I am have returned from a stormy trial that came around the corner into my life in early December 2017. My oldest son became very ill to the point of respiratory failure and was placed on life support. As a mother, you always fear but never want to get word that one of your loved ones is in critical care fighting for their life. This is exactly what happened to me when that sneaky trial crept into my life. Dropping everything, I raced to be at his side. The entire month of December and part of January, was spent in Mississippi at the hospital coming and going from my son's sick bed. In that time my son fought so hard just to stay alive, battling infections, fever,  several collapsed lung episodes having chest tubes. he looked liked one of the spanish fighting bulls with the spears hanging from their side.. but still he fought on.  He was placed under heavy sedation and chemically paralized.  At one point it was necessary to airlift him to a larger hospital for more intensive care. At one point his medical team and lead doctor informed me that , " We may have need to have the conversation to  turn the ventilator off. " You want to talk about rocking me to my senses and feeling emotions that have never flooded my soul before, at that moment I almost went down. Today my son is still in the hospital but is off of life support and on the regular medical floor. He still has a long way of rehab to go and is oxygen dependent through a tracheotomy and nasal cannula. I am hopeful that he will make a full recovery physically and mentally. The endurance in which he has fought to be at this point in this illness is amazing.

  Now, I would like to focus on the "trial" or the "storm" in this blog today. As I reflect and consider the roller coaster of the last two months, I have discovered that I have been part of this battle and have emerged with new strength that would not have developed otherwise.  Is credit  to be given  to my own abilities or resilience ? Surely not. My strength and any resilience comes from my leaning and pressing in on my God in Heaven. Yes, I am a Christian and a believer in Jesus Christ. The day when the news of my 32 year old son's emergency intubation and admission in the critical care unit came, the first emotion was panic. The second reaction was to cry out to my God to go to his rescue. In a perfect world, crying out to God would have been the first action. However honestly, it was not the case for me. The drive from North Carolina to Mississippi took about 11 hours of driving through several downpours, windy conditions and fog. During that travel time I cried much and then prayed much. My loved ones and friends immediately joined with me in prayer and the news traveled like a forest fire throughout my social circles. I can stand here today and praise my wonderful friends and family, not only them, but also the complete strangers whom joined in on the prayer chains. As far as Africa, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Italy, Washington DC and from all across the USA.  When I mentioned Washington DC in the group, it is because one of the United States Congressmen actually called after he had recieved word of my son's condition and his need of a miracle. The Congressman left a personal voice messsage on my cellular phone. ( You see, I was supposed to travel to the White House for a tour with my travel companion and her sister that week and lay wreaths at headstones of our national cemetary in Arlington. I had contacted them to cancel and gave a quick reason why I had to cancel such an amazing trip. Apparently, the information was passed on to the Congressman who had arranged the tour). Wow,  I am still amazed today that a politician took time away from his day to pray for my son. What a wonderful man of faith. 

Here is my take away from all of this. It is simply, that the power of prayer with faith cannot be dismissed in our lives especially when they are sent up to a living God. My son recieved his miracle and the many prayers of the "prayer warriors" were answered. God intervened and  worked through the medical team to do what was necessary to help medically treat my son. Props to them, but props to the bigger, greater Physician, the great I AM. This is the name that God gives himself as recorded in the Bible. I know it to be so. He is the GREAT I AM.

 If I could sum up in four words what I have learned in this storm, it would simply be,.... to trust GOD. "I trust you Jesus",  are the words that kept coming from my lips and my heart. It is what my soul continued to cry out when my voice knew not what to say or pray. If ever you go through a trial or a storm in your own life, remember that there is one who hears your prayers, one who cares for your pain, one who is faithful and one who never fails. His name is Jesus, God's son and you can trust Him with every part of your life. I promise you with every thing in me, that you can trust Him. Next time a storm comes into my life, The first knee jerk reaction should be to call out to my God, then cry tears of joy knowing that He hears me and will answer me... in perfection.