I know I don’t share a lot about my personal life on this blog. I tend to keep to myself too often.  I probably should open up more, but I don’t…

Today I have to share because today I put a prayer request out there for everyone to see and hundreds of you responded…and prayed!  I can’t thank you enough!

My scary day

This morning started like any other day.  You know when you wake up and start your routines? You kind of just go through the motions. My strategy for today was – just survive!

I was exhausted.  I had been working hard the past two weeks (day and night) as I am expanding services at FaithBasedInvestor.com.  So my head hasn’t been hitting the pillow until about 2am each night then I’m usually up around 6.  Yes this is way too much work and not enough sleep!

Today, I was more tired than usual, but other than that, it felt like a normal kind of day. However, little did I know that in a matter of hours I would be fighting for the life of my child.

Something went terribly wrong!

Emma is my youngest daughter.  The only way to describe her is a 2 year old bundle of joy.  One of my good friends, Gerry calls her “smiley” because that’s what she is always doing. No matter the circumstances, Emma knows how to bring a smile to others – both inside and out.

Emma hadn’t been feeling too well on Monday.  She had a temperature and nasty virus that knocked her out of character.  She was tired and cranky.  Yet, by Tuesday’s “glorious” election day, her illness seemed to be all but gone.  Or so we thought…

When Emma awoke this morning… She was run down and refused to get out of bed. We let her be.  We didn’t give it a second thought that maybe she just needed to catch up on a little sleep.  Nothing seemed unusual. As Karen, my wife, was about to leave for the morning, I went up and started to get Emma dressed.  It was then, as I went to get Emma and get her ready to head out the door that we noticed something terribly wrong with her.

She refused to get up. Then we tried to wake her up and she wouldn’t respond.  Her eyes started rolling back in her head and her breathing halted to a stop.  Panic stuck me.  Now I wasn’t the one who needed to survive I needed to help Emma survive.

Karen held Emma as I frantically dialed 9-1-1.  The operated got our location and calmly walked us through a brief series of tests while she called in the emergency services. Karen administered CPR as we tried to keep Emma alert and fighting…  Though the rescue crew arrived within minutes It felt like hours before the paramedics came to the door.  My heart was literally beating in my chest.  It all came to a boling pont:

  • Thoughts of losing her…
  • Prayers to my Lord and Savior to spare her life to take mine if need be…
  • Realizing what’s truly important in life…

It was in that instant that you realize how precious life is.  We are here and gone in a blink of an eye.  How many times do we get so caught in a routine and neglect to truly live life?

How many times do we look at life and act like it’s the end of the world?

  • We lose a job
  • Lose money in the stock market
  • Get bad news

Whatever it is…yes it can be life changing, but is it life ending?

Most of the time the answer is a big N-O! Today I saw my daughter’s life in the balance. Only God and the help He sent could save her. Her life was literally in His hands. With your help, He pulled her through… He answered the many prayers of people like you who prayed for her life even though many of you have never met her.  For that, I cannot thank you enough.  The power of prayer is incredible.  The God we serve is amazing.  There is nothing He cannot do.

Emma is home with us laughing and smiling again like nothing happened. She is back to her old self. We know the Lord came and saved her and we are so thankful He did!

How much do we take for granted?

I know I sure take a lot for granted…

Sometimes I get impatient, don’t spend enough time with my family or in prayer.  I let life get in the way of truly living. Today was a good wake up call… To really think about what’s important.  What really matters…

So the next time you look at life as just another day or just another routine, remember life really is like the blink of an eye. We are here today and will be gone tomorrow.  Think about what’s really important:

What can you do today to make the world a better place?

To help someone less fortunate?

To make a difference in your family, neighborhood, community, and in the world?

Live today like it really matters because you know what at the end of the day it really does. Today, I am so thankful to the Lord that Emma is here making me smile, again!