In the blink of an eye

The irony of the title and theme of my last blog is not lost on me.  I blogged about how life was sweet at the moment and I was just coasting on my rollercoaster.  I said I was going to enjoy the coast until my next wild and challenging ride hit.  At the time I had no idea my wild and challenging ride would hit within 24 hours of that blog post.  On July 9 at 1:07 p.m. my mom called me and with slurring speech said, "Amy, something is wrong."  My mom had a stroke.  It came out of nowhere and has hit our family like a freight train.  My sister and I spent the first 48 hours screaming and cursing at God.  I have never in all my life screamed at God the way I did on Monday night, July 9 when I drove home from the hospital.  At first we thought mom would be okay, but things quickly took a nose dive and by 10:30 p.m. on July 9 we thought we were looking at a second stroke or worse a brain bleed, in which the doctors told us there was nothing they could do.  My eyes and Kim's eyes were opened within 48 hours of my mom's stroke that Satan was behind this, that he was placing the unimaginable fear in us, and that we needed to pray him out of the entire situation in Jesus' name.  On July 11 in a small chapel in the hospital my sister and I kneeled down before God, asked for forgiveness, and prayed that He take Satan out of our situation in Jesus' name.  God has total authority of Satan and we needed him gone.  It was the only way to move forward and trust in the plan God has for all of us.  After Kim and I prayed together we prayed out loud over our mom.  From that moment on I've been able to see God at work.  My mom didn't suffer from two strokes.  She had only one stroke that hit her in two places.  She receivd the TPA blood clotting drug for her stroke and it was successful in helping her.  She did not have a brain bleed.  She is speaking and she has movement in her right leg.  Her support system is almost immeasurable in numbers.  God has given Kim and I strength we didn't even know we had and although the road is long and challenging ahead I am confident God will restore my mother.  Remember friends, enjoy life, soak it up, and slow down.  In June my mom took a trip with friends that she was on the fence about.  In the end she decided to go because she was so aware things could change for her at any minute.  She lives a very full life and she loves Jesus and in time she will be back to her former self.  It may look different but I'm confident God will restore her to a life she can live well.