“And we know that in
all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose.” Romans
8:28 NIV
October 2015
will forever be a memorable month for my co-mother (my son’s
mother-in-law…but that sounds too impersonal, she is much more than that…she is
my friend and the future grandmother of my grandchildren!).
On October 1st Dianna had open heart surgery to replace her aortic
valve. Although the surgery went well,
something happened to cause her not to wake up for three days after the surgery
and to have a seizure. Her family struggled
terribly through this time, drowning in unanswered questions and heart-gripping
fear.
Then on October
4th she finally woke up! But after a few hours her family realized that
something was still terribly wrong…Dianna did not know them and she had no
memory of where she was or what had happened. It was a scary time for everyone,
including Dianna because she was having terrible hallucinations (a side effect
from one of her medications). Over the
next few days she grew stronger physically, but she struggled with her memory and
hallucinations for more than a week.
On October
13th Dianna got to come home from the hospital! But she was still
struggling with her memory. She didn’t recognize
the roads or towns along the route home, not even her daughter’s house.
This was still scary for her and her family…there was always that little
question in the back of everyone’s minds, “will she ever truly be herself
again?”
On October
15th God showed me that HE is
large and in charge and there is NOTHING impossible for Him. When I sat and talked with Dianna on this
day, I saw the light in her eyes and heard her talk about memories from the
past that none of us could even recall. She had been completely restored mentally!
So many
times in my life I have seen the miracle of Romans 8:28 unfolding before my
eyes…especially in this past month. Even
though there have been lots of very scary and bad moments, God has brought so
many good things out of this situation.
They are still unfolding day by day…but here are just a few: a quick diagnosis (God placed the right doctor in the right place at exactly the right time), a miraculous recovery and restoration of
Dianna’s mind (like I said…she remembers things that no one else can), new and
re-newed relationships with Jesus for several family members, the revealing of incredible
maturity and spiritual strength in Dianna’s children, encounters with angels, increased
prayer time for many of us and stronger faith for all of us.
Although
this has been a terrible experience that I wish my sweet friend and her family would
never have had to go through, God was able to take what satan meant for harm (his
evil purpose was to steal, kill and destroy) and brought so much good out of
it. And just like Joseph was able to say
to his brothers after they had tried to destroy him…Dianna can shout out to the
devil,
“ You intended to harm me, but God
intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many
lives.” Genesis 50:20
Today is
Dianna’s birthday…and what a great cause to celebrate!!! She has survived satan’s greatest attack and
has triumphed through the POWER of GOD!
I know that the Lord will use her testimony to reach countless
people. We praise Him for working ALL
THINGS together for her good….even this.
