Thursday, June 27, 2013

The Power of Prayer

Yesterday was a strange day. As I was getting ready for work that morning, a memory popped in my mind. It was of the time we took a family fishing trip on the beach somewhere. We had gone out early and gotten our spot, but then this family came in behind us, literally, and set up camp! It wasn't long before the woman started yelling at Lori and I (okay, mostly Lori because she was closest), and accused us of getting closer and closer to them and then she threatened to strangle Lori with her fishing line if she didn't move. I heard all of this happening, but I had NO idea what to do...so I did nothing! I was terrified...and I did nothing. I was a terrible sister and no joke, I have felt guilty for standing there and doing nothing to protect my "little" sister ever since. I chuckled a bit at the memory and thought to myself that I needed to write Lori and tell her this thought.

Then, last night, mom got a call from Sister Howes, Lori's mission president's wife. Let's face it, they never call and say "Hey, your daughter is doing great. Just wanted to let you know". That NEVER happens. I was in my room getting dressed for my work out when there is a knock on my door asking if, when Lori has passed out in the past, she had stayed asleep for any length of time. No, I couldn't think of anything...and then it hit. Something is wrong with Lori.

The details of what exactly happened are a little fuzzy after being passed from the doctors and nurses, to Sister Howes and finally to us...and WE have heard directly from Lori, but she has. But from what I understand, Lori went and took a nap yesterday afternoon and when her mission companion went to check on her, she found that she couldn't wake Lori up (poor Sister B...I'm pretty sure I would have panicked...I hope she is okay too) and called an ambulance to come and get Lori. They transported her to the hospital where she still remained asleep. The good news at this point is that her pupils were responsive and her vitals were pretty good...they just couldn't get her to wake up.

As you can imagine we were very concerned. We knelt and prayed as a family for Lori. We certainly couldn't be there with her, but we knew Heavenly Father was watching over her and was caring for her...we just had to trust Him and let Him handle it. As we prayed, one of the worst storms of the summer was rolling through (at least according to me). The thunder literally was shaking the house. As we knelt and prayed with this happening all around us, the scripture in Helaman 5:12 came to mind. It says:

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
 
I felt as though we were in that mighty storm. But I realized as we were praying, that we were built on the rock, who is Jesus. We were turning to him and though the outcome was uncertain, and the situation was unfavorable, we were not going to fall. We would not be drug down as long as we remain on this steady foundation, regardless of how this situation turned out.
 
About an hour later we received a welcome call from Sister Howes. Lori was awake. They were running tests on her, and she had no other information, but she wanted to let us know.
 
We didn't hear again from her until about 9:30 this morning. Lori had been released  from the hospital, the tests hadn't revealed anything, and other than being tired she was fine and was released to work as she wished. What a miracle!
 
What really touched me through this is the outpouring of love, concern, prayers, etc. from friends and family all over. I put something on Facebook notifying everyone of what was happening and asked for prayers from all who were willing. Prayer is truly an amazing thing. I know I've been on the receiving end of prayers many times in life, especially as I have gone through some medical things, but I was just blind enough (or maybe drugged enough) not to pay attention to the power the prayers of others has. Last night as we prayed, and as we asked for the prayers of others, there was an incredible outpouring of peace. Comments poured in, phone calls and texts came in, all letting us know that people were praying for her...and for us. For that, I will ever be grateful! Words truly cannot express how amazing and wonderful that is.
 
Timing is everything. I saw a sign yesterday that said "Today's trial is tomorrow's testimony". That is so true! When I saw that sign, I didn't know how yesterday was going to play out, but I'm grateful for trials in my life. I'm grateful that this trial was brief, and that Lori is okay (we're still working on her getting back to "great" status...hopefully a quick recovery). Today, my testimony in the power of prayer is strengthened more than I could ever have understood. Today, my prayers are in gratitude for Lori's health, for our family (scattered all over this place as we may be), and for incredible friends and family who reach out, and upward, for us. My love and appreciation to all of you, wherever you are! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

1 comment:

Yaker621 said...

Okay, unless she just needed a good, deep rest, I want to hear about her experiences on the other side of the veil fer sure, if she had any, (terrylwg@hotmail.com)!!!