Jerri Phillips

Precious Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience posted "How the Work You Do Today Can Last Forever" today. It reminded me of a very scary night that reminded me how deeply loved we are and how the Lord encamps around us. I hope it helps you see Jesus more clearly in your life, too.

Encamped About by His Presence

His face went numb, standing in front of me. I saw the fear flash in his eyes as feeling seeped from his arm as well.

I stared sure what I was seeing was not really happening, but the dead silence spoke too loudly for me to believe it a dream.

I knew these symptoms. Loved members of my family had gone numb.

He would see how he felt in the morning he assured me as he tried to rub feeling back to his face.

I grabbed my laptop and typed madly. Symptoms…numb…right arm…

Article after article, pages blinding with the same answer…and one authoritative command. “Treating a stroke within the first hour can prevent damage…”

He picked up his coat and wallet. Do not wake the little ones sleeping soundly. He’d go by himself.

My heart walked out the door with him.

The sound of the car was still filling the house when I reached for the phone. No biological family near. Only adopted ones. Despite the late hour, he picked up. “What’s wrong?” People do not call to chat at that hour of the night.

I explain the symptoms. I explain the children sleeping. I explain he went alone. I do not have to ask. “Jerri, I’ll call you from the ER.”

An eternity rolls by in the next thirty minutes. I fill the time calling friends, asking for prayer. They pray. I feel it. I do not sleep, but I do not fear. I sit and thank the Lord for His presence in Spirit and in the bodies of those who love us.

A call comes. They are running tests. He is coherent. Feeling is returning.

A whispered thank you…to God for His presence…and to our friend for his.

The night grows long. In the early a.m. hours, the phone rings. Prayer warriors asking for updates. I share what I know. They will pray until the Lord lets them sleep. I promise a phone call when I know answers.

The sun is waking up when the final call comes. All is normal. We are coming home.

We.

The husband with returned feeling. The Provider of healing, comfort, and presence. The friend who shows us how Jesus looks in flesh.

And now we all rest.

The warriors rest from their prayers and slip into sleep with praise on their lips. The neighbor calls to work. Family emergency. Will be in late. He needs to rest. I spoon with the husband returned to me. My body slips toward sleep, and I rest…in the timeless love that embraces us…in the ever loving King who encamps so tightly around the lives He gives us…through the people who fill them.

Copyright Jerri Phillips 2010