We are driving home from lunch after church in a driving rain, As usual I’m sitting in the back seat of our van beside our six-month old baby, Rachel. She is strapped in her rear facing car seat and is having a serious crying episode.
After several minutes of trying to comfort her, I realize that she has a very soiled diaper. No wonder she is screaming. I said to my husband, Bob, who is driving, “Brace Yourself, I’m taking her out of her car seat for a minute to change her diaper.”
I place her on the carpeted floor and change her diaper and remove her stained pants. I think I was still leaning over tying the dirty items in a Publix plastic bag when I hear Bob yell, “WATCH Out!”
Our van is T-boned, hit right in the back seat drivers side door. The impact busts out the window beside me and sends our van spinning in the middle of the intersection- (Bahia Vista and McIntosh. Rd.)
“Oh my God,” we are in a wreck and Rachael is not in her car seat. Glass is raining over both of us. All I see is little Rachael in mid-air seemingly suspended there for a moment, her bright blue eyes looking right into mine. And then wooosh…she sails out the window…floating like a frizbee through the rain…across that intersection landing in a puddle, on her bottom, screaming and crying.
I am screaming, “my baby, my baby.” My sweet Bob, who doesn’t know Rachael has been ejected, turns around to see about us only to find me stuck in my seat yelling and pointing across the road screaming, “Go get her, please. Go get her.”
A kind man in a light blue sweater, who sees the accident, gets out of his car to help. He cautions about not picking her up. Try telling a daddy he can’t pick up his crying baby who has been thrown 30 feet through the air, landing in a puddle inches from the metal base of a utility pole.
Bob says he knew she was “whole” when he put his hands under her to lift her into his arms. The kind man in the blue sweater, holds a poncho from sea world over Bob and baby and walks them back as I crawl over the front seat and out of the van.
The ambulance arrives with the EMT’s who see our baby bleeding from the mouth, strap her on a back board and take us all to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Several tests are made while we wait three hours for the storm to pass so that Bay Flight can air lift her to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. Only patient and flight crew can go in the helicopter so our pastors drive us to St. Pete.
There are four days of MRI’s, ct scans and other tests. Everyone is amazed there are no broken bones, internal hemoraging. The bleeding from her mouth turned out to be a small glass cut. Doctors and specialist kept coming in and out of Rachel’s room, all amazed and totally not accepting that she is really ok. They all keep telling us that when someone is thrown from a spinning vehicle the ending is always sad, severe injury or death.
Yes, finally everyone agrees. This is a miracle.
Fortunately the people in the other vehicle were not hurt and Bob and I had minor cuts and bruises that healed quickly but getting over the thought of what might have happened has taken longer.
Bob and I are so thankful that our baby was not seriously injured and following checkups have confirmed she is 100% fine. She truly was touched by an angel. When we share her story people can not help themselves from wanting to touch her.
She is now eight-years-old and we look at every day as a true gift. Thank you for reading Rachel’s story and pass it on. Choose to live your life today to the fullest. Brace yourself and live today with passion.
Dundie Crisp
PS Moms if you have to change a diaper, nurse or console your child ALWAYS stop your car or ask the driver to go to the side of the road and stop. Some moms have said to me, "Oh what are the chances"--well...!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Jack's Miracle
Week of April 17
Good Friday Jack was working out at the gym, as he often did. Without warning he collapsed on a weight machine and slid to the floor. A cardiac nurse happened to be working out nearby. She normally would not have been at the gym at that hour but a schedule change at work allowed her to be a the gym. She had the presence to remove vomit from Jack’s mouth which cleared his air passage. Jack, unconscious but breathing on his own was rushed to a nearby hospital.
I the emergency room Jack remained unconscious, a couple of times the doctors lost a pulse. He remained in a coma. The doctor told his wife that a cat scan showed no activity…if he regained consciousness he probably would be a vegetable. Jack’s youngest daughter, Colleen, a high school student, told her mom not to believe the doctor.
“Our God is bigger than that,” she said. Later after the rest of the family arrived Colleen found her way to the Chapel. She was alone. She prayed for God’s healing power. She said she clearly her a voice in her head say, “I will restore those (brain) cells Sunday to glorify my son’s resurrection.”
When she reported this revelation to her family she was met with skepticism, heads shaking in disbelief, and eyes rolling. The next day Jack was still in a
comma and on life support. Twice Colleen, in talking to her dad, got such a strong reaction on the monitoring machine that the nurses came in the room. The second time she was asked her to leave the hospital room. She insisted her dad was going to be ok. “You don’t know my God or my dad,” she told the nurses as she left.
The next day, Easter morning, there was a banging at her bedroom door. It was her little brother reporting that “Dad woke up.”
An excited Colleen, while driving to the hospital stopped at every convenience store she passed to exclaim “Behold the Lamb of God, my dad is healed.” She arrived at the hospital to find her dad sitting up and being his old feisty self.
When Colleen returned home that day and turned on her favorite Christian station the first thing she heard was “Behold the Lamb of God.”
Jack Reilly
Tucson, Arizona (as told by his daughter)
Good Friday Jack was working out at the gym, as he often did. Without warning he collapsed on a weight machine and slid to the floor. A cardiac nurse happened to be working out nearby. She normally would not have been at the gym at that hour but a schedule change at work allowed her to be a the gym. She had the presence to remove vomit from Jack’s mouth which cleared his air passage. Jack, unconscious but breathing on his own was rushed to a nearby hospital.
I the emergency room Jack remained unconscious, a couple of times the doctors lost a pulse. He remained in a coma. The doctor told his wife that a cat scan showed no activity…if he regained consciousness he probably would be a vegetable. Jack’s youngest daughter, Colleen, a high school student, told her mom not to believe the doctor.
“Our God is bigger than that,” she said. Later after the rest of the family arrived Colleen found her way to the Chapel. She was alone. She prayed for God’s healing power. She said she clearly her a voice in her head say, “I will restore those (brain) cells Sunday to glorify my son’s resurrection.”
When she reported this revelation to her family she was met with skepticism, heads shaking in disbelief, and eyes rolling. The next day Jack was still in a
comma and on life support. Twice Colleen, in talking to her dad, got such a strong reaction on the monitoring machine that the nurses came in the room. The second time she was asked her to leave the hospital room. She insisted her dad was going to be ok. “You don’t know my God or my dad,” she told the nurses as she left.
The next day, Easter morning, there was a banging at her bedroom door. It was her little brother reporting that “Dad woke up.”
An excited Colleen, while driving to the hospital stopped at every convenience store she passed to exclaim “Behold the Lamb of God, my dad is healed.” She arrived at the hospital to find her dad sitting up and being his old feisty self.
When Colleen returned home that day and turned on her favorite Christian station the first thing she heard was “Behold the Lamb of God.”
Jack Reilly
Tucson, Arizona (as told by his daughter)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Hugh
April 13
He walks down our street twice a day always waving when a car passes. Hugh will keep an eye on the house when you are away and take in any packages. One rainy morning I saw Hugh going driveway to driveway, picking up the newspaper and tossing it closer to the front door so people wouldn’t get wet. This is not a trivial service from someone who is 91.
Hugh is a Godly example of what of the Lord wants us all to be.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)
He walks down our street twice a day always waving when a car passes. Hugh will keep an eye on the house when you are away and take in any packages. One rainy morning I saw Hugh going driveway to driveway, picking up the newspaper and tossing it closer to the front door so people wouldn’t get wet. This is not a trivial service from someone who is 91.
Hugh is a Godly example of what of the Lord wants us all to be.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)
Angel Sticker
April 12
Our youngest daughter called her mom saying she was feeling depressed.
Joy said, "You know those angel stickers I sent you, stick one on your forehead and look in the mirror."
She did, chuckled and forgot about it and wore it to work. She had a great day. How can you have a bad day when people see you as a little angel?
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” Philippians (4:4-5)
Our youngest daughter called her mom saying she was feeling depressed.
Joy said, "You know those angel stickers I sent you, stick one on your forehead and look in the mirror."
She did, chuckled and forgot about it and wore it to work. She had a great day. How can you have a bad day when people see you as a little angel?
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” Philippians (4:4-5)
A Need to Giggle More
April 11
Joy asks for prayer for a woman she is meeting downtown. They go into a photo booth together. Once inside they begin to giggle like two schoolgirls. “It became hilarious, uncontrollable laughter," Joy says, “ the kind that is good for the soul.”
I had prayed that Joy would minister to this woman and the response is more than I had anticipated. The Spirit touched both their aching hearts with wholesome laughter. We need to giggle more.
"We were filled with laughter and we sang for Joy." (Psalm 126:2)
Joy asks for prayer for a woman she is meeting downtown. They go into a photo booth together. Once inside they begin to giggle like two schoolgirls. “It became hilarious, uncontrollable laughter," Joy says, “ the kind that is good for the soul.”
I had prayed that Joy would minister to this woman and the response is more than I had anticipated. The Spirit touched both their aching hearts with wholesome laughter. We need to giggle more.
"We were filled with laughter and we sang for Joy." (Psalm 126:2)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Lost Wallet
Week of April 10
Jim lost his wallet and that affected the whole family. It happened sometime Sunday although he didn’t realize he had misplaced his wallet until he was getting his things ready Sunday night for the morning commute.
He had washed two cars and detailed them Sunday afternoon so that was the first in place he looked. The rest of us started the search inside the house, starting with the obvious places like the nightstand by the bed and the buffet in the dining room. We progressed to feeling in the crevasses of the cushions on the couch and inside the levels of the Lazy Boy chair. Soon we were trashing the house. No Wallet.
Monday morning Jim drove off to work without his wallet and of course without his license, I prayed the wallet would be found. Monday night we resumed the search perhaps more frantically than the day before. Jim and the kids went out and checked the cars again and I looked around inside revisiting many of the same places I had searched before. No wallet. I prayed some more
Tuesday Jim was obviously still upset and began grumbling about the prospect of having to apply for a duplicate license and call the credit card companies to close the accounts. As he stood by the door he said he was going to take my car this morning because the SUV was low on gas. I suggested we pray together, something we hadn’t done for awhile. So we did.
We didn’t ask that the wallet would be found but we praised the Lord for all that we did have confessing that we didn’t have to worry about these things but just give it all over to Him. I felt better after praying.
I walked him out to the car. As he opened the door he shouted, “There’s my wallet!”
I took a step forward and then I saw it too. It was on the floor in front of the back seat right in plain sight. He and the kids had searched both vehicles twice,as recently as last night. That wallet could not have been out in the open like that.
We looked at each other in disbelief. How did it get there? What if he hadn’t decided to take my car instead of his today?
Cathy Pansa
Shorewood, Illinois
Jim lost his wallet and that affected the whole family. It happened sometime Sunday although he didn’t realize he had misplaced his wallet until he was getting his things ready Sunday night for the morning commute.
He had washed two cars and detailed them Sunday afternoon so that was the first in place he looked. The rest of us started the search inside the house, starting with the obvious places like the nightstand by the bed and the buffet in the dining room. We progressed to feeling in the crevasses of the cushions on the couch and inside the levels of the Lazy Boy chair. Soon we were trashing the house. No Wallet.
Monday morning Jim drove off to work without his wallet and of course without his license, I prayed the wallet would be found. Monday night we resumed the search perhaps more frantically than the day before. Jim and the kids went out and checked the cars again and I looked around inside revisiting many of the same places I had searched before. No wallet. I prayed some more
Tuesday Jim was obviously still upset and began grumbling about the prospect of having to apply for a duplicate license and call the credit card companies to close the accounts. As he stood by the door he said he was going to take my car this morning because the SUV was low on gas. I suggested we pray together, something we hadn’t done for awhile. So we did.
We didn’t ask that the wallet would be found but we praised the Lord for all that we did have confessing that we didn’t have to worry about these things but just give it all over to Him. I felt better after praying.
I walked him out to the car. As he opened the door he shouted, “There’s my wallet!”
I took a step forward and then I saw it too. It was on the floor in front of the back seat right in plain sight. He and the kids had searched both vehicles twice,as recently as last night. That wallet could not have been out in the open like that.
We looked at each other in disbelief. How did it get there? What if he hadn’t decided to take my car instead of his today?
Cathy Pansa
Shorewood, Illinois
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Retreat Center
Week of April 3
Bill and Cindy are a wonderful Christian couple. For years Bill has taught Latin in the Manchester Public School System. Cindy was a youth counselor when she first met Bill. They are married,and have six children and run a ministry called Mary's Field.
.
The Pfeiffers have a modest home for themselves and their children. Despite having a large family they open their home to unwed pregnant girls who had nowhere to go and want to deliver their unborn babies. The family agrees on the need to find a separate place for anyone seeking deeper spiritual meaning.
Bill said the whole family discussed what an ideal retreat center would look like. Each of the children had things they wanted. The younger children wanted an indoor pool to swim in year round and not have to worry about leaves or cold weather. The youngest boy wanted "a neat robot thing that cleans the pool." One teenager wanted a tennis court and another a jute box. Bill wished for a room large enough to house a small chapel and Cindy visualized a spacious kitchen suitable for volunteers to prepare meals for groups.
Bill, an ordained priest, lead the family in prayer and presented these requests to the Lord. Bill then suggested to the children that they give up something they like, to show their seriousness in making these prayer requests. The children decide to give up watching television.
Almost a year goes by. No television. No retreat center. “Then came God's answer,” Bill said. He receives a call from a Mary’s Field board member who reports a local bank had foreclosed on an estate. A developer had built the mansion as his personal residence during the real estate boom of the early 1980’s.The housing bubble burst, the developer had committed suicide and the bank was left with the property. It had remained vacant for more than a year and the bank “is anxious to unload this white elephant.”
The Pfeiffer family went to take a look. A long secluded driveway leads into the property that includes 23 acres, mostly wooded. A large two-story house sits on a hill overlooking woods and a pond. In front of the house there is a paved area for parking and a lawn with a flagpole. Adjacent to the house is a hard surface tennis court and down the hill is a carriage house large enough to serve as a chapel.
The sprawling contemporary house has a rustic interior with four bedrooms, three baths, and a spacious dining room off of a large kitchen that is suitable for cooking for groups.
There is an indoor pool and yes, it is equipped with a self-cleaning robot. One thing the Pfeiffers hadn't requested was a party room with a built in wet bar. However, in one corner of this room stands a shiny jute box.
"And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:22)
Bill Pfeiffer
Hebron Connecticut
Bill and Cindy are a wonderful Christian couple. For years Bill has taught Latin in the Manchester Public School System. Cindy was a youth counselor when she first met Bill. They are married,and have six children and run a ministry called Mary's Field.
.
The Pfeiffers have a modest home for themselves and their children. Despite having a large family they open their home to unwed pregnant girls who had nowhere to go and want to deliver their unborn babies. The family agrees on the need to find a separate place for anyone seeking deeper spiritual meaning.
Bill said the whole family discussed what an ideal retreat center would look like. Each of the children had things they wanted. The younger children wanted an indoor pool to swim in year round and not have to worry about leaves or cold weather. The youngest boy wanted "a neat robot thing that cleans the pool." One teenager wanted a tennis court and another a jute box. Bill wished for a room large enough to house a small chapel and Cindy visualized a spacious kitchen suitable for volunteers to prepare meals for groups.
Bill, an ordained priest, lead the family in prayer and presented these requests to the Lord. Bill then suggested to the children that they give up something they like, to show their seriousness in making these prayer requests. The children decide to give up watching television.
Almost a year goes by. No television. No retreat center. “Then came God's answer,” Bill said. He receives a call from a Mary’s Field board member who reports a local bank had foreclosed on an estate. A developer had built the mansion as his personal residence during the real estate boom of the early 1980’s.The housing bubble burst, the developer had committed suicide and the bank was left with the property. It had remained vacant for more than a year and the bank “is anxious to unload this white elephant.”
The Pfeiffer family went to take a look. A long secluded driveway leads into the property that includes 23 acres, mostly wooded. A large two-story house sits on a hill overlooking woods and a pond. In front of the house there is a paved area for parking and a lawn with a flagpole. Adjacent to the house is a hard surface tennis court and down the hill is a carriage house large enough to serve as a chapel.
The sprawling contemporary house has a rustic interior with four bedrooms, three baths, and a spacious dining room off of a large kitchen that is suitable for cooking for groups.
There is an indoor pool and yes, it is equipped with a self-cleaning robot. One thing the Pfeiffers hadn't requested was a party room with a built in wet bar. However, in one corner of this room stands a shiny jute box.
"And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:22)
Bill Pfeiffer
Hebron Connecticut
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