Labman
Well-known member
If you don't mind, I would like to share with you a story about God's great blessing of my life.
As some of you may know, back in October 2012 I was struck down with a cerebral hemorrhage and stroke. I was lucky to get to Erlanger Stroke unit quickly and they soon started treatment. They had to open my skull to get to the site of the bleed that was building intense pressure in my brain and also clear the clot that was causing a stroke, killing brain tissue. Needless to say I was in a bad way and not very clear in my mind.
A little more background,
I had been denying God and Jesus for over 50 years. I was a complete non-believer and wanted nothing to do with God and religion, and was not really a very nice person. All my life I had been searching for happiness and never finding anything that was worthwhile and lasting.
A couple of days after my stroke, my daughter came down from NC to see me maybe for the last time. We had a rocky relationship for several years. She asked "Dad, can I pray with you". I answered, "I don't know how" and she said I will show you. As she started to pray and ask for healing and understanding I was struck by the strangest feeling. I instantly knew that God existed, and that he sent his son Jesus Christ to earth to save us from our sin and that he died for us that we might have eternal life if we just believed in him. I knew absolutly that all this was true and that I had to share that message with everyone. My daughter said it was the Holy Spirit of God coming into my heart. She said that my color improved, my eyes were brighter, and my speech clearer. The old me had died and I was reborn in Jesus Christ. I had this overwhelming desire to tell everyone. My friend Richard Simms even wrote about it and posted my experience on CFF.
I had some serious loss from the stroke and went into rehab at Siskin Hospital. The wonderful people there worked on/with me for over 4 months to try and improve and regain some of the things I had lost. I couldn't write my name, tell time, tie my shoelaces, and had a lot of weakness on my left side and balance problems. Also had a lot of cognitive losses in thinking and understanding things. And then after about a week at Siskin I had an A-fib heart attack and right back to Erlanger ICU. I think God was just showing me how very fragile and dependent I was upon him. My life could end at anytime.
But God had a different plan for the rest of my life. After much hard work things began to improve and I still felt the intense need to tell my story and help others think about their lives and how important it was to accept Jesus Christ and believe in him.
Now over 8 months later, I have recovered a lot. Still have some physical problems, but I now call the stroke and brain surgery and heart problem "THE GREATEST BLESSING OF MY LIFE, because God used it to send the Holy Spirit into my heart and have me reborn in Jesus Christ. My wife and I are the happiest we have ever been. We love the Lord and our church and seek out ways to be better people and help others, and live the way Jesus would want us to. The main thing i need to do is to continue to study the word and learn, pray, and as our Pastor said to me "you need to continue to tell your story to others". If you or anyone you know needs help or prayer, we have a strong prayer group at Middle Valley Baptist Church. Just PM me here and we will try to answer your need.
Thank you for reading this long post and may God bless you in your life as he has me in mine.
Labman - Norman Neel
As some of you may know, back in October 2012 I was struck down with a cerebral hemorrhage and stroke. I was lucky to get to Erlanger Stroke unit quickly and they soon started treatment. They had to open my skull to get to the site of the bleed that was building intense pressure in my brain and also clear the clot that was causing a stroke, killing brain tissue. Needless to say I was in a bad way and not very clear in my mind.
A little more background,
I had been denying God and Jesus for over 50 years. I was a complete non-believer and wanted nothing to do with God and religion, and was not really a very nice person. All my life I had been searching for happiness and never finding anything that was worthwhile and lasting.
A couple of days after my stroke, my daughter came down from NC to see me maybe for the last time. We had a rocky relationship for several years. She asked "Dad, can I pray with you". I answered, "I don't know how" and she said I will show you. As she started to pray and ask for healing and understanding I was struck by the strangest feeling. I instantly knew that God existed, and that he sent his son Jesus Christ to earth to save us from our sin and that he died for us that we might have eternal life if we just believed in him. I knew absolutly that all this was true and that I had to share that message with everyone. My daughter said it was the Holy Spirit of God coming into my heart. She said that my color improved, my eyes were brighter, and my speech clearer. The old me had died and I was reborn in Jesus Christ. I had this overwhelming desire to tell everyone. My friend Richard Simms even wrote about it and posted my experience on CFF.
I had some serious loss from the stroke and went into rehab at Siskin Hospital. The wonderful people there worked on/with me for over 4 months to try and improve and regain some of the things I had lost. I couldn't write my name, tell time, tie my shoelaces, and had a lot of weakness on my left side and balance problems. Also had a lot of cognitive losses in thinking and understanding things. And then after about a week at Siskin I had an A-fib heart attack and right back to Erlanger ICU. I think God was just showing me how very fragile and dependent I was upon him. My life could end at anytime.
But God had a different plan for the rest of my life. After much hard work things began to improve and I still felt the intense need to tell my story and help others think about their lives and how important it was to accept Jesus Christ and believe in him.
Now over 8 months later, I have recovered a lot. Still have some physical problems, but I now call the stroke and brain surgery and heart problem "THE GREATEST BLESSING OF MY LIFE, because God used it to send the Holy Spirit into my heart and have me reborn in Jesus Christ. My wife and I are the happiest we have ever been. We love the Lord and our church and seek out ways to be better people and help others, and live the way Jesus would want us to. The main thing i need to do is to continue to study the word and learn, pray, and as our Pastor said to me "you need to continue to tell your story to others". If you or anyone you know needs help or prayer, we have a strong prayer group at Middle Valley Baptist Church. Just PM me here and we will try to answer your need.
Thank you for reading this long post and may God bless you in your life as he has me in mine.
Labman - Norman Neel
