Last week (January 2022), my Grandmother was admitted to the hospital with heart and kidney failure. It was a condition that had been building up for some time and, in denial we all suppose, and in part, because she never wanted us to know, no one identified the situation until it was too late. She was admitted and put on dialysis immediately, then had several rough days after being put on a ventilator to fight for her life.
The day I heard about her being admitted, no visitors were allowed yet, so we stayed home and prayed. That night, I had a brief dream. I was sitting on a train, moving very fast through what I knew to be the Russian Taiga (Siberian forest) heading toward Poland. I knew where I was, saw fast-moving scenery, and nothing more, and I was just a passenger. I woke the following day with an urgency to get to the hospital because my Grandmother did not know Jesus, and she was going to die. We arrived early and ended up waiting several hours before we could see her. I had taken a book with me on Healing Evangelists to help keep my mind focused all day. Before I went in, I had just finished reading about George Jeffries, an English Evangelist. I prayed for her, having faith she would hear; I had an inadequate response and honestly felt a tinge of doubt hit me after praying for her salvation and healing. When I prayed, I spoke sternly to her, something I'd not get away with had she been awake!
I began looking at all the tubes and medical equipment, stirring my faith back up, and my sister suddenly appeared. To my knowledge, she's not a firm believer. Still, I asked her if she believed in Jesus if she believed that if we prayed together, Jesus would act- she was resoundingly positive, so we prayed together, laying hands-on grandma. Grandma was shaking and again responding, obviously fighting to live. I felt confident that I had done all I needed to do. We left that night and did not go back for three days. During that first night at home, I started reading in my book, this time on Lester Sumrall. He described one of his many missionary journeys after leaving Asia- he boarded a train across Southern Russia toward Poland! He said preaching was illegal on the train, so they studied and kept to themselves until Poland. I thought, "Whoa! what a cool coincidence" regarding my dream the night before and gave little thought to it.
My Grandmother improved day by day, and many family members and friends were around to visit and talk to her. Upon waking up on the fourth day, the tubes and all pulled from her body. According to my dad and uncle, the first words from her mouth were, "I don't trust you, I don't trust any of you!" When asked why she kept saying, "You know why you're liars and won't trick me anymore." They repeatedly tried to console her and calm her down. She finally looked at my uncle, demanding to see his chin (everyone was wearing a mask). He had a specific scar that he received as a child. The doctor had fixed it without ever putting it on his medical record. She said there was no way "they" could know that about him. So she found the scar and calmed down enough to tell them she had been taken captive by Russian Communists. They had put her on a train to Poland, where they have been tormenting her, lying to her, and torturing her for the past four days!
She said that she had been fighting as hard as she could. These captors told her that she would be burned alive at the end of the ride. But, before that happened, they would have their way with her. She had named other people the family knows that had already given themselves over to them and were lost forever. She kept calling out for God to save her, but she was told "Belief is not good enough". She said she cried this out for two days. Then, she asked for Jesus to forgive her and save her, and he appeared and said that she had asked this of him over her life several times, but she never meant it. She tried to bargain, saying she did mean it, but He again said, "I do not know you."
Finally, the train had reached the end of the line. She knew that she was going to die. She had made it without giving in to the tormentors. She watched, sobbing as other family members willfully went with the captors to become their slaves. The train doors would not open for her. Jesus appeared before them, and she asked again, please save me and forgive me; she then fell at his feet, at which time he said, you are now saved; wake up. (James 4:6).
Her doctors, nurses, and the family made jest of her story. Poked a little fun and wrote it off as "the medicine." As she became more lucid and more vigorous over the hours, she emboldened her story- she was now warning everyone. Robyn and I arrived in the afternoon, and when we went in, she pointed and said, "You will understand me." She told me the story, and I was again shocked at how God was at work the entire time in such a great way. I could then share the other side of the story as I've mostly shared here- and that convicted and encouraged the family. She now said with complete assurance she knows the difference between a genuine and false Christian, and she lamented for wasting so much of her life. She was looking forward to how she could share her testimony and what Jesus had done for her at her age when she would likely be immobile. We encouraged her, saying: Tell everyone what you've told us, Grandma; that's your testimony. Encourage others not to waste their lives.
After a couple of days, her heart and kidneys failed and she finally passed after several long days in the hospital. During her times of lucidity, she would tell us about her new house with many rooms for us to stay in, her beautiful gardens, the singing that was so beautiful, and the wonderful smells and kind people. "You might as well come" she kept saying, "you'll really enjoy it". The night before she passed, Robyn, Ethan, and Lindsay again heard her describe with zeal about this new home. Again, few had ears to hear what she was actually saying- she was describing her heavenly abode.
I'll share her testimony the rest of my life as I believe that in her death, she'll do more for Jesus than she ever did while living. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy! How God works in one person's life can foretell how he will work in another- her testimony will spurn the faith to believe in others.
Those that knew her best know how stubborn and prideful she was, no one wanted to be on her bad side, and we all loved her for it and had a LOT of laughs, most often at others' expense. That all changed her last two weeks- she had truly repented and expressed how she truly understood the difference between just saying you believe in God- and actually knowing Him as a loving savior.
Don't wait any longer, fall at the feet of Jesus- truly surrender yourself and call him Savior and Lord. None of us are promised another moment.
Comments