8 November 2015
Dear Phyllis,
I said I would quit Hegge Iverson stories at two letters but there is one more that I want to share. This one is my favorite.
There was a Jewish lady in Seattle that was virtually a vegetable. Her husband was a wealthy, successful, business man but this poor soul had been troubled by serious emotional problems for 18 years, and had been in a revolving door going in and out of mental hospitals. There was a conservative Jewish Rabbi that was very fond of Hegge who recommended this lady go to Hegge for help.
Hegge hadn't been talking to her long before he put down his clip board and said, “You need to meet my Boss. He is a world famous psychiatrist who specializes in cases like yours.” “Does he live in Seattle?” “Yes”. “Could I meet him?” “I will speak to Him tonight about you and try to set up a meeting tomorrow. But I promise you that I will give you a hand written note from Him tomorrow.” Her heart soared. For the first time in years there was a shaft of hope of meeting a psychiatrist who could help. After she left, Hegge prayed, “Lord Jesus, You have got to get me out of this one. What can I say to her?” The thought came, “The woman said unto Him, I know that the Messiah cometh which is called Christ. When He cometh He will tell us all things. Jesus said unto her, 'I that speak unto thee am He'”. (Jn. 4:25,26). He wrote that down on a piece of paper and stuck it in his coat pocket.
The next morning the woman came in all excited. “Were you able to speak to the psychiatrist last night?” “Yes, I spoke to Him about you.” “Can I meet him today?” “Yes, He will be here in a few minutes. But first He gave me a message for you.” Hegge handed her the paper and told her, “Now please read this and don't say anything until you have read it to the end.” She read it, looked at Hegge with surprise, and said. “They told us at the synagogue that Jesus was not the Messiah.” “This says that He is. Now kneel down. We are going to talk to Him.” “But they told us that Jesus is dead.” “Lady, I don't talk to dead people.'' “But I can't see Him.” “Your eyes will be opened as soon as you get on your knees.” She knelt down, and Hegge led her in prayer to accept Jesus as her savior. When they got reseated, Hegge said to her, “Now Jesus has three things He wants you to do. He wants you to throw away your house coat.” She never dressed in the morning but went around all day in a ragged house coat. “Jesus wants you to go to a beautician and get your hair fixed. And He wants you to clean up that stack of dishes in the sink.” She seldom washed the dishes and there was always a stack in the sink.
Two months later her husband called and asked, “What in the world did you do to my wife. She has been to every psychiatrist in Seattle; she has been on every medication known, and nothing helped. She saw to you twice, came home, and threw away her house coat. She always gets dressed the first thing every morning. She got her hair fixed up and now she is beautiful. There is not a dirty dish in the house. As soon as a cup gets used, it is immediately washed and put away. And all she does is walk around the house all day singing.What did you do to her?” “I didn't do a thing. She met my Boss.” “I'ld like to meet Him too.”
Hegge said one of the most difficult cases he ever dealt with was a man who was catatonic. Catatonia is the last stage of mental illness. Psychiatry has no answer for it. This man was like a zombie. When he walked you had to push him like a wheel borrow. If his arm was extended, it would stay that way until you pushed it down. To sit down in a chair you had to push him down. This was not a case that was settled in two visits but simply in answer to prayer after several months the man came out of catatonia and Hegge said last summer he painted his house by himself.
Hegge was such a phenomenon that he was invited to speak to the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Washington. Hegge remarked, “Did I tell them about Jesus? I certainly did”.
I have forgotten the details of this one but there was a lady who came to him whose husband had walked out on her. After many months of silence suddenly he walked in the house one night and said, “Hi, I'm home”. She didn't know what to think but she forgave him and welcomed him back. It was late afternoon. They lived right on the bank of the Puget Sound. He said, “While you are fixing supper I want to go out in my boat and do some fishing.” He never returned. They found the boat floating and suspected he had drowned. They dredged the Puget Sound looking for a body but nothing was ever found. By that he was officially declared dead. The wife asked Hegge to have the funeral. He said, “Somehow I feel he is alive”, but he did the funeral.
A year later a man was working on a roof in Oregon when a small tornado came out of nowhere, picked the man up off the roof, and dumped him 100 yards away. (They never have tornadoes in Oregon.) The man miraculously survived but was in critical condition in the hospital. A police investigation found an old Washington State drivers license in his room under a different name than he was known as. Somehow his brother was contacted and recalled that Hegge had done the funeral. He contacted Hegge, and it was determined that this was the lady's husband in the hospital in Oregon. Hegge called the wife and said, “We have to go down there to see him.” She replied, “Hegge, oh no, I don't want to go on any more.” “I'm sorry, Shirley, but Jesus says you must.” Hegge said he never saw a man so badly beaten in his life. At last report they were living together.
The Bible says, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” (2Ch. 16:9). This is a very intense search by God looking for a man with the right kind of heart. There are very few. But He found one in Hegge Iverson and showed Himself stunningly strong in doing astounding things..
Lord Jesus, we aren't Hegge Iverson, but You can make us better to use us more.
bill cook
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