Participants: Brenda Walsh
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR001026
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01:01 One of the most beautiful and precious gifts
01:03 that God gives us is the privilege of praying. 01:08 There's many people think that you have to actually talk 01:11 to somebody else and then they pray for you. 01:14 But that's not what the Bible tells us. 01:16 We can go to God directly. 01:18 We can pray to Him anytime, day or night. 01:21 His door is never closed. His throne room is never shut. 01:26 We can approach the throne room of God anytime, 01:29 anywhere, because we are children of the King. 01:33 We have privileges. 01:34 And it is such an awesome gift that God gives us 01:39 that we can go to Him directly. 01:41 There's many, many types of prayers. 01:44 There's many reasons for prayers. 01:46 Some people though they have that "give me" disease. 01:49 You ever heard of that? The "give me" disease. 01:51 Dear Lord, give me this and give me that, give me this, 01:54 give me that, put more money in my bank account. 01:57 You know, do this, do that 01:59 and we have that "give me" disease. 02:00 And yet, prayer is for asking for things 02:04 but it's not the only reason for prayer. 02:06 And also the only-- we shouldn't just be going 02:09 to prayer when we're in trouble. 02:11 Some people they never ever think about talking to God 02:14 until they're in trouble. 02:15 And then the second something goes wrong, 02:17 "Oh, dear God, help me." 02:20 We are missing out 02:22 on such a wonderful relationship with Jesus 02:26 when we don't have an active prayer life. 02:29 And when we stop praying, when we start drifting away, 02:32 when we get too tired to pray, 02:33 we get too busy to pray, we start drifting away from God. 02:39 And before you know we're caught up in the enemy's web, 02:42 He has successfully pulled us away 02:45 and we've missed out on that loving relationship with Jesus. 02:49 It is our prayer life, an active prayer life 02:52 that keeps us close to Him. 02:54 And when we learn to pray directly 02:57 about anything, everything, when we don't just think 02:59 we have to wait at night to say our prayers 03:01 before we go to bed, that's good to do. 03:05 Please don't anybody leave and say, "Oh, Miss Brenda said, 03:07 you don't have to pray at night." 03:08 That is good to do. 03:10 But we need to pray to God all day long. 03:13 My prayer starts before I ever get out of bed in the morning. 03:15 I start praying before I ever get out of bed in the morning. 03:18 "Lord, please use me in a special way." 03:21 You see there's something God has planned 03:23 for each one of us but unless 03:25 we're really fully committed to Him, 03:27 we ain't gonna know what that plan is. 03:29 And God will have divine interventions 03:31 in your day all day long. 03:33 And it's incredible. 03:35 You can really know the full joy of trusting Jesus 03:39 when you have an active prayer life. 03:42 And if you think that you're too old 03:44 or too young or too poor or too rich 03:47 to do anything for Jesus, you're wrong 03:50 because God has something special planned 03:52 for each one of you. 03:54 And when you are walking with Jesus every single day 03:58 and enjoying that special relationship with Him, 04:03 you will see answers to prayers every day, every day. 04:07 You will enjoy those answers. 04:11 My brother Jim, he's now-- mom and dad raised five kids. 04:14 And all five of us are in full time ministry. 04:17 And my sisters and I are in full time ministry at 3ABN. 04:21 My two brothers are ordained ministers. 04:23 My dad's an ordained minister. 04:24 And my brother Jim is now 04:26 the Vice President of the Michigan Conference. 04:28 And my brother Kin 04:30 is the Youth Director for the Michigan Conference. 04:31 However, before my brother Jim had this position, 04:37 he was actually the youth director 04:38 and my brother Kin was a pastor. 04:40 So they kind of moved up but-- a different position. 04:45 But at this particular time, my brother Jim 04:47 was the youth director in Michigan. 04:49 And I was actually in between taping segments. 04:53 And it takes a day to light the set 04:55 and re-change between segments. 04:57 And it takes a day to put up and another day 04:59 to get everything put away and settled. 05:01 So I usually get a 3-day break in between segments of taping. 05:04 And I was home enjoying a little bit of free time 05:07 to catch up on the mountains of work on my desk. 05:10 And I was making phone calls. 05:11 I had lots of things I my to do list 05:13 I had to accomplish that day 05:15 and my phone rings and it's my brother Jim. 05:17 "Hey, sis." He said "Listen," 05:19 He said "I'm on my way down to Southern college." 05:22 He said, you know, you had Southern university. 05:24 He said, "Where I'm gonna be recruiting staff 05:27 for my summer camp." 05:28 Do you have summer camps here in Australia? 05:31 And so they probably, youth directors do that, too. 05:34 And so he said, "Listen, why don't you come down 05:36 and visit with me for just for a little while." 05:39 He said, "I miss you so much, sis." 05:40 And I said, "Jim, I came down last year 05:43 when you were recruiting. 05:44 And you didn't have 10 minutes to speak to me. 05:46 I didn't even get to hug your neck. 05:48 I said "There were so many students 05:50 signed up for appointments, 05:51 to have appointments with you to interview 05:53 that you did not have, one minute. 05:54 I waited 4 hours for you 05:56 and never got to even hug your neck." 05:58 And he goes, "Oh, it'll be different this time. 06:00 Sis, I miss you. You know, we don't get to see each other. 06:02 And you're so busy and I'm so busy." 06:03 And he said "I really miss you. 06:05 I'm sure it'll be different this year." 06:08 And I looked around at my desk, 06:09 and I had not planned to go anywhere. 06:11 I knew there's mountains of stuff and I'm thinking, 06:13 "It'll take me a year to finish this not 3 days." 06:16 And then the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, 06:18 "Brenda, family is important. 06:20 You know, go spend some time with your brother." 06:23 I said, "You know what? 06:24 Jim, here's what I'll do," I said, 06:26 "You'll need the morning to get settled 06:27 and get everything else set up. 06:28 I'll finish some stuff I have to get 06:30 accomplished this morning." 06:31 I lived in Knoxville, Tennessee. 06:33 It's an hour drive from Collegedale, Tennessee, 06:35 where Southern University is. 06:37 And I said, "I'll come down 06:38 and I'll meet you in the afternoon." 06:40 He goes, "Oh, that'd be awesome." 06:41 I said, "Do you think we'll get a chance to go to supper?" 06:42 He goes, "Oh, I can't do that." 06:44 He said, "I got to take all the staff out from last year 06:47 and it's kind of, you know, a work supper." 06:48 And I was like, "Okay, no problem." 06:50 I said, "If I just get 15 minutes with you, 06:52 it'll be worth it." He goes, "Oh, thank you so much. 06:53 I love you, sis." And we hung up. 06:56 And so I got my work done that I needed, 06:57 absolute needed to do and then I headed down South to Southern. 07:02 And when I got there and I went into the student center, 07:04 all the different youth directors 07:05 from all the different states 07:07 were all trying to recruit staff, too. 07:09 And they had little booths set up 07:10 and my brother's booth had a petition around it 07:12 where they could have a private area to do interviews. 07:15 And my sister-in-law Gale was outside with the signup book 07:19 and all the students could come and signup 07:21 and they were 15 minute interview parts. 07:23 And so I thought I'm gonna get one on them this year. 07:27 I'm gonna go over there and I'm gonna sign up 07:30 on that signup book for an appointment. 07:32 And so I said, "Okay, I'm gonna make sure 07:34 I get at least 15 minutes with my brother." 07:36 So I went over there and I went to look at that book 07:38 and my sister-in-law said "They're all full, 07:41 we're booked solid and there's a waiting list." 07:45 Oh. And I said, "Okay, Lord. 07:47 Well, You've got something in mind. 07:49 I'm sure, I bet You somebody is not gonna show up. 07:52 I think someone's gonna forget. 07:53 They're gonna miss their appointment. 07:55 And I'm gonna slide right in there." 07:56 So I waited and I waited, 1 hour by it 07:59 and my brother would come around 08:01 to say goodbye to that person he was interviewing 08:03 and welcome the next person in and I waved at him. 08:05 He goes, "Hi, sis, I love you." "I love you, too." 08:08 And he went--go right back in, didn't get to hug his neck. 08:10 And so they stuck, an hour went by 08:13 and I watched student after student going through, 08:15 each time, "Bye, you know, come on in." 08:17 And, you know, he'd interview again. 08:20 Everybody was keeping their appointments. 08:22 Camp Pasabo is probably one of the most premier camps 08:24 we have in the United States 08:26 and I think everybody wants to work there. 08:29 So--and I couldn't be prejudiced at all. 08:33 And it's better since my other brother is a youth director now. 08:36 And so I was, you know, getting tired. 08:41 I'm standing now for 2 hours, 3 hours. 08:45 Now I've stood for 4 hours and my 4-inch high heels, 08:48 my feet are killing me. 08:49 Ladies, we know that our high heels 08:51 are not meant to be walking or hiking shoes, are they? 08:53 We're supposed to walk from the house to the car, 08:56 to the building, to a seat, to the restaurant, 08:58 or wherever we are and back to our truck again, right? 09:01 Not to be standing up for hours. So here I am. 09:03 I am 4 hours now talking to every single person 09:07 but...my brother, finally, I thought, 09:11 I have just wasted 4 hours, "Lord," I said, 09:13 "You know the mountains of work on my desk. 09:15 I have really got to, to get back." 09:17 So I--when I waited to my next appointment 09:19 was about ready to go in and my brother came out 09:21 and said, "I've got to go." 09:22 And he goes, "I'm so sorry, sis. I love you." 09:24 I said "I love you, too." 09:27 And that was it, never even got to hug his neck. 09:30 And I got down the car. 09:31 I said, "Lord," I said, 09:33 "I don't know what that was all about." 09:34 I said, "I just wasted 4 hours of time. 09:37 I could've been working for You." 09:39 And I was talking to everybody else but my brother. 09:42 And so I got in my car, and, oh, that felt so good. 09:47 And I started, backed out of my parking spot. 09:49 I started, you know, driving out of the parking. 09:53 I was just driving down the road 09:54 getting close to where the college market is. 09:57 And in that college market is an Adventist book center. 10:01 And at that moment, the Holy Spirit said to me, 10:03 "Brenda, you ought to go into the ABC 10:05 and buy a book for Kelly. 10:07 She just lost, she is not--does not Jesus. 10:09 She just lost her child. 10:11 And you ought to go find something in there 10:13 that would help her in spirit to lift her up." 10:16 And I thought, "Okay, I'll do that." 10:17 And then I thought, "Oh," and I just sat down 10:19 and my feet hurt and, you know, "I think, I'll order it online." 10:24 And I heard the--just I'm almost ready to go past the entrance 10:27 and I hear, "Go buy that book now." 10:31 And I was like, "Whoo." I've been praying 10:34 and asking God to make me instant to His will. 10:36 And so I mean I just whipped in there, 10:38 sorry, for the person behind me, 10:39 I didn't use the turn signal even. 10:41 And I just whipped in there really quick. 10:43 And wouldn't you know God gave me that parking spot 10:46 right closest to the door, isn't God good? 10:49 And so I got out and I went in, 10:51 I opened the door and as soon as you open, 10:54 they've all these bells tied to the top of the door, 10:57 so that when you open it, it makes a really loud noise. 11:00 No chance of entering inconspicuously. 11:03 And so I looked on the left and there was cash register 11:07 on the left and a long line of people waiting to pay. 11:10 The woman that was in the middle of transaction, 11:13 so that means nobody else can, you know, 11:15 pay because the cash register is already tied up. 11:18 Soon as she heard the bells on the door, 11:20 she glances up, she sees me, does a double take 11:24 and just leaves her books right there, 11:26 and says, "Just a minute," comes running over. 11:27 She's got her purse. 11:29 She comes running over to me and she starts shaking me. 11:31 "You're Brenda Walsh. You're Brenda Walsh. 11:32 You're Brenda Walsh. You're Miss Brenda?" 11:34 I said, "Uh-huh." 11:37 She goes, "No, no, no, you don't understand." 11:39 She said "This morning, God impressed me 11:43 that I'm supposed to give you some money. 11:45 Well, praise the Lord." I said "Thank you." 11:48 And she goes, "No, no, no, you don't understand." 11:50 She said, "I have never donated to Kids' Time, ever." 11:54 She said, "But I do know when God's speaking to me. 11:56 And so I am obedient. I made the check out. 11:59 It's right here in my purse. 12:00 What are the chances that you would be here 12:02 right here today?" 12:04 And I said, I said "I'm bashed at that, I mean, I'm just--" 12:08 And she looked at me and she started 12:11 to open her purse to get the check. 12:12 And then she snapped her purse shut. 12:15 "What for and how much? Huh?" 12:19 She said, "Well, God didn't tell me what for and how much. 12:22 I'm just curious." 12:24 I said, "Well, I can tell you the what for 12:27 because just this morning 12:29 God and I had a long talk about it. 12:30 You see, when kids come to tape on the program, 12:34 nobody gets, you know, paid to be on the program, 12:38 in fact, you have to pay your own way. 12:40 I'm a full time volunteer. I have to pay own way, too. 12:44 And everybody else does. I don't book a "maybe." 12:49 If I see a talented child and there's musically talented 12:52 and I book them for the program, 12:53 and I say this is your taping day, 12:55 this is your time, I'm counting on you. 12:58 I don't book somebody that I might be able to come 13:02 because if I did that this would happen. 13:06 I would never want to be wasting God's time 13:08 because, you know, if they didn't show up, 13:10 that time, then we wouldn't be producing programs. 13:15 It would also prevent somebody else 13:17 to have been ready to come. 13:18 You see, you can't ask the child to come at the last minute 13:21 'cause they take lots of preparation 13:23 to be able to come and prepare to tape on the program. 13:26 So I never book a "maybe." I book a sure thing. 13:29 I'm counting on you but for the first time ever, 13:33 I had come across an incredibly musically talented family 13:37 that was quite willing to come but they didn't have the funds. 13:41 And I knew with everything inside me, 13:43 God wanted them on that program 13:45 and I did something that I have never done but I told them, 13:48 I am booking you for this slot. 13:50 We're gonna be trusting in Jesus 13:52 that He will provide the means for you to fly here. 13:54 It was way too far to drive. 13:56 And I said I know God wants you here 13:59 and that's the most important thing. 14:01 And so, now that taping date was only 2 weeks away. 14:05 And I had told God that all morning. 14:07 I said, "Lord, I had lifted up in prayer for quite a while. 14:10 And I said, "Lord, you know that 14:11 if we don't get that money pretty soon, 14:14 that the prices are gonna go up more and more and more. 14:17 Lord, I'm trying to be a good steward of your money. 14:19 You've told me that You will provide. 14:20 You impressed me to ask them, Lord. 14:22 I've done my part, Lord, please, do Yours." 14:25 You see God, I talk to God like 14:27 He's my best friend 'cause He is. 14:29 And once you talk to your best friend that way, 14:31 you know, communication is a two way street. 14:34 And so I'm listening to Jesus and He's telling me 14:38 to be patient that He will provide. 14:40 I said, "Okay, Lord, I'm trusting You." 14:42 I said, "But I just found online 14:44 really inexpensive tickets for them." 14:46 I said, "But we've got to have that today." 14:48 At midnight tonight the price goes up. 14:52 And I said, "So I know what the what for is." 14:55 And she goes, "Well, praise the Lord. 14:58 We know the what for, now how much?" 15:01 And I said "Well, I really hate to tell you this." 15:03 I said, "But... 15:08 I need-- I need a $1,000." 15:14 "Did you say a $1,000?" I said, "Yeah, I'm sorry 15:17 but it really is expensive with the airfare these days. 15:20 And she goes, "a $1,000?" "Yes." 15:25 And she reached in her purse, and she pulled out a check, 15:28 one of those big business ones that are oversized, 15:31 she just dropped her purse to the floor, 15:33 pulled it out and held it out for me to see. 15:36 Mail out to Kids' Time for $1,000. 15:42 Isn't God good? 15:44 I said, "Lord, You knew this, Lord. 15:46 And Your plan for me to come to Collegedale, Tennessee, 15:49 was not to see my brother, obviously." 15:56 It was to show me who's in charge. 16:00 It's to show me who provides. 16:03 It's to show me the power. Isn't God good? 16:07 I was praising Jesus all the way home. 16:10 I was on the phone saying, called up the family, 16:14 I said, "God provided." 16:15 And I shared with them and they were crying on the phone, 16:17 I was crying on the phone. 16:19 I was thanking Jesus, praising Jesus. 16:21 There's nothing like it. 16:23 Don't you just love it 16:24 when we have first hand witness of God's power? 16:29 It's amazing. 16:32 Somebody that I love very, very much 16:37 is probably the most incredible prayer warrior 16:41 that I have ever known. 16:44 Somebody that walks so closely with Jesus 16:47 that Jesus truly is her best friend 16:51 more than anybody else. 16:53 I'm talking to you about my grandmother Micheff, 16:57 my dad's mother. 16:59 You see, my grandma was born here in the States. 17:03 She is Hungarian. 17:05 And when she was only 2 years old, 17:09 her mother took her and her brothers and sisters, 17:13 two brothers, two sisters over to Hungary 17:16 to stay and spend the summer with her grandmother. 17:19 In that way her mother flew back to the States 17:21 so that her and dad could work to earn more money. 17:25 And what happened was is that the war broke out 17:29 and they could not return. 17:32 And so my grandmother was 14-years-old 17:36 before she ever came back and saw her mother again. 17:40 Actually, she wasn't scheduled. Her grandmother raised her. 17:45 And her brothers, well, actually, 17:49 her mom and dad sent money for a train ticket 17:52 and a ship passage for her brothers to come. 17:57 They didn't want the girls, they wanted the boys 17:59 because they wanted them to work and earn money. 18:01 But the government would not allow 18:04 any boys to leave the country 18:05 that might be eligible for the army, 18:07 so they would not allow the boys to come. 18:10 So the grandmother sent the girls instead. 18:12 So when the parents met the train 18:14 expecting to see their sons, 18:16 and they saw their daughters instead, they were angry. 18:19 My grandma didn't get a hug saying, 18:21 "Oh, after all these years, my daughters, my daughters." No. 18:25 They were mad and they were angry 18:28 and the first thing they did 18:29 is they contracted my grandmother out 18:32 and each one of the sisters to different places 18:33 but my grandmother they sent up 18:35 now my grandma lived-- I mean grandparents lived 18:38 in Southern Illinois right there by 3ABN. 18:40 And so there, they sent my grandmother up to Chicago, 18:44 5 hours North to work for the Marshall Field's family. 18:50 It's a department store. 18:51 The Marshall Field's is a department store in Chicago. 18:53 Some of you may have known it. 18:56 And the Marshall family is who my grandmother worked for. 18:58 She was basically, she's their cook, 19:00 their maid, whatever it is. 19:01 And every penny she earned was actually sent back 19:04 to her parents in Southern Illinois. 19:08 She never got one penny to keep for herself. 19:11 So she was basically like a slave. 19:13 And she learned how to cook from her grandmother 19:17 who was an incredible cook. 19:18 So she, the family, the Marshall family was, 19:21 you know, kind to her but they worked her very hard long hours 19:24 and they enjoyed her cooking and she was impeccably clean 19:30 and she worked there for 2 years 19:31 until her parents called her home. 19:34 They had met a man 19:36 who they thought was rich 'cause he owned a car. 19:38 And so they married her off to this man, 19:42 somebody she didn't know, hadn't met before 19:45 and actually didn't know anything 19:46 about a husband-wife relationship. 19:50 And she found herself married 19:52 to somebody she didn't know 19:54 and fortunately, my grandfather was a very kind man 19:58 but he was also 30 years older than he'd thought he was. 20:01 He wasn't 25 years old. 20:03 And so her life with him was very, very hard. 20:06 He was not rich. 20:07 In fact, my grandfather worked in the coal mines for 47 years. 20:11 Do you know it breaks my heart to think 20:13 that my grandfather spent most of his life underground? 20:16 And my grandfather didn't know any of his family. 20:18 He was from Bulgaria. 20:20 He had--there was 13 kids in his family 20:23 When he got to be 12 years of age, 20:25 he had to leave home and was told to-- 20:27 his parents arranged for him to go work with these 20:29 like a migrant worker. 20:30 And he never saw any of his family ever again. 20:33 He ended up taking--being sent on a boat over to America 20:36 and then ended up in the coal mine work. 20:38 And so it was really a hard, hard life. 20:41 And my grandmother never knew anything 20:44 but hard work and heartache. 20:46 Yet she was closer to God than you can possibly imagine. 20:50 She loved Jesus with all her heart 20:52 and she was raised by a very God fearing grandmother. 20:56 Now before you say, "Wow, 20:57 how could God allow that to happen?" 20:59 Because, you know, 21:00 she didn't get to see her mother all those years, 21:02 but guess what? 21:04 Her mom and dad were not Christians. 21:07 In fact, my great grandfather was an alcoholic. 21:08 I actually never met him sober. 21:11 And he lived to be the ripe old age of 94. 21:14 We all said he was pickled, and he fell out off bed 21:16 and that's how he died, you know. 21:19 And so he was not--it wouldn't have been a Christian home 21:22 and my grandmother wasn't a Christian. 21:24 In fact, she was quite mean and hateful and here God allowed 21:29 my grandmother to be raised by a loving, 21:32 God-fearing grandma and taught her to love Jesus. 21:36 So how can you say God didn't know what He's doing? 21:38 And even though my grandmother had a very hard life, 21:41 she loved Jesus. 21:43 When I think about my grandmother, 21:46 I think about her relationship with God. 21:48 That's the very first thing 21:49 that I associate with my grandma is how much she loved Jesus. 21:52 She ministered to everyone and her name was Rebecca Helen 21:57 and everyone called her Helen and she-- 21:59 they would come to her for prayer. 22:00 They needed anything, my grandma would help them. 22:02 In fact, you know, she was the first one 22:04 in the neighborhood called if anybody was sick. 22:06 She lost her own twins that she had 22:09 because she'd been ministering to some other family 22:12 that had a real bad illness 22:14 and she caught it and her own babies died. 22:17 And so she really loved others. 22:20 She gave of herself and she prayed for everybody. 22:24 When I first started Kids' Time, 22:27 it was my grandma that prayed me 22:29 through every single thing I did. 22:31 You see, I live in Knoxville, Tennessee, 22:33 and I'm 6 hours from Southern Illinois. 22:36 And so for those 6 hours, I'd be on the phone 22:38 and I would be telling grandma 22:40 about this, that and the other thing, 22:41 and what I needed and, "Grandma, I don't know what, 22:43 what should I have here? What should I have there?" 22:44 "Let's pray about it." And we would pray. 22:46 We'd have a praise report as well. 22:49 And we had the most awesome time. 22:51 She was such an awesome prayer warrior. 22:54 And one thing--the last 20 years of grandma's life, 22:57 she spent in a little room with her television 23:01 and she had--3ABN is the only television program she watched. 23:06 She had her Bible. 23:07 She had her prayer journal and she had her phone. 23:09 You see, grandma had arthritis so bad and her knees 23:13 where way back out to here 23:15 and she willed herself to walk. She could hardly walk. 23:18 The doctor said that he-- 23:19 anybody else would've been bedridden years before 23:22 but she literally was determined not to be an invalid 23:25 and she, even the pain, she just worked through it 23:28 and was determined that she was going to live for Jesus 23:32 and live to the fullest and not in a bed. 23:37 She decided and this is, folks, 23:39 if you ever think that you are too old to serve Jesus, 23:42 you think that you're too young or too poor or too rich, 23:46 let me tell you, my grandma is an incredible example 23:48 about somebody that God can use to witness for Him 23:51 because she had the most incredible prayer ministry. 23:54 Her phone was going off all the time. 23:56 And people would say, "Oh, Helen, 23:58 would you pray about this? 23:59 Would you pray about that?" 24:00 So many times today someone will ask you, 24:02 "Oh, pray for me please." And we say "We will." 24:04 How many of you actually do? Don't raise your hands. 24:07 You know, it's almost like a saying that we say. 24:10 It's almost like, "Good day, pray for me." "Okay." 24:15 "I'll be praying for you," 24:17 we tell someone, oh, you hear something bad. 24:18 It's almost like the polite thing to say 24:20 when someone tells you their heartache story. 24:22 And you go, "Well, I'll pray for you." 24:23 Do you really take it before the Lord? 24:25 Do you really passionately pray for them? 24:27 Have you ever thought about that? 24:29 It's almost like just a nice thing to say. 24:31 But my grandma didn't view prayer 24:33 as a nice thing to say 24:34 to tell someone they're praying about her. 24:36 When she was praying for you, my grandmother prayed for you. 24:40 She didn't just pray for you once or twice. 24:42 If you were-- every prayer request 24:44 was written in her prayer journal 24:46 and she would pray all throughout the day. 24:48 She would go through her prayer journal 24:50 and she would pray and she would talk to you about by-- 24:53 talked to the Lord about you intimately. 24:54 All the things she knew about you, 24:56 she would be praying and listing it up to Jesus. 24:58 And she prayed over and over and over again. 25:00 And then she had a side note with all the praise reports. 25:03 And whether or not to keep on praying 25:05 and what the updates were. 25:07 You see, my grandma prayed about everything. 25:11 I love my grandma with all my heart. 25:14 I used to when I get through taping during the day, 25:17 I go to my grandma's house at night, 25:19 you know, 'cause it was just, 25:20 you know, 10 minutes from the studio. 25:22 And I go over there and we'd have song service together 25:25 and we'd pray together. 25:26 And we reminisced and I would also share with her 25:29 all the things that were going on 25:31 in the studio and all the letters. 25:32 And I would say, "Oh, grandma, there's this really sad case, 25:35 this little girl asked me to help her kill herself 25:38 and it because she said that her mom and dad died. 25:41 She's staying with the aunt that doesn't really want her 25:43 and she just wants to die 25:44 and she want to know if I would help her. 25:47 And she doesn't have a gun, 25:48 and she doesn't have any medicine, 25:50 she doesn't know what else to do, 25:51 could I help her do something to help her end life? 25:53 "Oh, that's terrible. Let's pray for her. 25:55 Do you know her name?" 25:56 And I said, "Yes, and this is her name 25:58 and she's from this little island in Antigua." 26:00 And she said, "Okay, well, let's pray right now." 26:02 And she would just lift up that little girl. 26:05 It didn't matter what it was I gave her. 26:07 She would pray and pray and pray. 26:10 Her phone would ring constantly. 26:12 You see, that's the woman that raised my father. 26:17 She was a woman of prayer. 26:19 You know, towards the end of her life, 26:24 her pain level was so much that her knees would hurt 26:29 when she'd even move them a little bit on the couch. 26:31 She'd start to read just her weight. 26:33 She'd be in so much pain. 26:36 And so I would pray for hours for grandma. 26:39 Because it just broke my heart 26:40 to see somebody I love so much in so much pain. 26:44 Our whole family, I think my-- 26:49 I could not have been praying for more than my grandma. 26:53 I felt those prayers. 26:57 One day, I was scheduled to speak, be a keynote speaker 27:00 at a Women's Retreat in Nashville, Tennessee. 27:06 It was the Kentucky Tennessee Conference. 27:08 And they were having this big retreat. 27:10 I was their speaker. I'm on my way. 27:11 It's a Friday, I'm almost there. 27:14 Now you see, I live in Knoxville and 3ABN is 6 hours away. 27:18 Nashville is my halfway point. 27:20 And so when I get to Nashville, I got 3 hours more. 27:23 So I'm almost in Nashville and my cell phone goes off, 27:25 it's my sister Linda and she's sobbing. 27:28 "Brenda," she said, "I just talked to mom and dad." 27:30 She said, "Have you heard, have you heard?" 27:32 I said, "No, what?" 27:33 And she said, "Oh, Brenda, 27:35 she said it's grandma, she's in the hospital." 27:37 Now my sister Cinda and I are nurses but Linda is not. 27:41 So to hear this, you know, medical information from Linda, 27:44 you never know what you're gonna hear. 27:46 So she said, "But, sis, grandma doesn't have time-- 27:49 long to live, she's gonna die." 27:51 Then I said, "What are you talking about?" 27:52 She said, "I don't know, sis. 27:54 She said, "I guess, there's some big hole in her stomach 27:55 and she said and the doctors said they can't operate. 27:58 And she could go anytime." 28:01 "Lord, please not grandma. 28:04 Please don't take my grandma. 28:07 Lord, I'm not ready to lose her. 28:09 She is my prayer warrior." 28:10 Surely, Linda's got to be messed about that, surely not. 28:13 I called my mom and mom was crying 28:15 and she said, "It's grandma." 28:17 She said, "Doctors said that she has no hope." 28:20 I called up a friend of mine 28:21 who is at 3ABN and I said, "Look, 28:23 I'm scheduled to be a key note speaker this weekend. 28:27 Can you please be in my place? 28:29 I said my grandmother is in the hospital and I need to go." 28:32 She says, "Absolutely." 28:33 she said, "I'll just grab a few things 28:35 and I'll be on my way." 28:36 And I said I'm speaking at 7 o'clock, sorry. 28:39 And I just put them-- you know, the gas pedal down 28:43 and floored it all the way there just kept on going 28:46 and in fact, my cell phone went off about halfway there 28:51 and I got a call and she said, "Did you just pass Sector 81?" 28:54 I said, "Yes, how do you know?" 28:55 She goes, "I just passed here." She said "Slow down." 29:00 And so I said, "I know, I know, please pray, 29:03 you know, my grandma can go anytime, 29:05 and I'm just so scared, I won't get there in time. 29:07 And so I prayed with her on the phone 29:10 that God would be with her for the weekend. 29:11 I thanked her again for filling in for me. 29:13 Isn't God good when he provides friends 29:15 that will support each other like that? 29:19 And so I race down there. I get to the hospital. 29:23 I find her room number, 29:25 I walk in and there's a woman in the bed. 29:28 There was two people in the room 29:30 and there was a woman the first one in the bed 29:31 was kind of out of her head and she was just delirious 29:34 and didn't know what she's doing and she was mumbling loudly, 29:37 and groaning and moaning. 29:38 I thought, "Oh, no, grandma has to be in here and hear this, 29:40 you know, this can't be 29:42 in her last few minutes of her life here that" 29:44 and I walk past the lady 29:46 and there was my grandma sitting up in death. 29:48 I said, "Oh, grandma, and I ran to her 29:51 and I just hugged her and she goes, 29:52 "Oh, honey, I should've known you would come." 29:54 She had a real thick Hungarian accent, 29:56 she couldn't speak good English. 29:59 And I said, "Oh, grandma, grandma, is it true?" 30:02 She says, "Haven't you heard the news?" 30:04 She looked all smiley. 30:05 And I said "No, what is the news?" 30:07 And she goes "I'm gonna die." 30:15 "Grandma, are you sure? Are you sure? 30:18 Maybe the doctor is wrong." "Oh, no." 30:21 she said, "The doctor said I can go anytime. 30:23 It might be this day. 30:24 Oh, I do hope I get to go on the Sabbath." 30:29 "Grandma, grandma, how can you talk like that. 30:32 Are you sure, can't they do something?" 30:34 "Well, no, well, hun, I got a big hole in my intestine." 30:39 And she said the doctor said, 30:42 she said that there's nothing they can do, 30:45 why-- my heart's bad, hun. 30:48 And she said "I get on that table." 30:50 She said, "I'll probably die on the table." 30:53 She said "I'm not gonna do that." 30:54 She said "I'm gonna go up praising the Lord." 30:58 "Well, grandma, are you sure there's not--" 31:01 "Now, hun, we got no time for that." 31:04 She goes "I could go any minute here." 31:06 She said so, she said "We got to get busy." 31:08 She said "I've got family we got to call. 31:10 You got that cell phone with you?" 31:11 She said, "It's nice and loud, I can hear better on that one." 31:13 I said "Yeah, grandma, I've cell phone." 31:15 She said, "Well, I'll start calling." 31:16 She says, "I got to talk to people. 31:18 I got to say my goodbyes." 31:20 And so I started calling people, one right after another. 31:23 And grandma's, you know, calling them 31:25 and she told each one, 31:27 "Now, hun, I want you to give your heart to Jesus." 31:30 She said, "If you don't give your heart to Jesus, 31:31 she won't gonna be there. 31:33 Grandma was not gonna see you anymore." 31:34 She said, "Please give your heart to Jesus. 31:36 I can't imagine heaven without You." 31:39 She went and called every one of her grandkids. 31:42 She called every one of my cousins. 31:43 She called every one of her family members. 31:46 And then she goes, "Okay, now get my friends. 31:47 Okay, go here's my book, get that book over there. 31:49 It's got all my friends numbers on. 31:50 Okay, call so and so," and I'm calling. 31:52 I want you to know, she says, 31:53 "I want to ask you one more time to give your heart to Jesus." 31:56 She says, "I'm getting ready to go to sleep in Jesus." 31:59 She said, "It's not gonna be long. 32:01 It could be any minute." 32:02 And she says, "And I don't want to lose any minute. 32:03 I want to ask you one more time," 32:05 she said, "give your heart to Jesus, 32:06 I want to see you there." She said, "I love you so much. 32:09 I can't imagine heaven without you." 32:12 Person after person after person 32:15 that she had been ministering to, 32:16 she called every person that she had a phone number 32:19 to that she needed they hear and get that last message, 32:25 "Please give your heart to Jesus." 32:28 And when we were all done, 32:29 she said, "Well, that's about it." 32:30 She said, "Well, what time is it?" 32:32 I said, "Well, it's," you know, I'd tell the time. 32:34 She'd say, "Well, I guess, God's got plans. 32:36 Maybe we'll just enjoy the Sabbath." 32:38 She said, "But yeah, yeah--" she said, "It could be anytime." 32:44 About that time, the nurse came in 32:47 and she had a tray and she had some medicine, 32:49 and she had little IV bag and she puts her tray down 32:52 and she starts to fix the IV bag and I said, 32:55 "Excuse me, what are you doing?" 32:57 She said, "Oh, hun," 32:58 she said, "I'm just gonna put a little medicine here 33:00 to help your grandma's heart, strengthen your heart." 33:03 And I said "No, you're not." 33:05 She said "Excuse me?" I said "No, you're not. 33:08 I want to see Dr. Keller." 33:10 And she goes, "Well, sweetie, she's left for the day." 33:12 That's how they talk in the south. 33:13 Well, sweetie, she's left for the day. 33:16 He'll be back, he'll be back in an hour." 33:17 I said "No, he won't." 33:19 I said, "I need you to tell Dr. Keller 33:21 that Helen Micheff's granddaughter is here 33:23 and that she's refusing all medication 33:26 until I can speak to him." 33:29 "Well, I never. Okay." 33:31 So she packed up her stuff. She didn't seem very happy. 33:34 And she just went out off the door and 30 minutes later, 33:37 Dr. Keller walked in and he didn't look too happy either. 33:40 And so he said "What seems to be the problem here? 33:43 I understand that you're not-- that you're refusing medication. 33:46 What is the problem?" 33:47 "Dr. Keller, do you hate my grandmother?" 33:53 "Well, absolutely not. 33:55 Why would you ask such a thing?" 33:56 I said, "Will you please tell me is my grandmother dying?" 34:00 And then he proceeded to tell me, 34:02 he said, "Well, yes, she is." 34:04 And he told me about how she'd had 34:07 a rip and a tear in her intestines. 34:09 And to repair that would require going to surgery 34:12 but the heart was so weak 34:15 that surgery she would never tolerate the surgery 34:17 and probably die on the table." 34:19 And that it had been my grandmother's decision 34:21 not to try. 34:22 And that she couldn't even have a sip of water 34:25 because that would seep out into her abdomen 34:29 and already I could see 34:30 she looked about 5 months' pregnant there, 34:32 already her abdomen was tight and swollen. 34:34 And he said, "The longer she lives, 34:36 the more painful her end of her life will be." 34:40 He said, "in fact," he said, 34:41 "she will reach a poin that her skin is so tight like a drum 34:45 and she should feel like a balloon gonna pop 34:47 and the pain will be so intense, there won't be enough morphine 34:50 or pain medicine to stop the pain. 34:53 And unfortunately, it's a terrible way to die. 34:55 She will go out in terrible agony." 34:58 I said "Then I want to re-ask you the question, 35:00 do you hate my grandmother?" 35:03 And he said, "Why would you ask me that? 35:04 I've been your grandma's doctor for over 40 years." 35:07 I said, exactly, I said "You just got telling me 35:09 that the longer my grandmother lives, 35:12 she's gonna be even more pain 35:13 and she's gonna suffer and leave this world screaming. 35:16 Is that right?" "Yes, I wish it wasn't so." 35:19 I said "And, yet, you're gonna give her a medication 35:21 to strengthen her heart 35:23 so that she can last long enough to suffer like that in pain." 35:26 And he stopped and he was quiet, 35:29 and he thought about what I said. 35:32 And he kind of choked up for a minute 35:34 and he said, turned to my grandmother 35:38 and said, "Helen, please forgive me." 35:41 He said, "Your granddaughter is right." 35:43 He said "I think as physicians we're so eager to prolong life 35:48 that we forget about helping someone die." 35:53 And he looked at me, he goes 35:55 "What do you expect me to do?" 35:56 I said, "Here's what I expect you to do. 35:58 I expect you to move her to a private room. 36:00 I expect you to give her an IV with a morphine drip 36:03 so that I can administer the pain med for her." 36:06 And I said "And I expect her to die 36:09 with as much dignity as possible and if there's anything about 36:12 that you don't agree with, you're fired." 36:14 And I said, "And I'll find someone else." 36:15 Well, see how I can fight pretty hard 36:19 when I'm fighting for someone else. 36:21 I'm not good at fighting for myself 36:22 but, boy, for someone I love. And this was my grandmother. 36:25 My precious grandma, to even think about her 36:27 leaving this world screaming in pain 36:29 was more than I could bear. 36:32 And he said, "I agree with everything you're suggesting." 36:36 And he said, "And it will be done." 36:38 And he wrote down on a piece of paper 36:39 and he handed it to me. 36:41 And he said "Here is my personal cell phone number. 36:43 If you need anything, you call me. 36:46 I have never given this number out to any patient." 36:50 He said "Thank you for reminding me 36:53 that part of my job is to help someone die." 36:57 And he was truly moved. 36:59 And within 30 minutes, my grandmother 37:02 was moved across the hall to a private room. 37:04 She had an IV drip going there with a morphine pump. 37:08 I could press it every 10 minutes. 37:10 Now if you press it more often than that, 37:13 it wouldn't let you do it. 37:14 You have to wait till the red light goes on 37:16 and says you can give it. 37:17 But if I don't press it, she doesn't get it. 37:19 So I had to be there to press that button every 10 minutes. 37:24 And so she was so excited-- 37:29 grandma grew up from the old school 37:30 that you don't talk to a doctor like that, you know. 37:32 So she was kind of proud of her granddaughter 37:34 standing up for her. 37:35 And I got it all settled, I cleaned her, 37:37 I wiped her mouth, moistened her, 37:39 her tongue was so dry and her mouth, 37:41 I just moistened with a wet wash cloth to help her 37:43 'cause she couldn't even have an ice chip. 37:45 And already I could see her skin was hot and burning with fever. 37:50 And I moved her into the-- you know, 37:52 I put a light sheet over her because of her fever 37:54 and I put a cold cloth on her head and she said, 37:57 "Okay, hun, she said, let's welcome in the Sabbath." 38:00 And I said, "All right." So she said, "Let's sing." 38:04 And so we sang some songs 38:06 and then she said, "Let's have some Bible scripture." 38:08 You see, my grandmother was terrified of losing her mind. 38:10 So she'd heard that if you memorize you will, 38:14 you know, help strengthen your mind 38:15 and you have a less chance of getting dementia. 38:17 So my grandmother memorized whole Chapters in the Bible. 38:21 She knew Psalms almost word for word. 38:24 And so, of course, that was her favorite Chapter 38:26 and so even though I was reading 38:27 she would say it right along with me, never missed a word. 38:31 And then when we got all through, she said to me, 38:35 "Brenda," she said, "There's something I need to ask you." 38:39 And I said "What, grandma?" 38:42 She said, "It is so important to me 38:47 that when I leave this world that everyone 38:51 that I've been witnessing to that doesn't know Jesus, 38:54 I want them to know beyond the shred of a doubt 38:56 that I have nothing to be sad for 38:58 because I'd just be sleeping in the ground 39:01 and the next voice out here will be the voice of Jesus." 39:03 And she said "And I want my life, 39:06 even my death to be a testimony and a witness to them." 39:09 She said, "Will you promise me that you won't cry when I die?" 39:14 "Oh, grandma." 39:16 And immediately, I turned around 39:18 'cause I could already feel the tears 39:20 and I turned around and grandma can see 39:21 my shoulders starting to shake. 39:23 And she said, "Will you do me another thing, 39:25 hun, would you get me a waffle?" 39:26 And I turned around and said, "Grandma, 39:27 I can't give you a waffle-- "and she goes "I got you." 39:30 She said, "You thought I plum lost my mind, didn't you?" 39:32 And she said, "Honey, always keep good humor in life." 39:36 She couldn't say-- always keep good humor in life. 39:41 I said, "Grandma, I will promise you 39:43 that I will do everything I can to try." 39:46 She said "Okay. Now I need to ask you something else." 39:49 She said, "I want to ask you to honor my wish." 39:55 She said, "My whole life 39:57 I have depended on Jesus Christ as my personal savior. 40:00 He is my best friend." 40:02 And she said, "I've lived my whole life for Him. 40:05 I want to end my life like I had ended every prayer." 40:10 She said, "I want the way 40:11 I end my prayers to be the last words 40:14 on my lips when I die." 40:17 You see, when grandma prayed for anybody, 40:20 she never just said amen at the end of her prayer. 40:24 She would say in the name of the Father 40:26 and she'd lift both hands towards heaven. 40:28 In the name of the Father, 40:29 the Son and the Holy Ghost, amen. 40:33 I think that's probably how her mother taught-- 40:34 her grandmother had taught her to pray. 40:36 And I never heard her pray that she didn't do that. 40:40 And she said, "I want that to be my last words on my lips. 40:43 I want my life to be my prayer, 40:46 my gift to Jesus and end it as a prayer." 40:49 Wow. "What time is it?" 40:54 I said, "Well, grandma, 40:55 it's about 10 minutes from the last time." 40:57 She goes, "Well, I'm still here. 40:58 I guess, God has a reason." 41:00 She said, she said, "maybe I'll just, 41:01 you know," she said, "Maybe I'll just die in my sleep." 41:04 She said, you know, we've talked enough, 41:07 we'd been reminiscing all about the old days, 41:10 and all the summers that we'd spent at grandma's house 41:12 and she laughed about the fact that she said, 41:16 "My granddaughters are on TV cooking every day" 41:19 and she said, "Boy, could I tell the viewers a thing or two." 41:21 She said "I remember 41:23 when you girls were cooking at my house 41:24 and you made me raw fried spaghetti 41:27 and thought you were really gourmet cooks." 41:29 And she said, "I don't think I had a hard time 41:32 getting that out of my teeth." 41:35 And we laughed and we enjoyed 41:37 so many warm memories and she said, 41:38 "Enough, it's time for me to fall asleep in Jesus." 41:43 She said, "Take my hand, come here, sweetie," 41:48 and I came and I-- she said, 41:49 "Come tell grandma, goodbye." 41:51 She said, "We're gonna meet in the resurrection morning." 41:55 She said "Come, give me a hug, sweetie." 41:57 And I leaned over and I tried to memorize 41:59 the warmth of her hug, the softness of her hands 42:03 as she stroked my arms and held me. 42:07 She kissed me. 42:08 She brought my face up to hers and kissed both cheeks. 42:12 And she said, "Honey, I love you with all my heart." 42:15 She said, "Don't cry for me." 42:17 She said, we have eternity. 42:21 "Okay, no more talking." 42:22 I said, "Okay, grandma." 42:24 "No more talking." I said, "Okay, grandma." 42:28 "Goodbye now." "Goodbye, grandma." 42:32 She closed her eyes. 42:34 She raised both hands to heaven, 42:36 in the name of the Father, 42:37 the Son and the Holy Ghost, amen. 42:43 And then she was quiet. 42:48 "Am I still here?" 42:52 I said, "Yes, grandma, you're still here." 42:54 She said, "Well, we got to come up with a plan 42:56 and I just thought of some." 42:59 She said, she said, "I got to thinking," 43:03 she said, "Now, when I die," 43:06 she said, "you need to check me over real good. 43:08 Now you're a nurse. 43:09 You've been with people when they die." 43:11 She said, "check me over real good, 43:12 and make sure I'm good and gone 43:13 and then you go get the nurse to call the funeral man. 43:16 But would you mind staying with me 43:18 till the funeral man comes 'cause, hun," she said, why-- 43:21 can you imagine some poor soul might wandering here 43:23 seeing some dead lady in the bed 43:25 and have a heart attack on the floor, 43:26 well, I could not live with that." 43:28 She said, she said, "Would you just stay with me 43:30 till the funeral man comes?" 43:32 I said, "Oh, grandma, yes, 43:33 I'll stay till the funeral man comes, 43:35 I'm not gonna leave you." 43:36 "Okay," she said. And she said, "Another thing." 43:39 She said, "Maybe we should hold hands." 43:42 And she said, "Every now and then I'll squeeze your hand, 43:44 and she said if I stop squeezing, 43:46 then you come check me real good 43:47 but make sure I'm good and gone. 43:49 Don't call them early. 43:50 I said, "Okay, grandma, I'll do it." 43:51 So in the name of the Father, 43:53 the Son and the Holy Ghost, amen. 43:55 She put her hands down, then she reached for mine 43:56 and keeps her eyes closed, doesn't say another word. 43:59 And every few minutes, she'd squeeze 44:00 my hand until she drifted off to sleep. 44:03 Every 10 minutes, I pushed that button 44:06 to give her, her morphine. 44:08 I stayed awake all night long. 44:10 I didn't miss one time. I had to keep myself awake. 44:13 I would jog, I would exercise, I'd slap my face, 44:16 I'd flush water on my face. 44:18 I did everything I could do stay awake 44:20 because I knew that if I didn't push that button right then, 44:23 grandma wouldn't get that medicine. 44:26 And I started praying and that whole night 44:28 I pleaded with my Heavenly Father, 44:29 "Lord, please don't let my grandma die in agony. 44:32 Lord, please, You know how much she loves You. 44:35 Please don't let her leave this world screaming, Lord. 44:38 Let her go praising You. 44:39 Let her end her life to You as a prayer, 44:41 Lord, as she desires. 44:42 Lord, I plead with You. 44:44 Lord, I know You love grandma even more than I do. 44:48 You know the prayer walk 44:50 she has had and the witness she has had to so many, 44:52 Lord, please, please answer my prayer." 44:55 I prayed all night long. 44:57 The next day I had called my mom and dad and told them 44:59 they needed to come quickly. 45:00 And they drove down from Michigan. 45:02 And my dad and mom got there the next morning. 45:03 And when-- before they got there, 45:06 the sun had coming up. 45:08 I had a chair right there by grandma's and all of a sudden, 45:10 grandma, opened her eyes, just, "Hun, am I still here?" 45:14 I said, I said, "Yes, grandma, you're still here." 45:17 She goes, "Well, I guess 45:18 the good Lord has a better plan." 45:20 She said let's start praise the Lord and Sabbath. 45:22 And about that time, mom and dad walked in 45:24 and she had my dad preach. 45:26 She'd tell mom and I to sing special music 45:28 and we would sing congregation music, 45:32 the three of us, and all of a sudden, 45:33 there was a knock on the door 45:35 and nurse came in and she said, 45:36 "Excuse me," she said, 45:37 "There's a man across the hall that is dying of cancer. 45:39 He's been here 6 weeks. 45:41 There hasn't been any visitors 45:42 and he has fallen out of bed three times 45:44 crawling to the door to listen to you singing." 45:46 She said, "Would you mind 45:48 if I just crack the door open a little bit." 45:49 She said, "Why, no," she said, 45:52 "Put that door wide open. Honey, sing little louder." 45:56 She even said my dad over to minister and pray. 46:00 And that evening, all day long we praised Jesus. 46:03 That evening, I sent mom and-- 46:06 that evening, my cousins came to see. 46:08 And my cousin Nancy brought a single white rose. 46:12 Roses were grandma's favorite flower. 46:14 And it was a fresh beautiful rose. 46:16 It hadn't really fully opened yet. 46:17 And I set it there she could see it. 46:19 And when she left, she said to my cousin Nancy, 46:23 she said, "Hun, please give your heart to Jesus. 46:25 Grandma loves you so much. 46:27 But if you don't give your heart to Jesus, 46:28 you better come give me another hug 46:30 'cause I won't see you again." 46:32 And Nancy was so, you know, torn up by that. 46:35 She gave her a hug 46:36 and she wouldn't commit and she said, 46:39 "Please, hun, please give your heart to Jesus" and Nancy left. 46:44 That night after mom and dad, 46:45 I had them go stay in our apartment at 3ABN. 46:47 I promised I wouldn't leave grandma 46:49 and even though my mom tried to urge me to take my place, 46:51 I said, "No, I'm gonna be here till the end." 46:54 And all night long, before mom and dad left, 46:59 we prayed and then after they left, 47:01 we talked a little more and grandma said, 47:03 "That's enough, sweetie. She said, "It's time to go. 47:06 I'll see you in the resurrection morning. 47:08 Let's pray." 47:09 And so she put both hands to heaven, 47:11 in the name of the Father, 47:12 the Son, and the Holy Ghost, amen. 47:16 She put her hands down. 47:18 She reached over and grabbed mine 47:19 and every few minutes she squeezed my hand 47:21 until she drifted off to sleep. 47:26 The next morning, she was in a very deep coma 47:30 I'm sure from the build up of all the medication 47:32 because I stayed awake again all night long. 47:34 I never missed one time of giving her that dose. 47:36 By this time the doctor had increased it to every 7 minutes. 47:40 And I prayed and I used that time, 47:44 my awake time, to go before the throne room of God 47:47 pleading for my grandmother 47:49 that she wouldn't not suffer. 47:51 Mom and dad came mid-morning 47:53 and we sat around the bed, 47:55 we reminisced about grandma, 47:57 we prayed, we claimed Bible promises. 47:59 We went next door and visited the man across the hall. 48:01 We knew grandma would want us to. 48:02 Mom and I went and sang for her. 48:05 And that evening when mom and dad left 48:09 to go back to my apartment to go to sleep, 48:15 they left around 10 o'clock 48:17 and I sat there and I looked at grandma sleeping peacefully, 48:22 her hand still folded, just, 48:26 and I kept pushing the button for her morphine. 48:30 And about 11 o'clock at night, 48:38 I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye 48:39 and I turned quickly to see and near that white rose, 48:43 the head of it went pluck just like that. 48:46 And I turned, like, instantly to my grandmother 48:49 and right there, I watched her she took her last breath. 48:54 I went over in the bed and I laid down on her chest. 48:59 I wanted to memorize that warmth before it left her. 49:02 I held her hand, I kissed it, I kissed her cheeks. 49:07 I thanked and praised God for answering my prayer 49:09 because, you see, 49:11 He allowed my grandma to die just the way she wanted to. 49:15 And although she should've been screaming in pain, 49:17 even with that level of morphine, 49:18 she should've died because by now her belly was so tight, 49:21 you could almost see the fluid under the skin. 49:24 There is no way that she should've not have been 49:26 just screaming in agony but our God is powerful. 49:30 Anything that doctors would say it was not possible, 49:32 but with God all things are possible. 49:34 And He honored that prayer. 49:37 He honored my prayer for my grandmother 49:38 because I loved her with all my heart. 49:41 Because He loved her. 49:43 He honored that prayer 49:44 because I was passionately praying for her. 49:51 I thanked and praised God for her life. 49:54 I praised for all-- praised God for all the things 49:57 that she'd taught me for having a godly grandmother. 50:01 But the most important lesson 50:03 she had ever taught me was how to die. 50:07 At 11:15, I went down and I told the nurse 50:09 and she came back and pronounced her dead. 50:13 I don't think grandma would have ever asked me 50:15 to stay until the funeral man comes 50:19 if she knew how long it was gonna take. 50:22 Because he didn't come, he didn't come, 50:27 he didn't come for several hours. 50:30 And it's so hard to watch someone you love die. 50:32 But can you imagine watching them 50:34 grow cold and blue in front of you? 50:40 And I used that time to talk to Jesus. 50:43 I don't know what I would do 50:45 without Jesus as my best friend. 50:47 I don't know what people in the world do 50:48 that don't know Jesus. 50:50 He is my rock. He is my strength. 50:54 He's your rock. He's your strength. 50:58 By the time the funeral man came, 51:05 grandma was completely cold and stiff. 51:08 I helped prepare her body, as a registered nurse, 51:10 I had done this many times in the hospital. 51:14 And it's so different when you're doing it 51:16 for somebody you love. 51:18 But I helped him put her in this bag. 51:24 I tied the tag on her toe. 51:27 I helped wrap her mouth shut 51:30 so that it wouldn't be down. 51:36 And before we zipped up the bag, I asked him, 51:39 I said "Would you mind if I had her name tag?" 51:43 And he said, "Oh, no, we just throw that away anyway." 51:45 He handed me a pair of scissors. 51:46 I cut it off her arm. Then I laid it on the table. 51:51 I kissed her on those cold cheeks. 51:55 Told the Lord again, thank you for her life 51:59 and I zipped that bag up over her head 52:02 and he wheeled her out. 52:06 Before I followed, I stopped 52:08 for a minute for one more prayer. 52:11 I picked up her name tag 52:12 on that counter in the bedside table 52:15 and I walked over and picked up that white rose. 52:21 I took it out of the glass vase and just the rose I held it. 52:26 And I turned out the light and walked home. 52:31 I got to my 3ABN apartment, knocked on the door. 52:35 I had kept my promise so far. 52:37 I had not shred a tear. 52:39 Mom new about the promise, 52:40 so she was trying to help me and as soon as the door opened, 52:45 I looked at her and I could only manage this 52:47 'cause I didn't want to cry and I just said it's over. 52:50 She held me and took me in. 52:55 My sisters and I sang for grandma's funeral. 52:57 We managed to keep up the joy. We managed to smile. 53:00 We managed to even hug everybody 53:02 and share with them that Jesus was coming soon 53:05 and that when grandma, right now, 53:09 was just in the grave sleeping but soon, 53:11 she would hear the voice of Jesus. 53:13 And that when Jesus came again, 53:16 I wanted to see my Savior first of all 53:19 but then I wanted to see my grandma. 53:22 Do you see our Heavenly Father loves us so much? 53:27 He answers our prayers. 53:28 We think why do we have to pray, 53:30 God knows our thoughts? Why do we have to pray? 53:32 And, yes, He knows our thoughts 53:33 but He responds to our prayers. 53:39 We need to be passionately praying for each other. 53:42 We need to be passionately soul winning for Jesus. 53:47 When you think there's nothing in your life 53:49 that you can't do, there is, God has a plan for your life. 53:54 Ask Him what it is. 53:56 Surrender whatever it is that you think 53:58 He wants you to do and put all the "I" stuff behind you, 54:03 "I want this, I want that, I'll do this," 54:06 and say, "Lord, what do You want me to do? 54:09 I want my life to be a witness to you. 54:11 Lord, I want to live so closely to You, 54:14 Lord, that You are guiding my every step. 54:17 Lord, I want to be totally and wholly Yours." 54:22 And to do that you must fully surrender to Jesus. 54:30 My grandma had been in so much pain most of her life. 54:34 Pain either because of heartache, 54:36 having to watch her children, two babies die, having to live, 54:40 you know, in that depression area 54:42 where they had lost all their house. 54:44 They had one more house payment to pay during the depression 54:47 and the banks closed and my grandpa tried to give them 54:49 that last money and they wouldn't take the payment. 54:51 They wanted his house. Lost everything. 54:55 When you think God doesn't care about you 54:57 just because things happen to you, you're wrong. 54:59 Our God cares about you. 55:02 Whatever trial, whatever you're facing, 55:04 whatever heartache, He's there for you. 55:07 He's gonna help you through it. 55:08 You can be content in all things when you're walking with Jesus. 55:15 Do you understand what I'm really trying to say here 55:17 that if you have that love relationship with Jesus, 55:20 you can put your full trust and your faith in Him 55:23 and He is with you through every storm? 55:27 Anytime that you're going through a hard time 55:29 and you think God isn't there, 55:30 He's closer to you ever than before. 55:32 It is through our trials that He's perfecting our characters 55:35 and preparing us for Heaven. 55:37 More than anything, God wants us to be in Heaven with Him. 55:42 Like my grandmother said, 55:44 "He can't imagine Heaven without us." 55:47 I hope today that we make that commitment 55:51 to fully serve Jesus with all our hearts, 55:54 that we live our lives so fully dedicated to God, 55:59 that when it is our time to leave this world, 56:03 we can leave with peace and joy, real joy. 56:08 Can you imagine somebody getting excited and say, 56:10 "I'm gonna die." 56:14 And truly mean it, truly mean it 56:17 because she knew that she had the blessed hope. 56:23 She knew Jesus as her personal savior 56:25 and she knew it wasn't gonna be forever. 56:27 She was just gonna go. 56:29 She said, "Hun, just think, 56:30 I'm not gonna have any pain anymore." 56:32 She said, "I'm not gonna have any heartache." 56:33 She said, "I can walk. I'll be able to run. 56:35 I'm gonna be racing you down those streets of gold." 56:37 Oh, we love to talk about all the ways 56:39 we were gonna have fun in Heaven 56:41 and all the hours we'd spent at Jesus feet. 56:45 And that even though, there was gonna be 56:46 so many people trying to get close to Jesus 56:48 that there was gonna be eternity for us 56:50 to have time with Him. 56:52 And all the fun we were gonna have to go through 56:54 all the planets, and, you know, 56:56 how we were gonna have houses right next door each other, 56:59 we weren't gonna be apart anymore. 57:03 Do you know, I want that same relationship with Jesus? 57:06 My grandmother taught me so much about really truly 57:10 surrendering your will to God's will. 57:15 I want to ask you today to search your hearts, 57:19 search your souls, am I living my life 57:22 the way God wants me to live it? 57:24 Am I choosing to dedicate my heart and life to Jesus? 57:30 Ask yourself that, search your soul 57:32 and then recommit your life to Jesus. 57:35 Let us pray. 57:37 Precious Heavenly Father, Lord, 57:39 I thank you so much for being such an awesome God. 57:43 I thank you again, Lord, 57:45 for the blessing of my grandmother's life 57:48 and all the people that she touched here on earth. 57:51 Lord, I ask you today to come into the hearts 57:55 and lives of everyone here and that's listening today. 57:59 And may You be closer to them ever, 58:02 may they know how much You love them. 58:03 In the name of the Father, 58:05 the Son, and the Holy Ghost, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17