2013-08

‘It’s a miracle!’
We were returning home after
spending Christmas week in
North Wales. It had been a
good week and we were feeling fine.
We stopped for a picnic lunch
about 1.15pm somewhere west
of Rhyl. Jeremy got out of the car
to get some fresh air and started
talking to a man walking his dog. As
it was blowing a gale, Ann preferred
to stay inside. After about five
minutes she started to have difficulty
breathing. She hooted Jeremy, who
just waved and carried on talking,
thinking she was being impatient to
leave because she knew he wanted
to be home before dark. She hooted
again. Same response. The third
time he came over. She was pale,
fighting for breath and could only just
gasp the words “999”… and “pray”.
At that moment the man he
was with saw the dilemma and
approached a couple who ‘just
happened’ to be there in an almost
completely deserted car park. They
had a mobile, were locals and
called the ambulance. Jeremy had
no idea where we were. In under
ten minutes the ambulance arrived
but the oxygen mask provided by
the team made no difference and,
with blue lights flashing, she was
rushed to Glan Clwyd hospital,
which amazingly was only about
three miles away – only one of
three hospitals in North Wales
with the necessary intensive care
unit. The last thing Ann was
conscious of was having her
clothes cut. Not realising
the seriousness of
the situation,
Jeremy got to
the hospital,
supplied the
administrative
details and
waited. A
nurse explained that Ann’s situation
was critical and hinted that he
needed to be prepared for the worst.
By this time it was nearly 3pm. In a
state of shock, he prayed for clarity
to do the right things and phoned
Christian friends in Sheffield, our
daughter in Brasil and our son in
Hong Kong, who got their contacts
praying. Facing the possibility of
returning to Sheffield alone, he found
Bible verses coming into his mind
that brought a sense of peace amidst
the turmoil. He released Ann into
God’s hands to restore or to take her.
Eventually, a doctor in the ICU
explained that she had been
sedated, was on a ventilator, her own
breathing had stopped and breathing
rarely recovers when the ventilator
is removed. It was a life and death
situation. He recommended that any
relatives should come straightaway,
as he did not think Ann would survive
very long. Jeremy went to see her
briefly. She looked deathly pale – a
dying woman. He phoned Ann’s
brother, but he was out.
About 6.45pm Jeremy asked to
see the doctor again. He said, “I
have good news for you. About
three minutes ago Ann suddenly
started breathing on her own and
the ventilator has been switched off;
at the same moment the monitors
switched to normal. We don’t
understand it!” “Do you believe in
prayer?” Jeremy asked him. “There
are people in different parts of the
world praying for her.” The change
was startling: she had colour in her
cheeks, was awake, able to speak,
her airways were completely clear
and she just felt sleepy.
On Tuesday January 3 she was
discharged with the words, “It’s a
miracle.” The discharge letter said
‘life-threatening asthma’. Since
returning home she has continued in
good health, without any ill effects.
What an amazing God we have!
Ann & Jeremy Thornton
Count Lev Nikolayevich
Tolstoy, probably the most
famous Russian author, was
born in 1828 but it wasn’t until he
was in his 40s, and after much
study and self-examination, that
he became a Christian.
At that time, and already
an established writer, he had
a moral awakening. As a
privileged member of the Russian
aristocracy, he began to espouse
views of self-denial and living a life
of poverty.
He studied Hinduism and
Buddhism but his literal
interpretation of the ethical
teachings of Jesus, centering on
the Sermon of the Mount, caused
him to become a fervent Christian
anarchist and pacifist. His ideas
on non-violence were to have a
profound impact on Gandhi and
Martin Luther King.
In 1884 Tolstoy wrote “What
I believe” in which he openly
confessed his Christian beliefs.
His belief in “turning the other
cheek” meant that being a
Christian required him to be a
pacifist and his opposition to the
waging of war by government led
him to be labelled a philosophical
anarchist.
Later, various versions of
“Tolstoy’s Bible” would be
published, indicating the passages
Tolstoy most relied on, specifically,
the reported words of Jesus
himself. Tolstoy believed that a
true Christian could find lasting
happiness by striving for inner selfperfection,
“loving thy neighbour
as thyself”, loving God, and not
looking to the Church or state for
guidance.
He believed that the aristocracy
were a burden on the poor, he
opposed private property and the
institution of marriage, valuing the
ideals of chastity.
Tolstoy had a profound influence
on the development of Christian
anarchist thought. The Tolstoyans
were a small Christian anarchist
group formed to spread his
teachings. Tolstoy expressed
“great joy” that groups of people
in various parts of Europe, not just
Russia, agreed with his views but
he warned them to listen to their
consciences and not to follow him
blindly. The movement carried on
beyond his death in 1910. Before
his death, Tolstoy had become
a harsh critic of governments’
part in war, especially criticising
Tsar Nicholas II and Wilhelm II of
Germany.
A film “The Last Station” gives
an insight into the Tolstoyans.
It was made in 2009 and stars
Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy
and is set in the year of his death.
It features the struggle between
Tolstoy’s wife and family and his
disciples over the ownership of his
works. The disciples
persuade the old
man to sign a new
will bequeathing
his works to the
state. Apparently
they were handed
back to his family
five years later.
David Manning
The Conversion of Tolstoy
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats
Church Office: 9 Linden Avenue, Sheffield S8 0GA
Tel: (0114) 274 5086
email: office@stchads.org
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats
Page 14 website: www.stchads.org
Church Office: 9 Linden Avenue, Sheffield S8 0GA
Page 15
Tel: (0114) 274 5086
email: office@stchads.org
website: www.stchads.org