Remember Luke

My nephew Luke was according to the trained professional doctors and according to all medical wisdom…not supposed to make it. Luke (or Lukie) was born without a pulse. He was deprived of oxygen coming out of the birth canal and shouldn’t have survived. His little body was so swollen and he was completely hooked up to machines for breathing and had tubes all over his body.

He was born breach and the doctors said he suffered traumatic brain damage and might not live. The staff at the hospital, it seems, made a mistake which could turn out for my family to be a deadly one. Prior to labor, one week before his due date, Luke’s body turned in the womb (from head first to feet first) instead of ordering an emergency C-section, the doctor sent my sister in law Irene home and naturally, labor commenced. Luke began to come into this world in a most dangerous way- feet first.

It’s still hard to talk about the details of what happened. The whole trial was so terrible. There was anger at the doctors, the hospital and all the staff. There was confusion as to how or why something like this could happen. We all believed this could have been prevented.
The situation was grim and most certainly all of our faith was tested….especially my sister in law Irene (Luke’s mommy). When I went to the hospital and saw Luke laying there in the NICU, he looked so hopeless and helpless. I asked Irene how she was doing. I had my Bible in hand and wanted to encourage her with prayer and God’s Word but I knew nothing I could say or do would change the situation.

Only God could do that.

When I looked at Irene, she had a glow to her. She looked tired but peaceful. She said that although the doctors said Luke might now make it, although the doctors said he may be permanently brain damaged, although the doctors said he may have severe learning disabilities and he might have seizures all of his life, although the doctors continued to give her all of the “worst case” scenarios, she said she knew and had faith that God would heal Luke. She said she had faith he would be fine. She said that she didn’t understand why, but that very morning, she thanked God for the trial. She explained that she didn’t even know where that prayer came from, but that she prayed, “God thank you for this trial because I just know you have a plan for Luke’s life…and this is only the beginning of many miracles you are going to perform and work out in his life.”

I was blown away by her faith. Her prayer thanking God for the trial still gives me chills.

The other day during a Sunday morning service Victor Marx said in this life, we must have faith. We must believe the Truth in spite of the facts. Two words entered my heart and mind:

REMEMBER LUKE.

I turned to Chuck and I said, “Remember Luke.” He agreed and smiled. We had faith that our God was bigger than anything and He could miraculously heal Luke of any brain damage of any trauma his tiny body experienced by being born breach. We by faith, made a choice to believe the Truth (God’s Word) despite the facts. Hundreds and probably even thousands of people were praying for Luke. My brother and sister in law attended Calvary Chapel Victorville at the time and several pastors came to comfort Steve and Irene and to pray over Luke. My father in law said these prayer warriors looked like “old western” cowboys as they walked the hospital halls with determined faces and with Bibles in hand (instead of guns) to pray over Luke.

One of the greatest days of my life was when we, (Chuck’s family), all huddled together waiting to hear the news whether Luke’s brain tests came out OK. We huddled together outside Loma Linda Medical Center, prayed and waited for the results. Steve and Irene walked up to us and said, “He’s fine… The tests came out fine. Luke is fine. God did a miracle.”

It is a day I’ll never forget.

God chose to raise Lazarus and he chose to give life back to my little nephew Luke. The doctors literally pronounced Luke medically dead. Luke did not have a pulse when he was born. But God revived him. Not just that…now it’s May 2010 and little Lukie’s turning one.

Friends, our God is a big God and He is so faithful. I wanted to blog about this not only because it’s Luke’s birthday this month, but because we all need to set up our memorial stones.
When the Israelites crossed over the Jordan into the promise land, God commanded them to set up a memorial of the crossing.

"Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” Joshua 4:5-7

Pastor David Guzik states, “The purpose of this memorial was so that the people of Israel could teach their children about the great things God had done, so that the work of God would not be forgotten among the generations.

We often fail in our trust of God because we forget the great things He has done, and often the faith of our children is weak because they have never been told how great God is and how real His working is in our lives.”

Now, I often tell myself when I am facing a trial, “Remember Luke.” This is a reminder to me that God is faithful, God still works miracles, and God is always at work in my life. Luke is a living memorial of God’s grace, God’s working of miracles and God’s answer to prayer. What memorial stones are you thinking of right now? Will you join me in praising God and offering Him thanks for all the good He has done for you?