Life is precious, and it can change in a moment. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 says, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’”

This scripture is not only true for that approaching day when Jesus will come, but the phrase “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” describes how fast our family was changed as we ate dinner a few weeks ago. One moment I had finished feeding three-year-old Ava, and the next she was on the floor having a stroke.

I know many of you have experienced sudden whirlwinds of calamity, when all you can do is try to survive. By the grace of God, it is only our anchor in Him that has kept us from being swept away.

Within minutes, Ava was flown to the hospital where we would live for the next month. We still have no explanation for the stroke. Thank God, it only affected the motor skills area of her brain that coordinates the right side of her body. Immediately after the stroke, she could not talk, eat, walk or move her right arm. My active three-year-old was suddenly like a four-month-old baby. Over the next 30 days, she gradually recovered most of her functionality under God’s healing hand.

During this unexplainable turn in our lives, God has manifested Himself in a powerful way, and prayers have been our strength. My family and I share this to glorify God’s name because He answered our prayer and granted us more time with our little Ava. However, I know that for others in similar situations, their prayers received a different answer. But I want us all to remember that, just as our lives can change in a moment for good or bad, one day the answer to everyone’s prayer will happen once and for all “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye . . .” We will be together; not only with our Savior, but also with the ones who have gone to sleep in Him. Many people in Ireland do not have this hope, as high rates of alcoholism and suicide attest.

When my daughter had the stroke, if it wasn’t for my knowledge of God and His promises, I don’t know how I would have survived the next three days. My family and I are committed to sharing this message of hope in Ireland. Though the enemy has attacked, and we have funds to raise, a house to sell and preparations to finish, none of these things are greater than God. Our God is more than able!

Please continue to pray for our little Ava as she struggles through her journey of recovering full function of the right side of her body, especially her arm and hand. Thank you.

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