The nephew (in his late 30s) of a good friend of ours, recently had a stroke.  He was in grave condition and the doctors didn’t have much hope for his recovery.  We watched as our teary-eyed friend told us of his condition.  Having retired from a medical career, she knew all too well what his chances were… That was on August 26^th.  He remained on the ventilator and gave little, if any, sign of life for weeks.  Our church, his family, his friends, St Anthony’s prayer team and others prayed for him.  The only change noted was a few weeks ago, when he responded by opening his eyes to a cherry lollipop that his wife touched to his lips.  The family, looking for any signs that he was still in there, was elated.  But as time wore on, the reality of his condition sunk in and they began looking for a place where he could live and receive continuing care while on the ventilator.

The outlook was not good.  Last week, things took a drastic turn… they removed him from the ventilator and within only a few days, he was talking, cracking jokes and interacting with his family and the medical personnel.  He was himself again and it was nothing short of a miracle! 

Ok, so you ask, “why is she telling me this?”  Well, I’ll tell you… first of all, we are praising God here in Georgia for a miracle!  And part of showing our thankfulness is sharing God’s power with you.   But we also want to remind you, that God hears every single word you utter.  Pat and I see evidence of God’s presence on a regular basis… and you are a part of God’s goodness in our lives.  Sometimes we narrowly miss an accident, sometimes we get a check in the mail when we have nothing in the bank and no idea how we are getting home, sometimes it is a clear answer to a concern or problem, sometimes it is the feeling of awe as we drive into the sunset… but no matter what is going on around us, we are constantly aware of God’s presence.  But how does one become aware of the divine in every day life?  Pausing to kneel is not always possible as we busily go through the day.  I’m not saying that a special time dedicated to God is not important, because it most certainly is… but constant conversation is also most certainly possible.  I can’t speak for anyone other than myself, so I will share with you, how God and I normally “happen” for me.

I have a constant dialog with God in my head.  I talk to God all the time.  Driving down the road, walking in the store, sitting in our RV… I literally have a constant dialog going with my best friend and maker.  I talk to God.  By doing so, not only am I more likely to be aware of God around me, I am building a relationship with God.  Time is so important in any relationship, why would we think it would be any different with God?  I also take time to be silent…  God impresses upon me, song lyrics, song topics and the answers to my prayers most often when I am driving silently.  It’s a great way to use that time driving in traffic or for us the long hours driving between concerts.  But I digress…  I am not sharing this with you this for any other reason than to say, constant communication with God is not only possible in our everyday lives, but it works! 

We are praising God in Decatur, GA today!  And I ask that you tell God “Thank You!” for us too!  God is SO Good!

UPDATE:

Our friend’s nephew (with proper therapy) is expected to make a full recovery and go home in 3 weeks!  God is Good!!

UPDATE 2:

He is home, doing PT and improving daily!