BLESSED BEYOND WORDS ...

I had the absolute PLEASURE of spending some time with Ryan last night.  For those of you who don't know his story... He graduated a year ahead of me in high school.  We were always good friends - He was my 10th grade date to prom, and we hung with the same group of people.  In early fall he was hospitalized for severely high fever.  He was rushed to Jackson and was admitted into Baptist Hospital where he stayed until the middle of December.  He was diagnosed with Viral Encephalitis (at 30 years old), without knowing the cause.  He coded twice and went into a coma, and came out with no vision and almost total paralysis. His wife, Lindsey, had a baby in Ocotober, while her husband was in the coma.... !!!! After months of therapy, he can now move his arms but is still confined to a wheelchair.  I visited him once in the hospital, and then again last night.  WOW has his testimony changed me.  Aww Inspiring is all I can say.  One day he went to work, the next he was fighting for his life.  His viewpoint is not one of "WHY GOD?"  But "GOD HAS CHOSEN ME FOR THIS JOURNEY, WHY NOT ME GOD?"  He has been humbled to full humility for Christ, and truly believes God is using him.  If you are not a believer of Jesus - then spend 10 minutes listening to his story of his last 5 months and you will be!  Medically they told him he would never move his arms (now he can), and never walk again (just now re-gaining sensation with his feet), and probably never see again.  He is a MIRACLE.   He said last night the nurses told him when he left the hospital "Ryan, we truly thought you would leave this hospital scrambled eggs or pushing up lilies, and now your talking and feeding yourself, and trying to live again, and your going home with your children" WOW.  WOW. WOW.  5 minutes in his presence was like 5 min in the presence of God.  This entire experience has only proved that God controls everything.  We take so much for granted - brushing our teeth, running to Walmart, even scratching our head.  At any moment, God could take it all away.  I am so proud of my friend, so proud of what he has accomplished, so proud of seeing Jesus in the Journey, and so proud of his Spirit.  I cannot wait to hear his full testimony.  I will continue to pray for his family, his wife, and his two adorable children.  What a blessing it is to be his friend.