Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
The day started out to be another busy day for Sharon.
She had awakened at 6:00 A.M. She started the day with prayer and reading God's
Word. Soon she knew the grandchildren would be coming and there would be no
down time for her. She noticed a shortness of breath, but shrugged it off and
grabbed her morning coffee.
The four grandchildren arrived and were all wanting
breakfast. Now, breakfast was hard because no two wanted to eat the same thing.
One would eat eggs, the other toast, etc. It was always such a rush and Sharon
was always more than happy to have it out of the way. She was still
experiencing some shortness of breath, and now there was some discomfort in her
chest. She was not at all sure what was going one. She grabbed a Prilosec,
thinking it might be her hernia acting up.
An hour later after much prayer the Prilosec did not seem
to be helping at all. The pain only got worse and the pressure got heavier to
where her breathing was labored. She picked up the nearby phone and called the
school where her daughter taught. She told the secretary that she needed her
daughter right away, as she had to go to the doctor.
The school was only a couple of blocks from the house so
Sharon's daughter arrived quickly. Sharon had already made a call to her Pastor
asking him to take her to the Doctor. The Pastor was there in a matter of
minutes.
The pastor prayed with Sharon on the way to the doctor's
office. It seemed that the eight miles was a very long trip this time for
Sharon. The prayer did help her to calm down but not being sure just what was
going on, she was very concerned. When they arrived at the Doctor's office, she
was taken immediately in and they started an EKG. As the Doctor watched the
paper clicking out of the machine, he began to look worried. He looked up and
said, "Well, Sharon do you have a preference to a certain hospital?"
Sharon smiled. "No, I am not too crazy about any of
them, why?"
Her Doctor gave a half smile and said, "Your EKG is
not normal. There is something going on that is not right. We need to get this
checked out now."
The Doctor asked his nurse to get the Pastor and bring
him back to the room. When Pastor arrived, the Doctor asked if he would pray
for her. Pastor James said nothing as he took hold of Sharon's hand and the
Doctor's hand.
"Sharon, we are going to ask the Lord to touch you
and grant unto you His peace."
The prayer did help for the fear that was consuming her
seemed to ease, but the heaviness was so strong by now that she struggled to
breath. The Dr. put another nitro-glycerine pill under her tongue and that did
ease the discomfort. He had to do this three times--once every five minutes or
so.
When the ambulance arrived, they loaded her onto the
stretcher. They started an IV and started to monitor her very closely.
Everything seemed to be a blur to her. They took her to a near-by hospital but
they decided that she needed to be in a bigger hospital that would have the
necessary facilities. This all seemed like a dream, a very bad dream.
Sharon was taken to a big hospital in a city 60 miles
from her home. She was put in ICU. In a short time her family arrived at the
hospital. She was in and out of consciousness and not sure just what was
happening to her. She could feel a pulling and a tugging as if something was
pulling her down. She struggled and tried to pull away from whatever this was,
but to no avail. She fought until she was exhausted and she felt she had no
fight left in her.
Sharon cried out, "Lord Jesus, Help Me!" It was
then she saw a shield that seemed to surround her and she felt a Presence. She
knew the Lord was with her and that evil forces were trying to pull at her and
take her life. But The Lord stopped them. The forces were hitting hard and the
pain was so bad, but they could only go so far. The Lord was protecting her.
There was pain and she was suffering but the Lord was in control and He would
not allow them to take her life. Exhausted, Sharon fell against the pillows.
She felt the presence of the Lord and knew He was with her. She knew all would
be well. There may be rough times ahead but with the Lord by her side, she
would handle them.
Sharon was in the hospital seven days. They had done a
heart catheterization on her and the bleeding did not stop so that caused some
concern. Finally, after a battery of tests and examinations she was told that
her heart was diseased and there was nothing they could do for her but give her
medication. Everything the Doctor said was negative. He had nothing positive to
say. As she listened to him she said a prayer. "Oh Lord, create in me a
new heart. They say this one is so bad, so I know all is possible with you, so
give me a new heart, one that is well and in good shape, in Jesus' name,
amen."
Sharon searched out a Cardiologist who was closer to her
home and made an appointment with him. She was on so much medication and needed
to see a doctor often to have her situation evaluated.
Three weeks later she went to see him. He kept her on the
same medication, telling her things were looking up.
It was not two weeks later, early in the morning that the
heaviness came again. She knew this was the same as before and immediately fear
consumed her. She did not mess around. She called her daughter and they went
immediately to the emergency room. They sent her on to the hospital and put her
in ICU on a nitro-drip. The Doctor came and ordered another heart
catheterization to be done.
She informed him she was not having another one of those
done. Her experience from the last one was very fresh on her mind. The first
one had caused her multiple problems and much pain. There was no way she was
going through that again.
The Doctor insisted that this had to be done so they
could see just what was going on. Her family insisted that she have this done
and she said she would pray about it. She had no peace about this at all. She
prayed all day, and with the insistence of the doctor and the coaxing of her
family she agreed to have it done, but not without reservations.
The next morning the procedure was scheduled and Sharon
prayed for peace. She was taken to the Catherization room and a nurse walked
over to her and took her hand.
"This will be all right. I see where you had a very
bad time the last time this was done, but this time will be different for we
are going to ask the Lord to direct the Doctor."
She looked at her and said, "Are you a
Christian?"
"Both your nurses are Christians and we will both be
in agreement with you that this will go smoothly and all will be fine. How
would that be?
Sharon could only nod. She whispered, "Thank you,
Lord." It was then that the peace she had been praying for came over her.
This time the procedure was very different. Everything
went smoothly and she just rested in the Lord and let Him direct the hands of
the doctor. Before she knew it, it was over with.
That afternoon the doctor came into her. He took hold of
her hand and said, "I really cannot explain this, but the pictures we took
of your heart look great. We can find nothing wrong with your heart. When
compared with your other film, it does not even look like the same heart. It's
like a miracle."
Sharon broke down and cried. The entire family cried. For
indeed this was a miracle! God had created in her a new heart and He even had
given proof to the skeptics, for they had the before and after films to show
just what He had done.
The whole family bowed in prayer and thanksgiving. Giving
Jesus, the Jehovah Rophe all glory and honor and praise that He alone deserves.
He had touched her heart and He had given her a new heart. And even if He had
not done this, Sharon knew that He was with her and would never leave her. She
had the blessed assurance that He is still on the throne and in complete
control.
The films were given to Sharon's family doctor, who is a
Christian, to use to show that Jesus is still the same. He still heals and He
has not changed. What a testimony He has given to Sharon and her family. And
they tell anyone who will listen!! He is still the Healer.
Dear Lord, we thank You that You are in complete control
of each of us. We thank You that You can heal our bodies even when it seems
that there is no hope. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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