“The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” James 5:15
Today, I am going to tell you a Christmas story I’m sure you have never heard. It’s a favorite in our family and happened during a bitterly cold winter in a small town in Michigan. It was December, 1943 and several cases of Meningitis had surfaced among the children in the community. Large “Quarantine” signs appeared in windows and parents watched anxiously for signs and symptoms in their children. A single mother and her two boys were looking forward to Christmas with the house decorated with brightly colored lights, a Christmas tree and cookies baked for “Santa.” During all the hustle and bustle, the youngest, 2 ½ years old, complained of a headache, fever, chills, nausea, loss of appetite and many of the symptoms of Meningitis. The country doctor was called and came to the house. Yes, he diagnosed the little boy with Meningitis and he would have to be quarantined. Christmas was looking bleak for this family! Mother had no insurance and no money. Several days passed, her little boy was deteriorating before her eyes. He lay moaning on his bed holding his tummy. What to do? Mother got down on her knees and prayed, she was at the end of her rope. “Oh, God help me!” Grandpa came to the house to check on his grandson. He declared the baby did not have Meningitis and he was taking him to Children’s Hospital in Detroit! “We need to get him to a good hospital with specialists or he is going to die!” So mother wrapped the baby in blankets and they began the hour drive to the hospital. Upon arrival, the doctors puzzled over his condition, but one of them had seen a child a day earlier with similar symptoms and wondered if it could be the same illness. His diagnosis was “Intussusception of the Bowel” and immediate surgery would be necessary. The doctor told mother if she had waited a few more hours, he would not have lived! A very delicate surgery was performed and the child was transferred to the ICU, in very critical condition.
It was Christmas Eve, mother waited and prayed on her knees pleading with God for the life of her baby. The surgeon made his rounds that evening in a tuxedo, he stopped to check on the baby, still not sure if the child would live. “The prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up.” James 5:15. God’s peace came over Mother and she fell asleep exhausted, leaving her baby in Gods’ loving hands.
Christmas morning, she awakened to the most beautiful singing! The doctors and nurses were caroling in the halls singing songs of the Saviors’ birth, heavenly sounds! Soon the doctor came in, sat down beside her and said, “Little mother, your son will live!” What a wonderful Christmas gift that was! A true Christmas miracle! God gave that little boy 71 more years. The Lord had His hand on his life! When he was 18 years, he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior and couldn’t wait to tell everyone he knew! He went first to his family, one by one they all came to saving faith in Jesus, except for one. “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you,” Mark 5:19. That little boy was my husband, Terry. Mother loved to tell that story and although we knew the ending, we always cried!
Terry is with the Lord now, but his legacy lives on. He was a blessing to many people, precious souls were won to Christ through his testimony. “All the days ordained for me were written in Your Book before one of them came to be,” Psalm 139:16. Thank you, dear Lord, for sparing his life!
Your friend, Jean