God’s Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Have you ever screamed out to God so loudly, so desperately that heaven shook?
One week ago today, I heaven shook. I AM is who He says He is, and He heard me when I called out to Him. I needed God more than anyone else did in that moment, and He came. I didn’t hold back; instead, I cried out without fear, without reserve. I have never been more afraid in my life, but I did not fear what anyone else thought. I have never been more desperate in my life; I needed God more than I needed anyone or anything else, and He showed up.
My daughter, Maezie Ann-Grace (we knew when we named her 13 years ago that her name sounds a lot like Amazing Grace), lay lifeless in the street after being struck by a car at full speed. I witnessed the whole thing, and I just knew she was gone. Nobody could have survived it. I knew she was gone, but I knew who was responsible for her life. God gives and takes away; He gave her life and breath to begin with, but I wasn’t ready to let her go.
I saw the whole thing, and I knew what I saw and I hated it. I was the first one to her lifeless and busted-up body. I didn’t even try to touch her. The moment was holy in one way and hell in another—life and death at the same time.
I did not pray the same way I’ve prayed my whole life; I prayed like my whole life and the whole life of my daughter depended on it. It wasn’t me; it was the Holy Spirit groaning in sounds of thunder from the foundation of the earth but it was coming from my mouth. I cried out to God because that was my only option. God was the only one who could save my little girl and I knew it.
Life and Breath
I prayed for life and healing and breath. I didn’t call anyone else; nobody else mattered—only God. He put her together in my womb, and I begged Him to put her back together on that street.
The second person to arrive at the scene of the accident was an off-duty flight nurse: His name is Jeremy. The name Jeremy means, “God will uplift” or “God will exalt.” Jeremy was headed to his kid’s track meet at the time and his wife recognized me from Bible study. He stopped, jumped out of the car, and got on his knees to hold Maezie’s head with his hands.
I didn’t actually see him at first; I only saw his knees as he knelt next to her, his hands carefully cradling her head, and checking her c-spine. It reminded me of how our pastor ends every service with, “Go be the hands and feet and mouthpiece of Jesus.” In this case, God sent the hands and knees and mouthpiece of Jesus in the form of Jeremy.
Jeremy’s arrival did not slow my prayer; I cried out to God even more. I could tell He was moving. I put my hands over Jeremy’s at one point and I felt God doing something. A man on the sidewalk told me to call 911. He said it several times, but I couldn’t figure it out. I couldn’t get my phone to work. I numbly handed him my phone and he made the call.
Looking back, I realize God and I had a connection that we couldn’t afford to lose; we weren’t finished, and talking to 911 would have interrupted that call.
The Lord says: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3)
Time
Time stood still and sped up straight to Eternity. I didn’t track well. We have since looked at the Life 360 app and talked to people who came on the scene, and the consensus is that four minutes passed before she showed signs of life. She was lifeless—not a breath, not a flutter. I believe God was holding His breath, and when He breathed again, so did she. As I prayed and placed my hands over Jeremy’s, emergency first responders started arriving and Maezie began to move, and then there was the moment that I will never forget: Maezie took a sweet, slow, gentle breath, almost a sigh. In and then out. It was the first sign of life, and it was heaven on earth.
The medics got Maezie loaded into the ambulance, and I asked if I could ride with her. There was no room in the back, so they made space in the front. I kept praying, but I finally started making calls for others to join me in prayer. Heaven shook again as an army of prayer warriors came marching to His Throne from around the world.
God Was There
God was on the scene; He had seen and heard His people.
I know there are many stories of people equally desperate who didn’t get to keep their child. I have to leave that in the Lord’s hands; I can’t and I won’t stop talking about what God did in our lives that day. I will testify. I will trust He knows how to care for and comfort all of us in each situation. But that day, He came and brought heaven to earth and breathed life.
I feel like Job when he says: “I’ve heard of God and now my eyes have seen.”
Every time I question my memory or what I saw, because she is doing so well, God sends someone who saw exactly what I did. They confirm it was as bad as I thought it was in the moment, and that God is good and does even more than I could ever think or imagine.
My Life Will Praise God
I prayed before I finally put pen to paper on this one, and God woke me up at 4:18 a.m. and gave me the words. I have prayed for only truth and testimony and Glory to God to come out in this. Drama is not what I’m interested in, but I am fully invested in sharing what God has done. He can do what He wants with unbelief; I believe and I have seen His Glory and His Kingdom come to earth right on Broadwater Avenue on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon. My life will praise Him. My lips will praise Him.
There are so many people to thank and medical professionals who do amazing work, but my first response will be to thank my God.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation. (Psalm 100:3-5)
