ever. I was breathing loud and my breathing was unstable. I left track practice early.

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