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Unexpected Phone Calls — Week 4 By answering the phone we didn’t know that a long, stressful night lay ahead. A voice said, “Please come to the hospital. Our little girl died.” Painful memories of our own infant daughter’s death years before raced through my head. Thinking it would just be a routine check we left our older son with a friend and drove to the hospital. NOT SO! We were not prepared to hear, “She must have immediate heart surgery!” All night we prayed with attempted reasons for God to let her live. His will was not ours. With memories to keep and clutching a brown paper bag with a little pink snowsuit and a blue dress to match her eyes, we left her soulless. Once home we tightly hugged our son, Ron and tearfully tried to explain what happened to his sister. New joy would come three years later when our daughter, Robin was born. NOW we would share our testimony to comfort the hearts of grief-stricken parents who had just phoned us Bedtime stretched to 3:00 A.M. Before daylight one of us would have to take our now junior-high daughter to the school bus. On our way home my husband said, “Sleep in. I’ll take Robin to school—go by the church to dictate a few letters. We can have a late breakfast before hospital visits are made.” His offer was gratefully accepted. Love it when a plan comes together—but this one didn’t connect like we planned. The car left and my sleep left, so I arose to have morning devotions. The impact of God’s words just read was yet to be realized. The smell of fresh-brewed coffee captured my attention but was interrupted by phone rings. “Please, I need to speak to the pastor.” “I’m sorry. He isn’t here. Would you like to call later or do you prefer he return your call?” She replied, “I need to talk to him now. Someone needs to help me…etc., etc. If God loves me where is He?” Futile were my efforts to convince her of God’s love. Insistently she continued, “You tell me God loves me! My husband beats me. Our son’s in jail on drugs. Another son goes to school with holes in his tennis shoes.” She needed the counsel I lacked, but to let her hang up could be a mistake. There was no cell phone to ask my husband, “Please come home now.” A large Bible used for family devotions lay nearby. Efforts to search for hope Scriptures, and talk while praying silently seemed unpromising. God mercifully answered my prayer. That she finally calmed down made me thankful. THEN, UNEXPECTEDLY, I REMEMBERED THE SCRIPTURES I HAD READ EARLIER She waited for me to get them and listened quietly as I read. Then tearfully she shared this experience: “Last night I had a dream of being in a whirlpool of water. My family was floating all around me. I looked up and saw a woman on the shore in a long dress. She held a piece of paper in her hand and beckoned me to come. I managed to make my way through the swirling water. The Scriptures you just read were on that piece of paper” (Jeremiah 1:8; Matthew 21:22). Admittedly, this was a turning point in my life to daily read and study God’s Holy Word. Food for Thought! What would have happened to her had I neglected to read what God had to say to me that morning? |
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