God Restores Retired Pastor’s Sight

When Chisholm Trail Assisted Living in Duncan, Oklahoma, shut its doors to visitors in mid-March because of COVID-19, fellow residents asked Paul A. Beasley, 62, if he would take over as leader of their Sunday School class.

The only problem for the retired AG minister: being able to read lessons in the Baptist quarterly being used. In 2018, Beasley had been diagnosed with macular degeneration, the same incurable eye disease that had caused blindness in his mother, Margaret, before her death.

Although he agreed to do it, Beasley worried about studying beforehand, because he couldn’t read the lessons or his Bible that well. That is, until the Holy Spirit intervened a few days before his first session.

“I prayed and felt impressed to have my wife (Karen) lay her thumbs on my eyes and pray,” says Beasley, whose voice trembles with emotion as he shares the story. “When she finished praying, I picked up the quarterly and could read it perfectly.”

Beasley says he took his Bible, held it close as if a newborn baby, and wept.

“This has drawn me closer to the Lord than I’ve ever been,” he says.

Karen, his wife of 20 years, says while the miracle surprised her, she knew God could heal her husband’s eyesight. Karen, 67, says the immediate answer strengthened her faith — and that of other class members.

“Their faces and eyes lit up,” she says. “They were just so happy. I had to read the Bible for Paul, so he is a lot happier when he is able to read it.”

James W. Beasley, 54, replaced his brother as pastor of Frederick First Assembly of God in Oklahoma last September when Paul and Karen moved to assisted living.

The healing brought more than a physical transformation. Because of his failing health, Paul had lost much of the upbeat personality he exhibited before, his brother says. But when Paul called him after his healing, his voice sparkled with excitement, according to James.

“You could hear there was something different in his voice,” James says. “I was on cloud nine for him.”

James told his brother he needed to start playing piano again, as a woman who had played for residents on Wednesdays could no longer enter the facility. The following week, Paul performed a rendition of old hymns.

Because Paul had pastored Frederick First AG for two years before moving to assisted living, the healing of his eyesight has bolstered the faith of adherents there, too.

“I tell our members God’s not a respecter of persons,” says James, who pastored in Arizona for 12 years before moving to Frederick. “If He did it for Paul, He can do it for them. So we practice laying on of hands. It has strengthened our belief.”

As for Paul, he chuckles about leading the Sunday School class.

“I have to remind myself I’m filling in for a Baptist,” says Beasley, who in the past has served Communion to other residents.