All That You Need

So, I have the coolest story to share with you.  It’s one that I’ve been wanting to share for some time now, but was waiting for the right time to share it.  And even as I’m typing this up, I am overwhelmed with the incredible ways that God has worked and pray that what I write will impact you as powerfully as it has impacted me.  Here goes.

So, if you’re read my blog in the last month and a half, you will have read stories upon stories of our friend Michael and the beautiful ways that he lived his life, right up till his accident which happened in the early morning hours of January 8, 2016.  If you’ve followed Michael’s story here, then you’ve heard about his road to healing and recovery and the many ups and downs that he’s had since that fateful day.  But if you’ve read close enough, you’ve seen an underlying theme of the many, many ways that God has been with Michael and his family throughout the days and weeks and now months of this difficult time.

But it was only until a few weeks ago, that I got to learn first hand how quickly it was that God showed up to be with Michael almost immediately after his accident.

On January 9th, Riverhead Local ran this article about Michael’s accident.

As I read it through with a heavy heart, I remember scrolling through the comments and seeing something that caught my eye.  Right under the article, a woman named Donna shared that shortly after the accident, a man named Thomas came across Michael’s car and went over to him to help.  She indicated that he was a praying man, and later on I remember sharing this information with Sally.

A few weeks later, another woman named Janet would share even more information with Sally about Thomas and how he was there immediately for Michael.  It was then that we learned that Michael must have been somewhat conscious right after his accident.  But in a beautiful turn of events, we also learned that Thomas was there with him, and that he immediately thought to pray with and for him.  Knowing what comfort that must have been for Michael brought tears to my eyes.  Because simply put, it was more than just knowing that someone was there.  It was knowing that God brought an incredible man who would selflessly stop to bring comfort and peace to Michael in what was probably his greatest time of need.

And amazingly, the story didn’t stop there.  Just shy of a month after Michael’s accident, I got a message from a man named Thomas.  And he happened to be that same man that stopped to be with Michael right after his accident.  And as I read the words that he shared and the story that he told me, I could not be more certain that God had indeed brought Thomas to Michael right away, as part of His incredible and perfect plan.

You see, through messaging, I learned that Thomas is a man that loves God.  Since Michael’s accident, he has been faithfully praying for him along with his church family in Centereach.  But more than that, Thomas is also someone who could understand Michael’s predicament perfectly.  Because when Thomas was 12 he was also in a serious accident and he also suffered a traumatic brain injury.  He spent a long time recovering and healing at Stony Brook Hospital (the hospital that Michael is at) and praise God made a full recovery.  And in his own words he shared that “I am happy to say that the Lord saw fit for my full recovery and believe Michael will share of God’s goodness again.”

A week or so later, Thomas was able to go and visit Sally and Michael.  And I know that it meant so much to Sally to be able to meet and thank this special man.  And it is just such a great reminder to me, of how God was with Michael from the very beginning and how I know that He continues to be with him.  And for Thomas, it was incredible to think that God used a terrible situation in his life, to become someone who was the perfect person to be there with Michael right from the beginning.

My verse for the night, is in honor of Thomas and how he was willing for God to use him to help Michael.  1 Corinthians 9:8 says that God is able to bless you abundantly so that in all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  And I think it’s a great reminder for all of us to know that God is working in our lives and that He will bring us to situations that we can be a blessing to others.  It’s this beautiful way that God created us all to lean on each other and to work together.

Michael continues to fight every day for healing and strength.  This afternoon, I shared a visit with Michael together with my dear friend Lisa Anderson.  She is a family friend and an incredibly talented Speech Pathologist who knows many things about TBI.  We shared encouragement for how well Michael is doing and our hopes for his future as well.  It was a great reminder that Michael has so many people around him, loving and praying for him as he recovers.

A prayer request tonight into tomorrow would be for Michael to continue to have peace as his brain is “storming.”  Again, these episodes are good in a way, but they do bring a certain level of discomfort that we can pray for.  We can also pray for Michael as he will have a procedure done tomorrow (technically today since it’s after midnight as I’m finishing up this post) to place a G-tube so that he can receive his “meals” through his stomach as opposed to the line that is in his nose right now.  Just prayers that it will go well.  Finally, Sally is working on finding the right place that Michael will go for rehab, so we can pray that God will give her a peace about knowing what will be best.

Thank you so much again, for taking time to read these updates and especially for taking time to read today’s story.  I hope that it was as much of a comfort for you as it was for me to know that again, God has been with Michael from the very beginning of all of this.