I couldn't make this up...Part II

So there we were, Christi and I, walking down the hall, leaving the hospital, thinking that meeting and praying for the family of Mrs. Pat Freeman was what God had in store for us.  Believe me, we were perfectly content with that.  We walked out into the well kept courtyard of the hospital, the sun blazing, the air thick with humidity, and were approached by a man.  He was an elderly man. His white hair was neatly kept.  His clothes where neatly pressed, collared shirt tucked into brown slacks.  His slender body stood at about six foot two inches.  The features of his face were very gentle and a little worn.  Immediately conversation started.  He began telling us about his wife of seven years.  She was up on the eighth floor, the cancer ward, recuperating after having received an extremely intense round of chemo therapy.  She was diagnosed with Lymphoma this past December and had received her last of twenty five treatments in all.  The doctors were very hopeful that they had "gotten it all."  If all would go well this evening, Linda and Allen would be heading to a hotel tomorrow for a short stay while frequent doctors visits would be manditory over the next couple of weeks before heading home.  Home for them is close to Habersham, GA, a good little drive north of Emory Hospital.  Allen went on and on about his new bride Linda, how they met, their adventures together, and how happy she made him after having lost his first wife of 35 years.  "I can't be without her.  I haven't left the hospital since we arrived 16 days ago."  Christi and I were awe struck.  Such a bitter sweet story.  Finally I asked Allen if we could meet this amazing woman and with a look of joyful shock his response was, "Absolutely!"  As we headed back into the hospital, I could see the surprise and nervous smile on Christi's face but she nodded to me as if to say, "Let's do it!"

Before entering into Mrs. Linda's room, we had to mask our faces and gown our bodies to prevent as few germs as possible from entering into her body.  Her immune system had been quite depleted from all the treatments and it would be a major set back if she were to get sick.  From the moment we entered and were introduced, Linda was grinning from ear to ear.  Her smile lit up the room.  Her noggin was as bald as a new born baby and just as perfectly round as you could get.  She was beautiful and just as amazing as her husband described.  After some time of getting to know each other, we didn't want to over stay our welcome, so we asked if we could pray over her before we left.  With gleaming excitement, she agreed and stretched out her hands for us to hold.  After our prayer was through, she said, "Before you girls leave, can I tell you a story?" With tears in her eyes, this is what she told us:

"A couple nights ago I spiked a fever of 104.6 and fell into a deep sleep.  I saw myself standing at the top of a hill and across a deep valley was another hill where I saw all of my family and friends who have passed away.  I was experiencing heaven.  I was so excited and just kept praising and thanking God for bringing me here and couldn't wait to reunite with my loved ones.  I began to run down the hill as fast as I could to get to the other side.  Just as I reached the bottom, a hand (remember my mention of a hand earlier) reached out of the sky and placed itself on my chest.  Colors and brightlights illuminated everything around me.  It was more beautiful than I can find words to describe.  I heard the voice of the Lord say, "It's not time yet Linda.  You have a husband, children and grandchildren to enjoy for a little while longer.  It's not time."  Soon after, I woke up, and my fever had dropped.  Girls, I am here to tell you, He is ALIVE.  If you have ever doubted, doubt no more, He is real and He loves you with all His heart.  HE LOVES YOU!"

As if that story wasn't enough, they went on to tell us that the doctors had found a blockage in Allen's heart about a week before Linda was diagnosed.  Allen was refusing to go in for the procedure for fear of not being able to be there for his wife.  She proceeded to tell him that he couldn't take care of her if he were dead so he went.  After being prayed over by one of the hospital's orderlies, the doctors could no longer see the blockage.  It was gone!

We walked out of the hospital in amazement.  Jesus had just shown us amazing things and we were speechless the whole way home.  The following day, we received an email from the sweet couple, telling us how much we blessed them (completely opposite in our eyes.  We were the ones blessed by them.) and that Linda was able to leave the hospital that afternoon.  Praise God!  He is AWESOME!!!