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GOD<br />
Used It for<br />
Good<br />
continued from page 11<br />
MOVING FORWARD<br />
There’s no sugarcoating it—every day I face excruciating pain and the harsh reality that the life I once<br />
knew is gone. While I rejoice in all the things I can still do—more than anyone ever thought possible—<br />
there’s still great loss. My once strong body is now weak. My athletic career is gone. I can’t wakeskate<br />
anymore or hang out in the sun or splash around in the lake. The risk of infection and damage to my skin<br />
is too great. Even taking a shower is torturous as the water hits my tender skin.<br />
Only in the strength of God am I able to keep moving forward. The Bible promises that God gives us<br />
grace sufficient for each day. I trust fully in this promise. I can’t look past today and worry about tomorrow;<br />
I just have to trust that when tomorrow comes, God will meet me there and help me overcome. He has<br />
faithfully proven time and time again that when I am at my weakest, His strength will see me through.<br />
If you are facing hurdles that seem too enormous or painful to overcome, I encourage you to take one<br />
day at a time. Sometimes, you might even have to take one hour or one minute at a time. That’s the only<br />
way I survived my recovery process. Simply changing my bandages was like stepping onto<br />
a battlefield.<br />
Handsel Reid<br />
Standing on the Promises Excerpts from Tracy Graham Stewart’s Journal<br />
TUESDAY, JULY 1<br />
Arrived at 7 a.m. Waiting to see Matt. Drawing from God’s Word at every turn.<br />
Bobbye loves Matt so much. She loves him completely, and that is so beautiful.<br />
Her thoughts of him when spoken are so touching. She worries about him and<br />
not herself. She misses Matt and mourns for the body pieces that are missing and<br />
those that will be replaced. She wants Matt to hold their baby. She doesn’t care<br />
about vanity. She wants Matt to be whole.<br />
Wholeness, Lord. For this we pray. Wholeness we proclaim; therefore, we have<br />
peace. You, Lord, are all we are. You, Lord, are everything. We are nothing<br />
without You.<br />
See Matt, Lord. See Matt.<br />
Guess what? Matt is speaking! Thank you, Jesus.<br />
Matt was with Bobbye this morning. She said he was frustrated, crying, feeling<br />
trapped. Understandable. Who wouldn’t be?<br />
Matt’s brother was talking about Matt in the room. The nurse interrupted him and<br />
asked if Matt was a Christian. She said she was assigned to Matt after she prayed<br />
for God to put her where He wanted her most today. She laid hands on Matt and<br />
immediately, the monitors lined up to the exact place in order for his tubes to be<br />
removed. No one on the floor could explain this miracle. Nor can they explain<br />
Matt’s timeline of recovery. Everyone is talking about it. God will get the glory.<br />
Darren asked to pray. Matt’s eyes grew big. His prayer spoke of Satan’s<br />
attempt to destroy Matt. But Satan failed. Doesn’t Satan know he only made<br />
it worse for himself? Matt’s testimony is going to be huge now. Matt’s story<br />
is going to spread like wildfire. It is going to encourage the hearts of those<br />
who are praying. It will infuse more prayer into the atmosphere. More<br />
miracles will happen. So many people will be impacted. You lost, Satan.<br />
Bobbye just spoke to Matt’s nurse. The nurse said, “Something is going<br />
on here with God today. Matt was not supposed to be extubated, and I<br />
was not supposed to be in this room. God put me with you today. He is<br />
at work.”<br />
That nurse works for God.<br />
Ashley pointed out the rainbow outside Matt’s window.<br />
Promises…God’s promises. We will focus on God’s promises. No<br />
weapon formed against you will prosper, Matt.<br />
We are doing cartwheels for Matt today. Well, Dan and I are.<br />
We did our first cartwheel. I need practice!<br />
Standing on the Promises Excerpts from Tracy Graham Stewart’s Journ<br />
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2<br />
Matt is sitting up! Another milestone. Bobbye just showed me Matt’s<br />
notes in his Bible. He wrote them after his first accident. Genesis<br />
50:20–21 was highlighted: “You intended to harm me, but God<br />
intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving<br />
of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid” (NIV).<br />
God will use this for good.<br />
Praying for Matt’s arms. Lord, make them whole, restore them. Nothing<br />
useless, nothing missing.<br />
Bobbye just came out from seeing Matt. There were tears. I don’t know if<br />
they were tears of sadness or tears of jubilation….<br />
Yes! It was elation! Matt is moving to a step-down unit TODAY! Matt is on<br />
God’s timeline of recovery. God-speed equals Matt-speed. It’s hard to keep<br />
up with God/Matt-speed. As Bobbye puts it, we are pitiful with excitement.<br />
THURSDAY, JULY 3<br />
Handsel Reid<br />
Matt is in surgery. He should have been out by now. We were told it wouldn’t<br />
take long. The waiting is hard. Lord, please do miraculous things with Matt.<br />
Especially his arms. Help him to not be afraid.<br />
Buddy wrote this: “Your faith is not at risk because you have questions; it is<br />
strengthened because you don’t have answers.” We don’t have answers. We<br />
must have faith.<br />
20 www.kojministries.org
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