GOTTA GIVE A SHOUT!

I have learned to see this not only as a testimony of major miracles in my life but also as a testimony to His immense mercy.  I’ve learned more recently how He has been there for me even when I was not surrendered to Him.  He loved me even when I did not even show any regard for Him!  He showed me mercy yet I was puzzled by who He was, even though I did believe in Him.

In 1980 I had been saved for 7 years but I was not living a life in the church.  I was 20 years old and involved with a wayward, unsaved young man, and definitely walking in the ways of the world.  At a party I was given 151 Rum and Coke mixed with Valium and I took it knowing that I had had neither before.  Within a few hours I’d fallen off the roof at my boyfriend’s folk’s house.  I crushed a vertebra in my back and remained in the hospital for several days not even remembering the first couple of days most likely due to my severe intolerance of the drug and alcohol combination.

I went on to having another 15 years with an exceptional back until I finally could hide the intermittent problems no more.  I was working in the Emergency room, now a devoted Christian, and having such problems showing up in my feet, yet they were spine related.  By the time I got to an orthopedic doctor I was told to lift my legs one at a time but the left one would only raise a slight bit.  I was eventually told that I would more than likely be in a wheelchair in diapers within a few months since this old break had calcified and was pressing into my spinal cord.  I needed surgery yet no surgeries of this type had been done in Ohio in 1995.

By the recommendation of a family friend I ended up seeing an orthopedic doctor in Chapel Hill, NC who had then performed surgery on people in 27 states and 5 countries.  Surgery had to be done quickly so arrangements were made by my folks to rent an efficiency apartment in Durham, NC where the surgery would be performed in Durham Regional Hospital.  Joe would be driving back and forth from Ohio to NC as he was able during the month that I needed to be there.  I was told that no surgery of this exact type had been done before so there was no prognosis or even an absolute of other than a 50/50 chance of survival.

During this month I had such amazing peace from the Lord.  That peace that passes understanding.  My family was much less than peaceful yet holding on to their own faith in God. 

I was put off work a good 6 weeks prior to surgery and my work was told that I would not be back to work until 6-9 months after surgery.  The surgery was performed in June 8, 1995 and took 10+ hours.  Undoubtedly due to the grace of God, I was back to work in just a little more than 4 months.  A U shaped steel rod and 4 screws are now holding my spine together and have been for just over 20 years now.  My most recent MRI was just a little over a year ago and showed that the hardware is still stable and I am believing that with God’s help that it will be for some time to come.

And I just love this song & I want to shout daily from the Rooftops about my Heavenly Papa so this song has been quite timely in my life:

May God bless you through my writing. If He has especially touched you in any way, please leave a comment below. Your comments are so very encouraging to me to help me to keep writing. Also, click on the “Uptweet” button on the above right and share! I pray you will keep coming back. I fully believe that my writing is by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so if I am writing, there is someone that needs to read it! Maybe it’s you? Also, please be sure to share any questions you might have with me and if you would like to keep them personal (just between you and me) please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at juliana.pace@gmail.com. If I don’t know how to answer you, I will may every attempt to refer you to someone for more information. Thanks and may God bless all your days!