It happened on an early morning in 2021. I was on the verge of submitting a paper for my class when I heard a bang and a clatter. My skin crawled and I jumped in my seat. As I went to investigate, I was hoping that the noise was just the sound of something falling in the kitchen downstairs. My stomach fell, and my eyes widened when I saw a family member had collapsed and he was now spread out on the floor.
Instantly, a feeling of guilt and shame swam in my stomach. The world around me seemed to slow down. I felt like I was watching a horror movie. One of his hands curled awkwardly to the side. My heart jumped into my throat as my brother came into the room.
I didn’t know how to handle this situation; I was scared and felt like my loved one was on the brink of death. A small pool of foam was forming in the corners of his mouth, and my breath caught in my throat. Instinctively, I ran toward my phone. I was able to get ahold of emergency services before my phone ran out of battery and died.
What was happening? Why was this happening to me? These were the first questions that came to mind as my hands shook while holding the phone. My mouth felt as dry as cotton and I was breaking a sweat. I felt frightened and confused. I couldn’t understand why my family member had ended up on the floor in the position that he did.
When the paramedics arrived at my house, I didn’t hear them. They barged through the back door, nearly breaking it down.
They asked me questions about what had happened. Still stiff from shock, I struggled to answer.
My family member almost died from his stroke.
Today, he is in the process of recovery, with physical therapy sessions that slowly help him improve the strength of his muscles. Please join our family in praying that one day he would be able to walk again without a wheelchair.
Every day now, because of this experience, he reads the Bible. I believe that God helped him see another day, so that he could see God’s power.
We’ve seen a revelation of God’s love and power through the paramedics and each member of the medical team that has been working with him since his stroke.
Erickson portrays a Staples employee receiving divine revelation in the night, suggesting a modern-day shepherd equivalent (Erickson, 162). He writes, “The Almighty Itself is waiting to be found hidden in someone described as the ‘least of these’—a neighborhood kid who spends too much time at your house or an unemployed dad waiting in a welfare line or maybe even the elderly Staples employee you mechanically interact with while replenishing your supply of ballpoint pens and computer paper” (Erickson, 165).
Erickson goes on to say, “It very well may be through the ignored and marginalized aspects of your life—the embarrassing, unsuccessful parts—that, if you take the time to listen, you’ll begin to hear the angelic proclamation: ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today… a Savior has been born to you’” (Erickson, 169).
We usually don’t think of a scary collapse as being a catalyst to experiencing God’s power. But it’s the weak, embarrassing parts of our story that often are the greatest revealers of God’s grace and strength.
Vanessa Mayorga is new to the La Sierra University Church community and is pursuing a graduate degree.