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It has been ten days now, so I am very confident in sharing this personal testimony with you.
When I was a child growing up on a farm in northwestern Ohio, I could roll in poison ivy and not break out. That is hyperbole, to be sure, but nevertheless, I don’t recall ever suffering from a poison ivy rash. In my early adulthood, I told my late wife, Roxanne, that I must be immune to it.
Fast forward to when I was in about my mid-40s. We were renting a house in south Asheville. One fine summer day, Roxanne pointed out of our big picture window and lamented how poison ivy was growing all over the planting bed and beginning to crawl up the window frame.
Poison Ivy
I said, “Don’t worry; I’ll take care of it.”
“You’d better wear some long pants and a long-sleeved shirt,” she cautioned lovingly.
I reminded her that I had grown up on a farm and was immune to poison ivy. I went out with shorts on, no top, and tennis shoes. I proceeded to rip the vines out, pile them up, and put them in a big trash bag. …
And yep, you guessed it. I broke out with a horrendous case of it all over my arms, torso, legs… and we’ll stop the description there. It was systemic. It took two to three weeks before I was back to normal. I learned a hard lesson. Childhood immunity does not necessarily carry on throughout life!
A few years ago, while with my dear friends in our Stone Kingdom Fellowship in Tennessee, Allan had a praise testimony. He had contracted a nasty case of systemic poison ivy (similar to mine above) and told how a friend had told them how to make a tea from the sycamore tree. Allan said he was completely healed in less than 24 hours.
They gave me a copy of the recipe. I filed it away. On Saturday, September 28th, I worked a couple hours clearing some brush from the back edge of my back yard. I knew there was poison ivy there, but I knew the clearing had to be done.
This time I took no chances. I wore work boots with thick socks, tucked my pants into the socks, a tee shirt and then a long sleeved shirt over that, and with heavy gloves.
I was very careful when I was using the pruning shears to get rid of various forms of brush and some strands of poison ivy. I finished the work and immediately showered carefully with lots of soap. I thought I had successfully avoided the dreaded weed’s noxious effects.
Having retired to bed at 11 p.m., I woke up at midnight finding myself scratching my right arm. Aaarrrghhh! I got up, put on calamine lotion and a used an old sock with the toe end cut off for a protective sleeve to get me through the night.
The next day, I pulled Allan’s poison ivy suggestion out of my filing cabinet. I then obtained my neighbor’s permission to cut a couple very small branches from the sycamore tree which straddles our two properties.
He said to let him know if it works because he, too, has tangled unsuccessfully with the pernicious weed. Well, here you are, my good neighbor. This is great news!
The brew was easy to make. I began sipping it at 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. True, it will never rival Southern Sweet Tea for taste. It is a tad on the bitter side, but the results were worth it! By 9 p.m. I had downed three 10-ounce glasses of the infusion. The itching had already subsided significantly by bedtime.
Upon arising on Monday morning, I joyfully realized it was totally gone! …In less than 24 hours! I had not applied any calamine lotion except that first time. Neither I nor anyone else could even see where the worst pustules and rash had broken out on my right forearm! It has now been ten days and no further symptoms have appeared!
Sycamore Tree
I praise our heavenly Father for His perfect provision! It’s just like Him: it is a simple remedy. The tree was located very near the poison ivy. It had no discernible bad side effects. And on top of all of that, it was free! Not patentable!
No doctor nor hospital visits, no costly drugs. No precautions such as “do not operate motor vehicles or machinery.” No caveats like: This will ruin your kidneys and liver if you take too much. Just a simple, beautiful remedy! Do you remember when our heavenly Papa wrote this in His Operation Manual for life on Earth?
Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Yes, I believe it has a highly symbolic meaning as well, but clearly it is also literal in this case. Every time I get frustrated at all the crabgrass in my yard, I am now thinking that maybe someday someone will discover that a crabgrass concoction is a cure for cancer! (Note to FDA: I just made that up.)
When I phoned Allan and his wife, Carol, to ask them where they got the recipe, they told me it was from their friend, Bob, who was a walking encyclopedia of old-time remedies. Coincidentally, they had just spoken with Bob who told them he has a good friend who is an estate auctioneer and frequently has to walk properties.
Sycamore Leaves
He had come down with such severe cases of poison ivy at times in the past that his eyes had swollen shut and he required hospitalization! Bob had just heard from his friend who had tangled with wicked weed once again, and his eyes were beginning to swell shut again.
Bob asked him to hold off going to the urgent care or ER. Bob immediately brought him some tea and Bob’s friend likewise was back to normal overnight! Here is the recipe I got from Allan who got it from Bob who got it from …who knows? …but ultimately from God!
Find and cut a sycamore tree limb that you can cut comfortably with loppers and then hand-held clippers.
Take sycamore limb and remove leaves.
Sycamore Bark
Then just clip the limb and twigs into 6-7 inch lengths. I suggest you use a paper bag to store the sycamore tree herb to be used for making your tea.
To make your sycamore tree tea:
Measure 3 quarts (12 cups) of water (not chlorinated or fluoridated tap water, but as pure a water as you can find). Take a handful of the trimmed sycamore tree limb and twigs and put in the kettle/pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and continue to boil for 20 minutes. Turn off the burner and allow to sit for at least one hour. Strain into jug (preferably glass). Enjoy a refreshing drink. Tastes good. Refrigerate.
You may use the same batch of limb/twigs to make one more batch of tea.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor and therefore I cannot and do not diagnose diseases or prescribe medicine. If you have a medical condition, by all means, consult with a physician. The narrative above is simply a story of my own personal experience and is not meant as medical advice since every body is different. What worked for me may not have the same effect for you. We disclaim all liability for what you do with the above information.
