Support in time of need: ‘You fear the worst and pray for the best’
By Bobby Ross Jr.
The first clue that something was wrong should have hit me when I walked in church that Sunday morning and saw a uniformed police officer standing in the foyer.
But since I was out of state — in Texas to spend the Christmas holidays with my family — my reporter instincts didn’t cause me to stop and immediately start asking questions.
When my wife, Tamie, and I dropped off our son Keaton, 4, at his Bible class, he didn’t want to stay because his cousin Nicholas, 4, wasn’t there yet.
Tamie decided to wait with Keaton until Nicholas and his mom, Angela, my brother Scott’s wife, arrived.
A minute later, my obviously shaken sister, Christy, stopped me in the hallway.
“Where’s Scott?” she demanded to know.
“Why?” I asked.
“Angela’s been in a crash,” Christy said in a frazzled voice. “They’re taking Nicholas away in an ambulance.”
At that point, your heart drops.
You fear the worst and pray for the best.
Suddenly, thoughts of brightly colored Christmas packages and mouth-watering chocolate pies take a back seat to life itself.
Scott had driven separately because he had an errand to run before services.
I found him in his Bible class and waved for him to come outside. When he didn’t respond quickly enough, I grabbed him by the shirt collar and helped him to the door.
The officer gave Scott the address of the crash, and we raced that direction.
As we approached the scene, we first saw the flashing lights, then the ambulances and, finally, the smashed vehicles.
Both were totaled.
“Please, God, let them be all right,” I prayed silently, trying to remain calm for Scott’s sake.
He abruptly pulled his pickup into the grass beside the road, and we ran toward the ambulances.
The paramedics were treating Angela, who was lying on a stretcher. She was alert and not hurt badly.
But Nicholas was already inside an ambulance, breathing tubes attached to his face.
Fortunately, his injuries were minor, as well. The medical professionals were taking him to the hospital mainly as a precaution.
What a relief!
Within minutes, an elder and another man from Scott’s church showed up at the scene to offer prayer and support.
Several more people from the church joined us at the emergency room. Some even beat us there.
Long after I forget about the wreck, I will remember all those fellow Christians — those friends in Christ and friends in life — who made it a point to be there when my brother and his family needed them most.
This column was originally published Jan. 5, 2002, during my time as religion editor at The Oklahoman.
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Your turn: What times can you remember when your fellow Christians were there for you in your time of need?
— Bobby
When we adopted our son, we were members of Jenks Church. We didn’t have much, and the adoption had taken most of our money. But the church hosted a baby shower that blew us away. We filled two cars with diapers, formula, toys, clothes, etc. It meant a lot to us (and it still does).
Going through a miscarriage was devastating; however our brothers and sisters in Christ didn’t let us go through it alone. They sent cards, called, brought food, wept with us and prayed for us and then in a few years when the new baby came, they rejoiced with us, too.
Also, having a son join the military was very difficult. Thankfully, we had a Christian family across the country that encouraged us in so many ways.
What would we do without each other?
Terry and Paula, those are awesome examples! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and for reading the blog. In response to your question, Paula, I don’t know what we’d do! I was thinking that after my Grandma’s recent funeral when people from her church was bringing all manner of food to feed our extended family.
This last summer our daughter was in a very bad car wreck. She was medi-flighted to OU Medical Center and we had to drive from Pauls Valley. I called friends in Edmond and Pauls Valley. So many showed up at the hospital to wait with us while we waited to see her. The 3 weeks she was in two hospitals so many of our Christian friends came to visit, put in ramps at our house so we could get her wheelchair in, brought food, sent cards, etc. but most importantly prayed for all of us, especially her recovery. She suffered a broken pelvis and a broken C1 vertebrae. She was in a wheelchair for 2 months, a halo brace for 4 months and a neck collar for one month. She is now healed and doing well. It is a miracle from God that she is even alive. I know the prayers of many, many Christians got her where she is today. I cannot imagine going through something like this without God and our Christian friends.
Beverly, praise God for that miracle and Amanda’s recovery! May you, Larry and your entire family enjoy a blessed 2010.
The summer of ‘03 was a tough one. Doctors had just discovered I had cancer and was going to be having multiple surgeries. I was amazed by the amount of Christian brothers and sisters that supported and prayed for me. The morning of my second surgery there were so many people in the waiting room that they were hunting for chairs for people to sit down. Just the support and prayers were priceless.
Good stuff, Trey! Thanks for sharing.
Our church family from various congregations has been there for us everytime–some good and some bad. Don V. surprised us all when we heard his voice in a Fort Worth hospital after the birth of our first son. We have had friends drive 500 miles to attend funerals. We have had countless friends–old and new help us survive a number of hospitalizations for our youngest son. I have a particular friend, with whom you worship, that has been a part of every major life event since college. Most recently, we had a friend killed in a car wreck on Christmas eve. As the doctors and nurses were fighting for his life, there were over 300 Christians scattered all over Harris hospital praying for God’s grace,and nearly 1,000 from all over the world on facebook doing the same. What a testimony.
Thank you, Dana!