VL - Issue 15 - February 2015

Unshakeable Faith by
Dan Stewart
“Dan, it’s bad. It’s bad!” My wife Tracy could
hardly speak as she tried to explain what she had
just heard from a broken Bobbye Jean. There was
little information, just that Matt, Bobbye’s husband,
was severely injured. Tracy, in no shape to drive, was
waiting for her friend, Jenny, to come take her to
the hospital.
I was two hours away, working in Sarasota.
(Coincidently, I was also in Sarasota when I received
the call about Matt’s first accident a couple of years
earlier.)
I jumped in the car and headed to the hospital. I
immediately called Bobbye Jean. She couldn’t talk.
She simply wept on the phone. Desperate to get
information, I became stern with her and demanded
that she pull herself together and give me the
details. She could not.
Just then, her pastor arrived and took the phone.
He’d been one of the first people to respond at the
accident. Pastor Jeff gave me a general description
of Matt’s injuries. I thanked him for taking care of
Bobbye and hung up the phone.
I caught myself driving faster and faster. Knowing
driving recklessly would not likely end well, I set the
cruise control to the legal limit and forced myself
to take a deep breath. And I prayed. I arrived at the
hospital in time for the family’s meeting with the
doctor. He didn’t paint a bright picture, but he did
give some information that sparked hope.
The next day, Matt had his first surgery. It took
longer than expected. Finally, the doctor appeared
and told us he thought Matt was going to make it.
He said a lot of other things…like the possibility
of infection, Matt’s arms being removed, brain
damage…
None of that mattered much to Bobbye Jean.
All she heard was Matt was going to make it. She
would have her husband and best friend back. They
would still have a life together, some day. No one
could predict what that life would look like, but from
that moment on, her faith became an example for
us all.
We received news that the electricity had
not harmed Matt’s heart. To Bobbye, this was
confirmation that if God had protected Matt’s heart
despite the incredibly high voltage that had passed
through his chest, then God must have a plan. He
must have protected Matt for a reason. She clung to
that hope, no matter what news came her way. She
was steadfast in her faith.
As a father, I watched in amazement as my
daughter lived out her faith at an incredible level.
This wasn’t a faith borrowed from her parents. This
was Bobbye’s faith, being tested by events beyond
what we could have imagined. It was a faith that
she and Matt had developed in their life together as
young adults through studying God’s Word, prayer,
and fellowshipping with other believers.
When tragedy strikes, it’s difficult to drum up
faith. Nor is there time to develop it. I witnessed
the importance of having a storehouse of God’s
promises to stand on in times of despair. Because
my daughter had built her faith daily, she had a
foundation on which to stand though her world had
crumbled around her. Bobbye didn’t have to search
for faith, nor did Matt; it was already in them both.
Bobbye’s faith carried her through the next 90
days in the hospital. It enabled her to somehow
finish her college degree and graduate, as well as go
through her entire second trimester of pregnancy—
these concerns were all a distant second in anyone’s
mind. Nothing was about Bobbye anymore; that
was hard for me, as her parent, to witness. Yet this
fact never fazed her. She persevered, focusing not
on herself but on Matt and Christ.
It was painful to watch my daughter and sonin-law
go through so many heart-wrenching trials.
But even in our sorrow, I felt unexplainable joy and
gratitude for Matt’s life. I was proud, as only a father
can be, as I watched my daughter and son-and-law
reach for the Lord and point others to Him. V
Standing on the Promises Excerpts from Tracy Graham Stewart’s journal
FRIDAY, JUNE 27
Bobbye saw a picture of Matt during breakfast. She cried. She has good moments
and lots of bad ones. We prayed for God to give us new encouragement for this
new day. About three minutes later, Bobbye got a text from Darren. Matt was
verbally responding. We are encouraged. Thank you, God.
SATURDAY, JUNE 28
We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. I want to be tenacious in my faith today.
Pastor Andy complimented Bobbye and Matt—called them extraordinary. Christ
can be seen in them. It is evident to all. They are tenacious in their faith.
Bobbye spoke to the chaplain alone. She needs counseling. She continues to have
haunting flashbacks of the accident. He recommended the scripture 2 Corinthians
10:5. He told Bobbye to take every thought captive. He told her to replace each
bad memory with a good one. Bobbye likes to think of Matt singing different
made-up songs while he shaves. That makes her smile.
Matt is very active today. They have to medicate him to keep him down.
Movement is very dangerous to his bandages and dressings and also his tubes.
He is still intubated. Darren is reading Matt’s favorite scripture to him. What a
beautiful picture—a father reading scripture over his son.
Matt’s group of friends is here again. Kelly is in town. She is believing God for a
miracle. God told her that He would prosper Matt and Bobbye. I hold onto Godgiven
words from people who have solid faith. Darren’s friend, Lynvall, said Matt is
going to be okay, too. The Spirit of God told him Matt is going to be beautiful.
Kelly described our faith journey as this: we have faith, but our five senses get in
the way. So true. So profound. I like it. What we hear and see is hard to take in.
It’s hard to make sense of; it’s hard to see past. We must stay focused on God. We
have to if we are going to make it through this.
Bobbye keeps mentioning Jesus’s many references to feet in the Bible. We have
full access to Matt’s feet right now. That’s our focus. We start at his feet. One
day, we will move up.
16 www.kojministries.org