I was somewhat naive as a young mom. I thought if I could just get our rowdy little boys to reach adulthood I could rest from anticipating the phone call that begins, “Mom, I’ve had a little accident…” It hasn’t panned out that way. Only now the calls come from wives.
Take this past Saturday for instance. Jenny called. “Miss Careen, pray for Josh. I’m not sure what happened, but he was in the back yard and now Bill and Mark are taking him to the emergency room…” So begins another saga in my life of rearing boys who now have become grown men still doing boy stuff.
To sum up this latest episode, Josh was within three minutes of losing his life. He and two friends (all grown men) were target practicing with their bows in Josh’s backyard. While trying to dislodge an arrow hung in a fence, Josh was squatting on the ground, left foot braced for leverage, yanking on the trapped arrow when it suddenly gave way causing him to lose his balance and the notched end of the arrow ripped through Josh’s femoral artery. A series of God-ordained circumstances followed.
The two friends with him were qualified to cope with emergencies; one was the son of a retired surgeon, the other the CEO of a major hospital.
Josh was wearing a military belt which was designed to be used as a tourniquet.
Burt Sr. and I were available to drive Jenny to the hospital.
Her number One babysitter was ten minutes away and available on Saturday afternoon to come until Jenny’s parents could get their children.
Josh’s friend Mark, who carried him to the truck and into the ER in Americus, called ahead and secured a qualified vascular surgeon who met them at the hospital in Albany and was waiting when the ambulance arrived from Americus.
The Holy Spirit alerted friends from all around who knew how to pray.
These are a sampling of the combination of “coincidences” that demonstrated God’s control. But the real testifier of God’s authority was in His Word. For several weeks, Burt Sr. had been focusing on the word “keeper,” as used in Psalm 12.
God Almighty, the keeper of Israel, who never slumbers or sleeps, “…watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade” (verse 5). And when Jesus prayed to His Father in John 17, he prayed not only for the disciples who were with Him in His time on Earth, but in verse 20 He says, “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in my because of their testimony.” We know that’s US!
Not only those marvelous written promises, but the inner witness of the Spirit God gave me when our sons were little boys. At that time, I sensed God speaking to my sprint and saying that I was to rear five godly men for Him—men who would establish five godly households that would be a testimony to Him. I’ve hung on to that assurance, even when I can imagine potential catastrophes our sons could encounter.
Satan loves to torment mothers with the “what if…” suggestions. We mothers need to know that our children are a gift from God and are placed on Earth to fulfill their destiny, and we have to hold tight to the declaration that Jesus made that the ones who are His cannot be plucked from His hand.
This entire event was sobering and scary. Our family was threatened by the enemy. He came disturbingly close: in Josh and Jenny’s back yard. Josh’s brothers were deeply affected emotionally at the realization that our lives can change forever in less than three minutes. If anything, their devotion to one another as brothers was deepened. My surrender of our sons to God’s keeping was reestablished. As a mother of adventurous males, I have nothing but God’s promises to rely on. They know survival shills, but they know the One who has the final word to say about their lives. I pray we never forget the promise of God’s keeping, but I also pray we never put ourselves away from Him in harm’s way.