I will attempt to share this story via my perspective. That's all I have really. What I saw, how I felt, what God showed me personally, and what I've learned from someone else's pain. And in the end--joy. I will share joy.
Right now in our small group (couple's Bible study), we are going through the book called Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. I warned the group before starting--watch out, be careful because the enemy does not like it when you draw close to God. He does not want you to experience God in any way. Spiritual warfare is about to begin. Be ready, pray, hold on tight. Unfortunately for me--I am the person facilitating the study group this time around. I went on and on about how great this book is, how much we will learn, how close to God we will become. It's basic but deep, I said. You will begin to experience God in a new way. Yep, I said all that and a whole lot more. And that's when things began to happen.
As you have probably noticed it's been awhile since I have blogged and there's a very good reason for that. You see, I've been praying. Harder than I've ever prayed before in my life. Day and night I have prayed. City to city, I have prayed. Wherever I have traveled, and travel I did, wherever I was, no matter the time zone, no matter the cost to me, I have prayed. I felt God pulling me into a deeper prayer time with Him than ever before. And I cherish that. I love that call to prayer.
And then it started--it started with either a text message or an email, I honestly can't remember which. My friend's daughter had been rushed to the hospital, she had passed out and hit her head. After being taken to the ER, she was then taken to the ICU, where she remained for almost 2 weeks. Intubated, sedated, staples in her head--it was all so surreal. I immediately began to pray for God to spare her life. For God to miraculously heal her. The doctors said her brain injury was like she had gone through the windshield of a car. So traumatic, so severe. All types of tests were run, brain drained, MRI's, and x-rays. Poked and prodded, test after test. Towards the end of the ordeal, little hope was given, and also no true reason for her passing out in the first place.
So now, I must get back to me, and what God showed me in my times of prayer. First off, I will say that I asked anyone and everyone to pray. I flooded social media, I begged anyone who would listen--please pray for this young woman. Newly engaged, beautiful, with her whole life ahead of her--please pray. And secondly, I asked for prayer for her parents--they looked as though they had aged 10 years in those 2 weeks, the stress was overtaking them. And since I have a very deep connection with them--Bible study, church, book club, small group--well, I'll just say this--I prayed my brains out. These were my friends, and believe me when I say this--I am not above begging God for healing. Not even a little bit. And beg I did. I stayed up nights praying, I made myself available to my friends--texting and talking and praying into the wee hours of the morning.
One night while praying, God showed me a picture. It flashed right before me, there one minute, gone the next. I saw her hospital room, and in the room were angels--flooding it and then because there was no more room, they were spilling into the hallways of the hospital. I asked God why. Why show me this mental picture of angels in her room? Did that mean anything significant? Was God going to heal her? I grappled over whether or not to share this little vision with her parents and in the end, I did. Otherwise, why would God have shown it to me?
She only got worse. After a couple of days, several of us went to the hospital to pray for her. We all sat holding hands praying and pleading with God to hear us. I felt the presence of God so strongly in that hospital room and once again saw those angels. Why God, why are you showing them to me? Why aren't you healing her? Right before we left my friend asked me to lay my hand on her daughter and pray for her. She was laying slightly to her left, there were tubes coming out of her head, drains everywhere, machines beeping--but I reached my hand in and touched her boney little shoulder, it was the only place not hooked up to some hospital device. I wanted so desperately for God to right then and there cause her to open her eyes and wake up, however, she did not. But, I just prayed anyway. I prayed with faith believing that my God could do anything!
A few days later I had to fly out to California with my husband for a business trip. And although my heart was back home with my friends, I still managed to see family and friends out West. I asked them to pray, they knew my heart was so heavy and burdened for this young woman. My friend and I stayed in constant contact--emailing, texting and calling. I needed to know exactly what was going on. I needed to know just how to pray. Hearing the heartbreak of my friend on the phone was gut wrenching. It seemed that things just kept getting worse. The more tests they ran, the direr the results. Would she live? Would she ever have normal brain function? Would she ever get married, and live a normal life? I did not have the answers for my friend, all I could do for her was pray.
As God would periodically show things to me, I would share them with my friends. For example, one night in prayer, God gave me Psalm 91. I looked it up in several versions of the Bible and then prayerfully sent it along to my friends. Another night the Lord woke me up and told me to stand in the gap for my friend, that she was losing hope and I was to stay up and pray for her as if it were me losing that hope. And so I did. I put myself in her place and prayed and asked God for hope for my friend. And another time, God spoke to me and said--lean not on your own understanding...I have a plan.
All of a sudden I felt that little spark of hope--wait a minute God, do you mean--as in hope for a healing for their daughter? Is that what you are showing me? I got pretty excited as I prayed that day. I wondered--do I tell them anything, or do I keep this to myself? And so again--I prayed and prayed and prayed. Only this time I kept quiet and waited on God and His perfect timing.
A few days into my trip I received a text message early one morning. They had removed the tube and were slowly bringing her out of sedation hoping to check brain function. She opened her eyes, and my friend got in her daughter's face and began to say hi, over and over again. And guess what? Her daughter whispered hi back. That was the beginning of her miracle. That text message stopped abruptly and it was a bit before I heard from my friend again. I was going crazy, what was going on?
And when she text me back, it said her daughter was now talking!
To make this very long journey shorter--God healed that young woman. She was released from the hospital a few days later, was to go to outpatient therapy every day but has already been able to reduce that part of her rehabilitation.
Last night I saw her for the first time since that horrific hospital visit. She was just as beautiful as ever and was sporting a cute little headband to cover the scar and missing hair. She had lost a lot of weight but otherwise looked and acted completely normal. And her parents? Well, there is a new look about them. Their countenance is glowing. That's the only word I can use to describe them. Glowing. Smiling. Happy. Thankful. Grateful. And they actually looked younger! For God had heard their cries and healed their daughter. How awesome is that?
My friends, of course, have a multitude of fantastic stories to share. Of how God used them in the hospital to minister to others even while their very own daughter was lying a few feet away in her sick bed in the ICU. Of those who heard their story and prayed, of friends and family--all called to prayer. Yes, lives were changed--forever.
So why do I share this story? I tell it for this one reason. To tell you that God is not dead. He is alive. He loves us, and He alone is our healer, restorer, deliverer, redeemer. I will be forever grateful that God heard our prayers and healed our friend's daughter. I was changed by this miracle, and I know that others were too!
Yes, if you saw what I saw you would believe in miracles too. Here is Jacki and my friends Marie and Dave--this is a very recent photo. God is good.
Jacki and her fiance Chris--this will be one awesome wedding!
