My wife Lue and I flew to Bermuda on August 9, 1996 for me to speak at the Willowbank Christian Resort. While in Bermuda, we experienced our worst tragedy and our most glorious triumph. It began on Monday, August 12th, as we were riding our mopeds back to Willowbank.
Only God knows why I looked behind me, but as I turned I got the greatest shock of my life. Lying face down in the middle of the road was my darling wife. I was momentarily tempted with anger at whoever had caused this horrible thing. But the Lord graciously intervened by turning my thoughts to Him in prayer and praise. As I acknowledged Him in this situation, He began to direct my path.
Fear Surged Through Me
Immediately I rushed to Lue’s side. Fear surged through me because there was no sign of life. She was motionless, breathless and lifeless. I was faced with the shocking sensation that I had lost my wife. Yet God’s marvelous peace prevailed. I instantly placed my hand on her and began to pray. I have no idea what I prayed, but God was clearly ministering life to her. Thankfully, after several minutes she began gasping for breath! Praise God for His healing presence!
Amidst the joy that she was breathing, I was hit with another wave of grief at the extent of her injuries. As she turned her head to the side, her nose appeared smashed flat and blood was running from the back of her head. However, the Lord’s mighty presence continued to sustain me. Amazingly, I was caught up in worshiping Him and began to sing songs of praise.
Why?
Of course Satan was also there with that age-old question, “Why?” along with, “How could God do this to me? After all, He’s supposed to be protecting us.” These temptations stem from the tree of knowledge and are aimed at undermining our faith by discrediting God’s character. We must not give place to the devil by dwelling on such thoughts or they will surely produce death in us. Our only hope is to walk by faith rather than sight. By God’s grace I did; I rejected those thoughts and agreed with Him as He began flooding my mind with Scripture.
When the ambulance arrived 25 minutes later my prayers turned to the medical personnel. As they examined Lue she was still very disoriented, but at least she remained conscious. By now she was breathing fine and her nose looked normal. They concluded there was no apparent paralysis. However, because of the severity of the accident, they were very concerned about the possibility of a broken neck or back. They put her in a neck brace and then gently carried her to the ambulance.
The ride seemed to take forever due to the narrow crowded roads. Furthermore, the roughness of the road appeared to agitate her condition. Her pain increased and she began vomiting. By now it was clear that Lue had incurred a severe head injury. They called the hospital and requested that a doctor meet us. I asked God to provide the very best doctors possible. When we arrived, the chief emergency room physician, who is considered one of their best doctors, was standing by. Praise God, He had answered another prayer!
During Lue’s stay in the emergency room, I was allowed to remain by her side to comfort her. She went through numerous tests to determine the extent of her injuries. The doctor carefully explained that she had extensive brain damage that included hemorrhaging in the frontal lobe, excess fluid, swelling and a fractured skull. Her condition was critical! Therefore, she was taken to intensive care.
My Prayers Intensified
I began praying Psalm 23:5, asking the Lord to anoint Lie’s head with the healing oil of the Holy Spirit and quicken her mortal body. I also prayed for God to provide intercessors who would believe Him for a miracle. I then asked God to send someone to stand in faith with us. That night He sent Morag Whitehall from Willowbank to minister to us. Her compassion, prayers of faith and servant heart was exactly what we needed.
I made only 3 calls while they were transferring Lue, but the news spread quickly. One call was to my friend Dutch Slade, who is a medical doctor and one of our intercessors. After contacting the hospital, he notified me that Lue was getting adequate care and would not need to be transferred to the States. He also said that he and his wife were praying for a miraculous recovery. Later I learned that hundreds of people had been praying for us. Several people even called the hospital to pray with me. It was such a relief to know that others were bearing this burden with us. I felt personally encouraged and reassured that a miracle was taking place.
From that moment on the road when the Lord compelled me to pray I had a definite sense that God was performing a miracle. I even shared with the medical personnel that I was expecting God to do a miracle. I’m not sure what they thought, but it did wonders for me. Each time I told someone, it helped to increase my own faith. For example, while Lue was in the ER, I told our ambulance driver that I was trusting God to heal her. He commented that he thought I must have been praying en route to the hospital because of the way I had remained so calm and peaceful. Praise God, in the midst of our darkest hour His light was still shining through! Oh how this boosted my faith…
Faith Becomes Sight
On the second day our faith began to become sight. The doctors decided to do another CT scan to determine if they needed to tap her skull and relieve the pressure on her brain. Much to our delight, her brain appeared normal! The swelling was gone, there was no more excess fluid and the damage to the frontal lobe was gone. When I informed Dr. Slade, he confirmed that God had performed a miracle because that type of head injury just does not go away in less than 24 hours. Glory to God! What a marvelous answer to prayer.
Because Lue no longer had any brain damage, they moved her the next day to a regular room to recuperate. After 9 days she was released from the hospital. Since we’ve been home, she has gradually built up her strength and energy. After three weeks she was walking a mile, and even drove the car to one of my preaching engagements an hour away. Now, two months later, she appears to be back to normal and most of her scars have already gone away. This has been totally a work of God’s grace and it is glorious to behold!
What actually happened to Lue? She was the victim of a hit and run accident. A speeding motorcycle struck her from behind. The police later caught the driver, Jamal, an eighteen year old Bermudian who was driving a stolen motorcycle without any insurance. His license had previously been suspended. Please join us in praying for his salvation.
We don’t begin to understand what happened, but one thing we do know, this too was God! Yes, we are more convinced than ever that He is in sovereign control of our lives. He is for us, and therefore, nothing that comes into our lives can be against us. No, it didn’t look good, and it certainly didn’t feel good. But regardless of how it appeared from the human perspective, God meant it for our good and His glory (Genesis 50:20). We were able to know Christ in ways that would not have been possible apart from experiencing this facet of the fellowship of His sufferings. And, by God’s grace, because we were living from the center, where Christ is our life rather than the circumference where circumstances rule our life, none of these things moved us. Furthermore, we were able to glory even in this our greatest tragedy.
God’s Abiding Presence
As grateful as I am to God for Lue’s healing, I am even more grateful for the miracle of His abiding presence, which enabled us to walk triumphantly through it all. God initially told me that although we were going through the fire, we would not be burned and we would come out without the smell of smoke (Isaiah 43:2, Daniel 3:27). From the moment of the accident, God was obviously under girding us. During the whole time, the Lord’s soothing presence kept us enveloped in a cocoon of calm assurance. He sustained us throughout the entire ordeal. We discovered in our greatest tragedy what it means experientially for us to be more than conquerors through Christ.
What I have described is not about being able to put on the right mask. It’s not even about having the right theological answers. And it is certainly not about being a super saint with extra ordinary faith. This is about knowing Christ as your life!
It’s also about having your life firmly established on Christ the solid rock! When you do, there will be a spontaneous flow of the Holy Spirit’s power through your life. The result is that you will experience the abiding presence of Christ in your life to meet every need of your life. This is what it means to walk in the Spirit. This is living by faith. And this is only possible by the grace of God.
P.S. Two years later Lue went to a neurologist for an evaluation of the condition of her brain. After an extensive battery of tests including an MRI, CAT scan etc. it was determined that she was completely normal. In fact, there was no indication of any brain damage whatsoever, not even a scar! Glory to God!
Therefore, oh Lord, we do praise You for Your all sufficient grace!!!
Copyright©1996 Dr. Lewis Gregory
SOURCE MINISTRIES
PO Box 391852
Snellville, GA 30039
Thanks Dr. Gregory for allowing me to use this on my blog. It is very inspiring and convicting.
I've got a ways to go to grow IN THAT KIND OF FAITH.
By the way, we're enjoying our "new minsistry" of grndprenting in Denver.We are in Colorado with the four Keister granddaughters
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