Be Still and Know That I am God

Still and Know that I am God

This Blog has come into being through events that occurred last year within my family.  I was looking through the CaringBridge sight that I had documented all the details of the Lord's hand upon my dad, my family, and myself.  We just had to take the time to, "Be still and know that I (He) is God."

The following account sums up what happened July, 2012 to September, 2012.

I am finally able to document all that has occurred last week. I will attach a letter that Eddie wrote to the church I amwhere my par I ents attend....but I want to back up and share a few more things that have happened in the past 6 weeks.After the first surgery on July 13, I went back into SICU to see daddy. He was pretty heavily sedated but was able to talk to me and mom. Out of the blue, he looked over at me with that serious look (you know the look that a parent gives a child when you better listen up), pointed his finger at me and said, "I saw God do a miracle today!". I continued to look at him and said, "Sir?". To which he replied, "I saw God do a miracle today!". And so it seemed that He had. The following 6 days were better than textbook. The doctors were pleasantly surprised by his progress and allowed daddy to go home earlier than expected.After 5 days of being home and having his drains removed, daddy's health took a turn. He was dehydrated and started experiencing kidney failure. A second surgery was needed. The surgeon was shocked that the tissue to connect the pancreas had died. He had never seen that before in all of his years of practice. He made a reference at one point that he felt like the enemy was trying to take a good man out. While in MICU, daddy looked at mom and said, "Did you see Him?". Mom asked him who he was talking about to which daddy said, "Did you see Him? Did you see Jesus? He was here.". Mom continued the discussion by asking him what Jesus said. Daddy replied with confidence, "He said that I was His child!". After mom told me this I had to stop and thank God for that precious gift that He had given to him in that hospital room.The following is the letter that I had mentioned before that my husband wrote regarding the last couple of weeks:

I am writing to tell you of the great turn around in Jerome Turner's health that we believe to be orchestrated by the Lord. While we seek wisdom and discernment in understanding what we witnessed this week, it seems the Lord decided to pay Jerome a visit in the hospital. 

When we arrived on Monday (Kelly, the kids and I), Jerome was emotionally, spiritually and physically very down. We had some really important discussions with him that night that relieved him of some of the stress he was under. One of the other problems he was encountering was the relentless hiccups. They would return each day and last most of the day. That alone can be very tiresome and a constant reminder that things aren't normal. But the biggest challenge was that the pancreas continued to misbehave and was not attaching to the intestine. At this point, Jerome had five drainage tubes and one feeding tube. 

On Monday night, I returned to the Turner's house with my son Turner. I felt compelled to get on my knees and pray for Jerome. My specific prayers were for the hiccups to stop, for him to have some increased strength and for encouragement. Also during Monday evening and subsequent moments during the early morning, Kelly prayed prayers of healing as she touched and massaged Jerome's feet and back. Her specific prayers were for the pancreas to begin to attach correctly to the intestine so that the troublesome leaking would stop.

Tuesday we witnessed Jerome's spirit improving, but by the end of the day, he was questioning the Lord's plan and began to feel down again. The doctor reiterated that this was a long journey and he could be in the hospital for a few weeks if not many, many days. He stressed patience to Jerome. Tuesday night and on to Wednesday morning, Jerome woke up in the middle of the night and could not get a verse out of his mind. The words were, "Be still and know that I am God." Jerome felt as if the Lord was giving him this verse but was puzzled about why and what it might mean. Kelly was awake and the two of them had a special prayer together for understanding. Jerome also stated that they should sing "How Great Thou Art" when the morning time came. At this time, they went back to sleep.

Wednesday came around and Kelly reminded Jerome about the singing so they harmonized the song, "How Great Thou Art". During the song, the hiccups cleared up! During the day, Jerome, Kelly and I had some discussions about the verse that Jerome felt the Lord gave him. We didn't realize it then, but apparently it was a call to exalt the Lord for what he was going to do. If you read the rest of that verse in Psalm 46:10, that is exactly what the Lord expected. During the night on Wednesday, Jerome was suddenly awakened by a great shifting type of pain in the area of the pancreas. It was so intense that he thought he was having a heart attack and Mary called the nurse. All vitals were taken and he checked out fine. 

Thursday, Jerome was walking further than he had before, eating pretty good and gaining in strength. Also, his spirit was being encouraged and strengthened too.

Friday morning came around and the doctor ordered an x-ray. Early on Friday, the doctor came in with a very happy and estatic report that the pancreas was finally flowing properly into the intestine. Further, all drainage tubes except one were gone and the doctor began to discuss checking him out of the hospital around Tuesday or so of this coming week.

We all of been emotional but have asked the Lord for healing and for understanding. We all have been in prayer mode and have watched for the Lord to move. The verse that the Lord gave to Jerome has the message of holiness with it, the expectation of exaltation and that He was going to do something. While Jerome still has improvement to achieve, we believe that something wonderful happened this week. We humbly and excitedly report this to you. We ask that you rejoice with us and praise the Lord for his work. As I write this, hiccups have not returned for days, the pancreas is behaving beautifully and Jerome's physical and emotional health have greatly increased. 

May the Lord be exalted among each of you. We have witnessed what the power of detailed prayer and an open heart can do. Something happened this week in the hospital room. Something changed. God moved. We have all have experienced a renewed strength and peace that can only come from the Lord! Grace and peace to you all and to God be the Glory!

In the beautiful and inspiring words of Psalm 46: 

1"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

I pray that you will all be encouraged by this. While this journey is slow and painful...we know what we witnessed last week. Daddy improved and he is going home. Our eyes have been fine tuned to the eternal....a Holy God who walks beside us through the trials. Daddy still struggles with it all...however, we rally around him and encourage him to remember all that God has done. Doing that helps him and helps me as well. 

"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" To God be the glory...even in this!