John 11:4 KJV
When Jesus heard that , He said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

Now Jesus was talking about Lazarus the brother of Martha and Mary whom Jesus had spent time with. Lazarus had just died (John 11:1-45). I would like to share how I came to know this scripture. I think the year was 1976 and I was sitting in the waiting room on the surgery floor of a hospital while my husband was having gall bladder surgery. I had been told it would take about 2 hours. It was thirty minutes into the surgery when a doctor came to tell me there was a problem and the surgery could not be performed and that as soon as the senior doctor had finished he would be out to talk to me. I knew that whatever had happened was probably not going to be good. In a few minutes our doctor came out and said my husband was in intensive care. He said that his heart had stopped. He had to massage his heart to get it beating again. Then he said that my husband was in a coma and he wasn't sure if he would come out of it or not. One can imagine what was going through my mind. In just a few short hours my world had turned upside down. I was thirty-six and we had four children ages 15 to 8. In those long hours of waiting in the intensive care unit I prayed. Around 5 pm our doctor came to talk with me again. He told me that he didn't expect my husband to come out of the coma. I was told to start thinking of a nursing home. I didn't understand, all I wanted to do was to run and cry. So I ran to the only place I could go, to God. While in the hospital chapel all alone I prayed and cried out to God. I told God that I didn't know what to do, there was no money, no job and four children to care for. Lord show me what to do and now I'm giving my husband to you to do as you think best. From now on I'm trusting you. I truly believe that was a turning point in my life. I had been reading the Bible in that chapel and came across this verse in John 11:4. It leaped out at me. The very moment I finished the verse my sister-in-law came to tell me that they wanted me in the intensive care. My husband was coming out of the coma. When I got there I was shocked to see they had strapped him down. He had been fighting and they told me to start talking to him. When he heard my voice he started calming down. I asked him if he knew who I was and he answered you are my sweet country rose. I was crying and smiling and knew he was going to be alright. You see that sweet country rose was my cb handle. They let me stay with him all night even though it wasn't allowed. There was a town full of people praying for my husband and God heard and answered. That scripture will always remind me of what an amazing God we have.

The next time your world turns upside down run to the open arms of God.

CSH