Christian Living

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Enduring Promise, Enduring Love
© 2008

by

Stephen A. Peterson


It happened on January 24th during the great Oklahoma ice storm of 2008. Nancy Greer, 17, watched, horrified, as Carla Henry, her best friend, was hit head on by an oncoming car sliding on a thick sheet of ice. Carla’s mother ran in panic from their house to attend to her badly injured daughter while Nancy called an ambulance. Nancy could see that Carla was in agony and may be dying. In the confusion, an elderly woman arrived with an armful of blankets then identified herself as a retired nurse. She began to pray asking God to take the badly injured girl in His hands as she placed the blankets about her broken body. Carla’s mother knelt besides her crying as she prayed for her daughter’s safety and recovery, if God would permit it to happen.

To everyone’s amazement, Carla lived. She was in a hospital for nearly 90 days with casts on both legs, a broken back and a broken left arm. During her hospital stay, Carla made a remarkable recovery for the injuries she sustained. When she was released to go home, the retired nurse called on the Henry family to see Carla. She had prayed for Carla hoping that she had committed her life to Christ. The elderly nurse decided to ask Carla outright even though she was still hurting.

“Carla Henry, are you a Christian?” she blurted out. “I prayed that you were or would become a Christian.”

Carla smiled and answered with assurance, “Yes, ma’am! Although I was hurting and in really bad pain, I heard you pray that I’d get better on the day of the accident. Before your prayer, I cursed God for allowing me to suffer so much. But as you prayed for me, I saw Jesus’ face. He comforted me. So right there I invited Him into my heart, asked Him to forgive me for cursing Him, help me deal with my injuries and to be with me always. He did everything I prayerfully asked for. Jesus has been with me ever since.”

Shaking her head in amazement, the old nurse told Carla more about her prayer that day, then said, “If God would not have answered my prayer or your in just the manner I or you asked you might not have become a believer. Other tests are yet to come your way. When those times come and God tells you “NO” know that He knows exactly what He is doing and that His enduring promise to be with you always will still be present as well as His love for you. Much of what God does is beyond our understanding but is for our well-being.

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