Introduction
Some testimonies remind you that God has never stopped working. Lysa's story, at 27 years old, is one of them. She shares with the church, in her own words and with trembling in her voice, how her life turned around after more than twenty years living with an illness doctors were never able to clearly name.
What she shares isn't a method or a spiritual technique. It's simply the story of a broken young woman whom Jesus came to meet, heal, and transform. If you're also going through a season where your body or your heart can't keep up, this testimony can help you lift your head again.
Article Outline
1. A Childhood Marked by Illness
2. Running Forward and Collapsing
3. The First Signs and Arriving in Nantes
4. Meeting God Outside the Pizzeria
5. Healing, Restoration, and the Call
1. A Childhood Marked by Illness
Lysa comes from a family of four, with a younger sister. No one in her family is a Christian. Yet she says there was always, inside her, "something searching for a far greater strength" than anything she'd known.
Her childhood was cradled in love from those close to her, but life marked her early. Emotional struggles, family struggles, and above all, illness. From the age of 5, the first pains appeared in her left heel, keeping her from walking for long. Doctors first thought she was simply growing too fast. But the pain intensified over the years, until a sprain triggered severe flare-ups, leaving her foot cyanotic to the point of turning black, cold, and hypersensitive.
Her daily life became a long string of emergencies, hospital stays, and increasingly invasive tests. Crutches in winter, crutches to walk at all, crutches on vacation. Her father had to hold her at the waist whenever they walked even a short distance, because she had no strength left on slopes or uneven ground.
Doctors eventually mentioned complex regional pain syndrome (algoneurodystrophy), without ever reaching a clear diagnosis. A mark was visible on her heel, but the illness never fully "showed up" on tests. The years passed, and the pain gradually spread through the rest of her body: violent daily migraines, failing eyesight, a face too sensitive to touch, breathing difficulties, a numbing tongue, a narrowing field of vision. Doctors also found damage to her optic nerve. With no diagnosis in hand, they eventually placed the blame on her parents, who no longer knew what to do.
2. Running Forward and Collapsing
Lysa still managed to graduate high school. Then, seeing no diagnosis coming, she decided to act as if nothing was wrong. She forbade herself from feeling any pain at all and did the exact opposite of what her body needed: no rest, no gentleness, only more and more effort. She started running, going to the gym, lifting heavier and heavier weights. At the same time, she began nursing school.
Her body held out for two years at that pace. Then one day, she collapsed at the gym. The illness took over again and worsened. She had to quit nursing school because she could no longer stay on her feet. She was told she would never be able to have children, at the risk of ending up in a wheelchair. She had back surgery, but the pain remained. She eventually resigned herself to the idea that the illness would be part of her for life.
At 25, everything collapsed at once. She was in the middle of a breakup, in debt, without a car, without a place to live. On top of the illness, she broke down. And without quite knowing why, she began to pray for her relationship: "Lord, if you think this man is the one for my life, put him back on my path."
The answer wasn't the one she expected. Six months later, she was out of debt. Ten months later, she arrived in Nantes, two streets from the church. Without even realizing it yet, God was already tracing out a path for her.
3. The First Signs and Arriving in Nantes
She arrived in Nantes with her two cats, alone, with no family nearby except a cousin she saw from time to time, no bearings, and a new job. At that point, she didn't yet know what she believed. She prayed to "spirit guides, saints, and God every now and then." It was confused.
But through 2025, things began moving faster without her understanding why. Several signs appeared. At work, she met three people who would gradually lead her to God: one when she arrived, one in May, one in September.
Yet a new relapse, stronger than the others, brought her back down. She had to adjust her role because commuting exhausted her and became dangerous. The pain was excruciating, like broken bones with every movement. She had fainting spells, couldn't stay on her feet, and lived on codeine for her migraines. One morning she woke up asking herself: who can help me, who is able to hear and carry my suffering, when I've always been the one there for everyone else?
Shortly after, on vacation, she saw her family name written on a church clock. Her parents came to visit her in Nantes, they toured the church in Orvault, and the only thing she managed to do was beg for forgiveness. Because before all this, she admits, she was also "a girl of the world, living in sin, in fun, with a rather impulsive temper."
Walking out of that church, she knew, without understanding why, that she wanted to be baptized. It was at that exact moment that she met the third person, who invited her to church for her own baptism. She stepped through the doors of Église Verticale for the first time. She cried, she sang, and her hands were burning. Her friend told her she had been touched by the Holy Spirit. She thought that was beautiful, but she didn't understand it yet. The days went by, she joined a Gospel discovery group (GDM Sud), and dove deeper into the Word.
4. Meeting God Outside the Pizzeria
In early November, a shock: she lost one of her cats. She was angry at God, because she had finally decided to follow him, and one of her anchors had been taken away. She still decided to come to the service that week, but without much conviction.
After the service, Nadine came up to her and invited her to grab pizza with the group. For no particular reason, she said yes, even though she doesn't like pizza. The evening went on, they talked. That's when she learned Ruben had been affected by the same illness as her. He offered to pray for her. She didn't realize he meant right then and there, on the sidewalk, in front of everyone, right outside the pizzeria.
The two of them laid hands on her and began to pray. That's the moment she met God. She describes a "curtain of light" filling her, an overwhelming love turning her life upside down. She cried, she laughed, she didn't understand what was happening, but she knew something inside her had completely changed.
Four days later, she went back to exercising, with no pain in her leg. Another prayer was said for complete restoration. In the following days, she underwent tests at an eye clinic. Doctors told her no optic nerve damage could be detected. Her field of vision remained reduced, but the condition was no longer progressing: it's now considered a lasting after-effect, not an ongoing disease. Today, Lysa stands before the congregation without glasses, without pain, and without fainting spells.
5. Healing, Restoration, and the Call
What stands out in this testimony is what Lysa says next: "When God heals, he doesn't just heal the illness. He does so much more than that. And when he doesn't heal one way, it means he's going to heal in the best possible way."
She says God didn't just heal her physically. He restored her soul and came to dwell in her heart. She adds that today, not a single day goes by without her thanking the Lord for what he has done in her life. He made her grow. "He has worked, he is still working, and he will always work, because he is that strong, glorious, and loving Father."
He also changed her identity. The woman who used to fight alone, filled with pride, who no longer believed in anything, now recognizes herself as transformed. Behind her "stone-like" exterior was mostly the fear of bending before others and showing her weaknesses. Today, she has no desire to go back, because before the Lord, she chose to bow the knee: Jesus is her Savior and her Lord.
She closes with a powerful line: "God doesn't repair in secret, he restores in public." He led her all the way to stand before the congregation to share his work. And two verses spoke to her in a particular way as she began writing her testimony.
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us.", Romans 8:18
"But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.", Isaiah 40:31
Key Takeaways
- God prepares the way before we even know him. Lysa's arrival two streets from the church was no coincidence.
- He uses ordinary people: three coworkers, a pizza invitation, a prayer on a sidewalk.
- God's healing goes beyond the body. He also restores the soul, the identity, and the heart.
- When he doesn't heal one way, he heals in the best possible way.
- He doesn't repair in secret, he restores in public, so that others can be encouraged.
Personal Application
- Is there, in your life, a physical, emotional, or spiritual pain you've been carrying alone for far too long?
- Are you, like Lysa, doing the exact opposite of what your body or your heart is asking, out of fear of slowing down?
- Who are the "three people" God may have already placed on your path to lead you to him?
- Are you willing to let someone pray for you, even unexpectedly, even in the middle of the street?
- What part of your identity do you need to let God change so you no longer have to fight alone?
Verses Cited
- Romans 8:18 · The sufferings of the present cannot compare to the glory to come.
- Isaiah 40:31 · Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.
FAQ
Does God still heal today?
Lysa's testimony is a concrete example of this. After more than twenty years of pain, migraines, and optic nerve damage, she describes a prayer on a sidewalk, a "curtain of light," and, in the days that followed, a return to exercise without pain and eye exams confirming the condition had stopped progressing. Healing doesn't always look this way, but God continues to work. Lysa insists that when he doesn't heal one way, he heals in the best possible way.
What should I do when no doctor can explain my illness?
Lysa lived in that impasse for years, never receiving a clear diagnosis. Her first reaction was denial and running forward, until she collapsed. What her story shows isn't that you should stop seeking medical care, but that you can continue treatment while also honestly laying your suffering before God, even when you don't yet know what you believe. She started with confused, hesitant prayers, and God met her right where she was.
How can I recognize the signs that God is speaking to me?
For Lysa, the signs took several very concrete forms: her family name spotted on a church clock, three people crossing her path at work at different times, a move two streets from a church, a pizza invitation she accepted against all logic. None of these signs was spectacular on its own. But put together, they traced out a path. It's often worth looking back over your own story to notice, woven through it, what God had already set in motion long before you realized it.
to take notes and ask questions.