God Said Yes

June 19, 2011 is a day our church will always remember. Five young men were driving home from our annual Bible Conference, a tire blew, the car rolled seven times, landed on the opposite side of the freeway, two young men died, one was paralyzed from the neck down, and two were rushed to the hospital for severe injuries.

We prayed, believing God for mighty miracles in the three boys' lives that were facing physical pain and injuries. People around the world began to pray. God moved and all three have experienced healing in various ways.

In this time of great turmoil, a dear friend of mine told me about the book God Said Yes by Heather Horn-Bland and Ninie Hammon. It's the testimony of a little girl that overcame the odds and experienced 13 medical miracles in her body. It immediately brought me hope in the midst of a difficult situation. It strengthened my faith that nothing is impossible for God.

What It Says On the Front Cover:

“When four-year-old Heather was run over by a car, doctors told the family she wouldn’t survive. Now 34 years, 187 operations, and 13 medical miracles, Heather is alive to tell her story.”

Overview:

Heather and Ninie beautifully recount the amazing story of Heather’s life. Heather overcame different obstacles in her life: emotionally, physically, and spiritually. She jumped into the front seat of the car at the age of four, the door opened and she fell out. The front tire was on her stomach. It's not known how she got out from under that tire. But, God knows and saved her. God said, "Yes"--Heather would live. Even after Heather's accident, Heather endured abuse from a neighbor down the street that brought deep emotional pain. In addition, the man she married left her during a very hard time in their lives. Yet, despite all of the pain and trials, Heather pressed forward, trusting God.
 

A Few Quotes:

Heather, age 4, still in the hospital after the accident… “I stood there proudly, beaming, as the doctors and nurses-including the orthopedist who had pronounced solemnly that I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life-burst into applause. But I wasn’t finished. With a grin that threatened to split open my whole face, I lifted one foot and carefully took a shaky step forward. And then another. And another. I didn’t even limp-astonishing given that there was still an inch-wide gap between the broken halves of my pelvic bone.”

“As Mom sat in the chair beside my bed, staring with unseeing eyes out the window at the street below, I just knew the tired old phrase was echoing in her head:  This many bad things can’t possibly happen to one person! How many times over the years had we heard somebody say that about me? Every time yet another ghastly thing occurred, we could count on fielding that comment from someone.”

 Towards the end of her story Heather says,

“Despite decades of suffering, pain was not the driving force of my life. It never had been. I had been propelled through life by the engine of joy. Over the years, I made thousands and thousands of individual decisions not to be controlled by pain. If I had been unwilling to suck it up and go on, if I had allowed self-pity and bitterness to snag fishhooks into my soul, I would have missed everything. Everything that mattered.”

 “I thought back over the events of the last year, the hardest year of my life, and I was filled with an overwhelming gratitude. The bleaker my life got, the brighter God’s incredible gifts of joy sparkled in the darkness.”

"the joy of the Lord is your strength" Nehemiah 8:10

My Thoughts:

This was such an inspirational story to read. It helped and encouraged me in my walk with God, to hear how another Christian endured trials and suffering with joy. 

It reaffirmed my faith that:

• God is real...God saved Heather's life-against all odds she survived the accident
• He will send His angels to watch over me...an angel was with Heather in her hospital room after the accident
• God's grace is sufficient for me..Heather continuously made the decision to trust God and choose joy in the midst of her pain throughout her life
• God works miracles in people's lives, and He can for me, too...Heather technically died two times, but lived
• God is my healer...God healed Heather's body to the degree that she conceived two children
• God provides my needs whatever they may be...God used people to buy Heather's incredibly expensive medicine, when she had no means to buy it herself

Heather's story ignited my faith once again for these things personally, and for others that I know enduring difficult situations. It gave me hope as I read through the book, for the young men in our church that were in the accident.

I've struggled in my life with a lot of unnecessary fear, especially while being pregnant. I've worried about my upcoming cesarean surgeries and what would happen to me and/or my baby. I struggled with the fear of the unknown...wondering if I'd survive the surgeries or the fear that the doctors might make a mistake. But, reading Heather's story gave me a peace and comfort that God is in control. With God, I have nothing to fear. I can trust God to watch over me and those I love. Heather went through 187 operations and God took care of her. No, everything wasn't perfect, but God carried her through every step of the way. 

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

I highly recommend this book for anyone to read. It touched my heart and opened my eyes to see my loving Savior in a new light. God is good.