Part 2 of "In His Arms"

John's bike after the Crash

Part 2 - "The Battle"

“Help John, Lord. Help me.”

This was my gut prayer as I listened to the Colorado Highway Patrol’s message about John’s accident. The officer didn’t know the extent of the injuries but he knew it was serious. I called the hospital and the trauma surgeon told me that John suffered a traumatic brain injury. He didn’t think it was life threatening, but surgery might be required depending if bleeding on the brain stopped or not.

Following Jesus requires practice. Since I’d practiced leaning on God so many times, calling out to Him was the natural step to take.

After I talked to the trauma surgeon I called Lory and Phil, my sis-in-law and brother. Before making a plan in which Lory would take Noah, she prayed for John and me over the phone. I told Noah and we packed overnight bags and then I did what I’d practiced. I chose to get help from my Christian brothers and sisters. I emailed several prayer warriors and asked them to pray. As I drove the hour to a Colorado Springs hospital, (John’s accident was near there) my sister Karen prayed for me over the phone.

When I arrived at the hospital, Phil was there. Ironically, he’d been driving his motorcycle near Colorado Springs also, separately from John. We went in to see John together. All sorts of wires were connected to him. He was completely asleep, under heavy sedation, due to his extremely high agitation that is often a symptom or result of a traumatic brain injury.

I’ll never forget watching my older brother put his hand on John’s forehead and pray, “Lord this is Your son and this man is a warrior. Help him fight through this battle.”

And a battle it was.

I don’t know why God does what He does. But I believe with all my heart that he is in ultimate control of all. I prayed fervently, desperately for my mother to be healed of lung cancer. God said no. But in his mercy and grace, God would come to heal John. In the meantime, saints across the country battled for my husband in prayer. Our prayer request was passed on to friends and churches. People I’ve never met prayed for John. Fellow soldiers in Christ and good friends came to the hospital, prayed over John and read Scripture.

Encouraged by my fantastic 6 syblings, I walked around John’s hospital bed praying and reading Scripture. Although all I saw was John lying on a bed, unmoving, I knew that unseen forces on both sides were at work.

Without a doubt, I know God heard all those prayers and said Yes. Why He said yes and not no, I’ll never know.

But He did tell me something about two months after it had happened.

Let me tell you first that as a family we have a habit that we pray every time we hear a siren be it an ambulance, police or fire. When Noah was little he would pray “God help the wheels on the fire truck be okay. “ :0)

So two months after John’s accident I was sitting quietly and praying. And God’s voice inside my heart told me that when the ambulance was coming for John, someone saw it and prayed for him. When he was being rushed to the emergency room, someone heard the siren or saw the ambulance and prayed.

Before I ever knew anything had happened, God sent prayer warriors to begin battling for my man. And then the Lord told me that some day in heaven, I will meet those folks.

And just like I would tell someone in the military today, I will thank those prayer warriors for their service to God and my family.

Come back Monday, December 13th, for Part 3 – “Traumatic Brain Injury, Traumatic Heart Injury.”