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A Touch of Healing, I

Album: 24: Risks and Rewards

Episode: 318

Lesson/Theme: Accepting things beyond our control.

Bible Verse: 1 John 5:14

Characters: Connie, Jason

Writer: Paul McCusker

Sound Designer: Mark Drury

Original Air Date: June 10, 1995

Last Air Date: April 13, 2009

Description:
Connie Kendall comes to Whit’s End to ask Jason Whittaker for time off to spend with her grandma, Mildred Kendall. Grandma has come to live with Connie and her mom while she recuperates from heart trouble. Jason listens, then tells Connie about his plan to reprogram the Imagination Station. He wants to see if Jenny, who is blind, and Zachary, who is unable to walk because of a car accident, would be able to imagine themselves healed in the Imagination Station. Jack Allen is against the idea, just as he was against the Bible-based arcade games that Jason had put in Whit’s End. Jason gives Connie extra time off work. Connie and Mildred talk about Connie’s dad’s need for salvation and how glad they are that they have stayed close in spite of the divorce. Later, Connie waits in the doctor’s office while Mildred is being tested. Finally, she approaches a nurse and is told that the doctors believe Mildred has had a heart attack. When she is finally allowed to see her, Mildred expresses her desire to see Bill (Connie’s father) before she dies. Mildred also shares some prayers with Connie that she has written in her Bible. At Whit’s End, Jenny is the first to try the altered Imagination Station and ends up in the town of Bethany with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. Jenny is still blind in the story but is encouraged by Lazarus, who tells her that he died and rose again so that Christ would be glorified, and that Jenny’s blindness can be used in the same way. Jason is disappointed that Jenny wasn’t “healed” of her blindness in the Imagination Station. He reluctantly agrees to let Zach try the next program and decides to get in with Zach to witness the results. The Imagination Station sends them both to America during the Revolutionary War. They are both surprised and excited when Zach can not only walk, but also run, just as he could before the car accident. Their adventure ends abruptly when Zach’s mom, Eileen, arrives to take him home. She is disturbed by Jason’s program and insists that Zach go home with her immediately. But Zach doesn’t want to leave, he wants to stay in the Imagination Station because he is able to walk in there. He throws a tantrum, and his mother has to drag him out. The story continues in part II...

Questions:
Why was Jack opposed to Jason’s new Imagination Station program? Do you agree with Jack’s reservations? Why or why not? Why is it important to persist in praying, even when it seems God isn’t answering your prayers? What did Connie learn through her grandmother’s illness?