FULL GOSPEL MISSION
887 W. Spruce Ave.,
Ravenna, OH 44266
Rev. Barbara A.
Davis, Pastor
Pastors Pen, August 11,
2013....On July 22nd I was in route to Washington , DC , for a business trip.
It was all so very ordinary, until we landed in Denver for a plane change. As I
collected my belongings from the overhead locker, an announcement was made for
Mr. Lloyd Glenn to see the United Customer Service Representative immediately.
I thought nothing of
it until I reached the door to leave the plane and I heard a gentleman asking
every male if he were Mr. Glenn. At this point I knew something was wrong and
my heart sunk. When I got off the plane, a solemn-faced young man came toward
me and said, "Mr.Glenn, there is an emergency at your home I do not know
what the emergency is, or who is involved, but I will take you to the phone so
you can call the hospital." My heart was now pounding, but the will to be
calm took over.
Woodenly, I followed
this stranger to the distant telephone where I called the number he gave me for
the Mission Hospital. My call was put through to the trauma center where I
learned that my three-year-old son had been trapped underneath the automatic garage
door for several minutes and that when my wife had found him he was dead. CPR
had been performed by a neighbor, who is a doctor, and the paramedics had
continued the treatment as Brian was transported to the hospital. By the time
of my call, Brian was revived and they believed he would live, but they did not
know how much damage had been done to his brain, nor to his heart. They
explained that the door had completely closed on his little sternum right over
his heart. He had been severely crushed. After speaking with the medical staff,
my wife sounded worried but not hysterical, and I took comfort in her calmness.
The return flight
seemed to last forever, but finally I arrived at the hospital six hours after
the garage door had come down. When I walked into the intensive care unit,
nothing could have prepared me to see my little son laying so still on a great
big bed with tubes and monitors everywhere. He was on a respirator. I glanced
at my wife who stood and tried to give me a reassuring smile. It all seemed
like a terrible dream. I was filled-in with the details and given a guarded
prognosis. Brian was going to live, and the preliminary tests indicated that
his heart was OK, two miracles in and of themselves. But only time would tell
if his brain received any damage.
Throughout the
seemingly endless hours, my wife was calm. She felt that Brian would eventually
be all right. I hung on to her words and faith like a lifeline. All that night
and the next day Brian remained unconscious. It seemed like forever since I had
left for my business trip the day before. Finally at two o'clock that
afternoon, our son regained consciousness and sat up uttering the most
beautiful words I have ever heard spoken.. He said, "Daddy hold me"
and he reached for me with his little arms.
By the next day he
was pronounced as having no neurological or physical deficits, and the story of
his miraculous survival spread throughout the hospital. You cannot imagine,
when we took Brian home, we felt a unique reverence for the life and love of
our Heavenly Father that comes to those who brush death so closely. In the days
that followed, there was a special spirit about our home. Our two older
children were much closer to their little brother. My wife and I were much
closer to each other, and all of us were very close as a whole family. Life
took on a less stressful pace. Perspective seemed to be more focused and
balance much easier to gain and maintain. We felt deeply blessed. Our gratitude
was truly profound.
The story is not over
(smile)! Almost a month later to the day of the accident, Brian awoke from his
afternoon nap and said, "Sit down Mommy.. I have something to tell
you." At this time in his life, Brian usually spoke in small phrases, so
to say a large sentence surprised my wife. She sat down with him on his bed,
and he began his sacred and remarkable story. "Do you remember when I got
stuck under the garage door? Well, it was so heavy and it hurt really bad. I
called to you but you couldn't hear me. I started to cry, but then it hurt too
bad. And then the ' birdies ' came."
"The
birdies?" my wife asked puzzled. "Yes," he replied. "The
birdies made a whooshing sound and flew into the garage. They took care of
me." "They did?" "Yes," he said. "One of the
birdies came and got you. She came to tell you "I got stuck under the
door." A sweet reverent feeling filled the room. The spirit was so strong
and yet lighter than air. My wife realized that a three-year-old had no concept
of death and spirits, so he was referring to the beings who came to him from
beyond as "birdies" because they were up in the air like birds that
fly. "What did the birdies look like?" she asked.
Brian answered,
"They were so beautiful. They were dressed in white, all white. Some of
them had green and white. But some of them had on just white." "Did
they say anything?" "Yes," he answered. "They told me the
baby would be all right." "The baby?" my wife asked confused.
Brian answered. "The baby laying on the garage floor." He went on,
"You came out and opened the garage door and ran to the baby. You told the
baby to stay and not leave."
My wife nearly
collapsed upon hearing this, for she had indeed gone and knelt beside Brian's
body and seeing his crushed chest whispered, "Don't leave us Brian, please
stay if you can." As she listened to Brian telling her the words she had
spoken, she realized that the spirit had left his body and was looking down
from above on this little lifeless form. "Then what happened?" she
asked.
"We went on a
trip," he said, "far, far away." He grew agitated trying to say
the things he didn't seem to have the words for. My wife tried to calm and
comfort him, and let him know it would be okay. He struggled with wanting to
tell something that obviously was very important to him, but finding the words
was difficult.
"We flew so fast
up in the air. They're so pretty Mommy," he added. "And there are
lots and lots of birdies." My wife was stunned. Into her mind the sweet
comforting spirit enveloped her more soundly, but with an urgency she had never
before known. Brian went on to tell her that the "birdies" had told
him that he had to come back and tell everyone about the "birdies."
He said they brought him back to the house and that a big fire truck and an
ambulance were there. A man was bringing the baby out on a white bed and he
tried to tell the man that the baby would be okay. The story went on for an
hour.
He taught us that
"birdies" were always with us, but we don't see them because we look
with our eyes and we don't hear them because we listen with our ears. But they
are always there, you can only see them in here (he put his hand over his
heart). They whisper the things to help us to do what is right because they
love us so much. Brian continued, stating, "I have a plan, Mommy. You have
a plan.. Daddy has a plan. Everyone has a plan. We must all live our plan and
keep our promises. The birdies help us to do that cause they love us so
much."
In the weeks that
followed, he often came to us and told all, or part of it, again and again.
Always the story remained the same. The details were never changed or out of
order. A few times he added further bits of information and clarified the
message he had already delivered. It never ceased to amaze us how he could tell
such detail and speak beyond his ability when he talked about his birdies.
Everywhere he went, he told strangers about the "birdies."
Surprisingly, no one ever looked at him strangely when he did this. Rather,
they always got a softened look on their face and smiled. Needless to say, we
have not been the same ever since that day, and I pray we never will be. !
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's
called the present! Live and enjoy every moment...this is not a dress
rehearsal!
PRAYER LIST:
Mr. Myers Shower
project
Sister Bishop
Jenny/Dennis–recovery
Hazen Ministries
ALL OUR MILITARY
Bro. Mark-pancreites
Hank W.-Cancer /Carol
Devria
St.Aubin—health
RC &
Esther—health
Don & Sue Duncan
Sister Rachael/ Euel
Bro. & Sis.
Ballew
Arthur Wilson—health
Connie-brain
surgery/recovery
Center of
Hope---SOULS
Dale/Charlie-jobs
Bill, Susan &
Cody
Rev. Donnie Turner,
Health/Miracle
Rev. Mack
Turner—health
Rev. Charles &
Sue Herron
Rev. Barb Davis &
the church leadership Workers in the church
Calvary Crusade
Zack, Courtney &
Ella
Gene &
Debbie--G-child
Karen–health
Libby-health problems
Grieving families
THE CHURCH
Steve Sabo-therapy
& Surgery
Grieving Families
John Weber-cancer
Pastor Jimmy Russell
WVA-cancer
Anne C--Cancer
Colton Clities
Marie-cancer The
Whaleys and church Sharon P–colon surgery.
Kenny S.—recovery
from surgery
Devria–grief/surgery
recovery Eric, Terri, Barbie and the babies. Bradley and his broken Arm
FYI: The famous
American actor SYLVESTER STALLONE has made a very important decision in his
life. Did he film another movie? NO. He has surrendered his life to the Lord
Jesus Christ, and announced it to the public several days ago. However, there's
hardly been any information about it. If he had announced he was GAY, the TV
shows and all the media and newspapers would have given it full coverage. Why
hasn't this announcement -accepting Jesus as Saviour- not hit the news? Because
it has no rating, it pays no publicity and it is politically dangerous. I have
therefore decided to announce it here, in Facebook, because there was a great
celebration that took place in Heaven. Let's all celebrate. PRAY IT IS TRUE, SO
SAD MAINSTREAM MEDIA DID NOT COVER.
WORK MEETING: Tuesday
thanks Bill and Susan for painting and staining the trim. On Wednesday Bro
Jack, Bro Vic, Bill, Pauline, Juanita, and Dale showed up and finished the trim
install, and the chalking of the ceiling,(good job Vic), thanks for all you do
to make God’s house look good. Thursday pm, Sister Grace, Pastor Barb, Becky,
Sheila, Becca, Sis Susan, Pauline, Juanita, Cody and Bill showed up to clean
the fellowship hall, and the church. Due to the rain the lawn was not mowed.
CANCER WALK AUGUST
17....Granny, Cara, Sis Sue, and other are walking. Be sure to sponsor someone,
and let’s defeat cancer once and for all!!!!!
FYI: Breakfast fund
raiser August 31, $5.00 invite a friend and come help us raise a few bucks and
have some fun at the same time.
Rummage Sale: We have
the stuff, can you donate some time to set Up and or set with sale, or tear
down and SALE!!!!
JOKES!!When his taxi passenger
tapped the driver on the shoulder to ask him a question.Dale screamed, lost
control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up on the footpath, and stopped
centimeters from a shop window. For a second everything went quiet in the cab,
then the Dale said, "Look mate, don't ever do that again. You scared the
daylights out of me!"
The passenger
apologized and said, "I didn't realize that a little tap would scare you
so much."
Then Dale replied,
"Sorry, it's not really your fault. Today is my first day as a cab driver I've been driving a funeral van for the last
15 years".
This one is for
Susan, when I retire....An elderly pastor was searching his closet for his tie
before church one Sunday morning. In the back of the closet, he found a small
box containing 3 eggs and 100 $1 bills. He called his wife into the closet to
ask her about the box and its contents. Embarrassed, she admitted having hidden
the box there for their entire 25 years of marriage. Disappointed and hurt, the
pastor asked her, "WHY?" The wife replied that she hadn't wanted to
hurt his feelings. He asked her how the box could have hurt his feelings.
She said that every
time during their marriage that he had delivered a poor sermon, she had placed
an egg in the box. The pastor felt that 3 poor sermons in 25 years was
certainly nothing to feel bad about, so he asked her what the $100 was for. She
replied, "Each time I got a dozen eggs, I sold them to the neighbors for
$1."
