“My body also will live in hope.” Acts 2:26
“Your son Jeremy’s been in an auto accident. Come to the emergency room,” said the voice on the phone.
My husband Gene and I rushed to the hospital, more than an hour away. Jeremy, severely depressed, had been in two other accidents recently.
“He has a broken right hip and two bad breaks in his left femur,” a doctor explained after sewing up Jeremy’s face. We left the hospital about 1 a.m. as Jeremy slept soundly following surgery.
Two days later, another call came from a different hospital. “Come now,” we were told. Jeremy’s twin brother Jon had been admitted in serious condition with a rare bacterial infection. The hand surgeon explained that he could lose fingers, his whole hand, his arm or even his life.
Back at home one day after visiting both my sons, I was overwhelmed with fear and discouragement. I’d planned to ignore the mail, but a lumpy envelope addressed in a child’s handwriting caught my eye. It was from my nine-year-old pen pal Avie.
Strengthen Your Faith with Free ebooks on Prayer, Bible Study and More
Inside was an ordinary stone, covered with a scrap of green-and-white-checked cloth and tied with a bright green ribbon. “This is a prayer rock, Miss Marion,” Avie wrote. “Put it under your pillow tonight and it will remind you that nothing is impossible with God.” I put the stone under my pillow and, amazingly, that very night my discouragement lifted and I began to hope.
After surgery, Jon went into intensive care and remained in the hospital for eleven days. He may need more surgery someday, but he’s alive–with two hands. And his brother Jeremy seems to be viewing life differently–with hope.
Father, let me never forget that hope sometimes comes in unusual ways.
Read More: Learn to Let Go and Let God
