I have been blessed many times over, regarding many things. I have tried to share it as well, but I find myself becoming complacent and using the same old cliches that many others use. “A roof over my head, food on my table. I’m surrounded by loved ones.” While all of this is true, there comes a time where you have to really look back at how God has blessed you and then how you can use that blessing to glorify and magnify him.
I have a story to tell and it started way back when I was single and living out in Kansas CIty. I was working for Ford and had no real commitments to anybody or anything. Needless to say, I felt as if I was “ballin”. I just knew any girl that I met should feel lucky to have such a wonderful guy like me in their life, and should take advantage of it. Not to mention, give me whatever I wanted.
When I got sick I initially thought it was just a sinus headache or a bad case of the flu. But I came to find out it was so much more than that. It was a Brain Tumor, the size of a golf ball. That fact that the doctors found it and were able to remove it with relatively no problem is huge, but how the doctors were able to find me, well, that was nothing but God making a way.
As I mentioned, I was living in Kansas City, Kansas, where I knew only my co-workers and a couple of other people. My parents, Ann Arbor Michigan residents, were on a cruise the prior week and were scheduled to get off of their ship that Saturday. There were also my, then, girlfriend, and my brother who played a key role in my Saturday.
The day started out like any other Saturday. I was going to watch a little T.V., shave, and go play basketball at one of the local parks. I had been taking medicine for my “sinus headache” for a few days now so I wanted to not be too groggy when I went to play ball later that afternoon. (Now, from here is what has been told to me, because I honestly don’t remember anything else.) I had been on the phone a couple of times with my girlfriend and she became concerned because I wasn’t acting my normal self. She had originally contacted one of my co-workers who I had hung out with on a few occasions and didn’t live too far from where my apartment was. He came over there, but after spending a few moments with me, and me emphasizing that nothing was wrong, he determined that nothing was really out of the ordinary and left for the day. But she still was not convinced. After speaking with her some more (apparently I called her about 40 times in a 3 hour span) and not being very “friendly” to her on multiple occasions, she did what any woman that knows me and how to get to me would do, she told on me... (I’m a mama’s boy after all).
Now, while I believe that God was already present, watch here as he starts to move. My girlfriend called my parents. They were just getting off of their cruise ship and had turned their cell phones back on, in time to receive her call. They were in Florida, so they could not do anything immediately but talk to me. From there my parents called my brother, who lived in Atlanta, and was at a mall, which happened to be right down from his apartment at the time. He was able to fly home within minutes and get the phone number to my apartment complex in Kansas City. The office staff at my complex called the police (whose station was right down the street) to come and escort them to my door - because they would not enter an apartment without police escort or my prior approval. The whole time, I stayed on the phone with my parents and girlfriend. When the property manager knocked on my door, I was still conscious enough to open the door. The property manager asked if I was ok, I responded “yes”. Then the police officer asked I needed any medical assistance, I responded “no”. I then proceeded to pass out in front of them. By this time, it was around 3 pm. I woke up at 10:30 that night to see 2 of my co-workers sitting in a chair in a hospital room. I was only conscious for a moment, but when I opened my eyes again (this time around 1 in the morning), both of my parents were right there with me in the hospital along with a doctor who was explaining what had taken place.
The story goes on from there. The surgery to remove the tumor happened a few days later and it’s been 10 years since. Me and that young lady are no longer together, but to this day I credit her with playing a key role in saving my life. I’ve made some changes in the way I live my life and never take for granted any day that I’m able to see. I don’t tell you just to put my story-telling skills to the test. But I want to make sure that everyone that reads knows that I credit God for allowing me to have another chance to be his son. I feel that I was truly Saved by his Grace!
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