For eight years, James Drain lived in darkness.
After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, his health steadily declined until he was declared legally blind. At the same time, his marriage fell apart, his family unraveled and hope seemed to disappear.
“I had given up,” James said during an interview with Renee Kay. “I was just kind of fading away.”
Drain recalled growing up in church and studying Scripture as a child, but he admitted there was a long season in adulthood when his faith became little more than attending church on Christmas and Easter.
Then, in what he now sees as God’s divine intervention, a friend unexpectedly showed up at his house.
The friend didn’t simply invite James to church.
“He said, ‘I’m not asking you. I’m telling you—get in the car,'” James recalled.
That act of obedience changed everything.
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At the church, Drain says he encountered believers whose relationship with Jesus felt real in a way he had never experienced before. Unable to read because of his blindness, members of the congregation read Scripture aloud to him and discipled him, helping him rediscover biblical truths he had learned as a child.
One passage especially transformed his understanding.
Reading through Acts, Drain said he realized the gifts and miracles described in Scripture were never intended to end with the apostles.
“I had never really been taught the book of Acts,” he said. “It says this gift is for you, your children, their children and all who are afar off.”
After months of spiritual growth, Drain says he came to a place of complete repentance and surrendered every part of his life to Christ.
Soon afterward, he decided to be baptized.
As church members gathered around him, praying, James offered a simple prayer.
“Whatever I can do is for You from now on. Every single thing—everything—is for You.”
What happened next, he says, forever changed his life.
As he was lowered beneath the baptismal waters, Drain describes feeling overwhelming heat and what felt like electricity moving throughout his body.
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Then, as he emerged from the water, something completely unexpected happened.
“I remembered what that was,” he said while describing the sensation. “The light was coming into this eye, and I hadn’t seen out of this eye in literally years.”
Moments later, he says his vision continued sharpening until he could clearly see individual faces—including his daughter’s face for the first time in years.
“I saw my daughter’s face,” Drain said emotionally.
According to Drain, the miracle became a powerful testimony that strengthened the faith of those around him, including his daughter, who was already considering baptism herself.
James’ testimony points to a timeless biblical truth: Jesus Christ still transforms lives.
Sometimes He restores hearts before He restores bodies, and sometimes He does both.
No diagnosis, broken relationship or season of despair is beyond God’s reach. The same Savior who met the blind, broken and hopeless throughout Scripture is still drawing people to Himself today, inviting them to trust Him, obey Him and believe that nothing is impossible with God.
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
