A testimony of God's providence for our family!
Posted by: kmat <kmat@...>
Yesterday as we were travelling home from the cities we stopped to get gas
and have a bathroom break. Janessa grabbed my arm and said, "mommy, I can't
breathe...I swallowed my candy." I turned to her and saw that she was
struggling to breathe and yelled for Ken across the store that she couldn't
breathe. I then tried the heimlich (sp?) maneuver on her twice, with no
success. When Ken reached us, he also tried the heimlich a couple of times,
also with no success. A man came up to us and asked us a question (which
neither of us know what he asked us - but he must've asked if he could be of
any assistance, as that is what he did).
As I stood there trembling and watched our daughter in this man's arms it
was a picture to me of God taking care of her. I felt completely helpless,
we had tried to help, with no success. The man firmly but gently held
Janessa against himself and spoke to her and told her to cough and to speak
to us...he was gentle and patient. After she coughed, he looked up at Ken
and I and told us that she was in fact getting some air (he had his hand
over her mouth), but very little. At this time a lady came over and said
she was a nurse, and asked if she could be of any assistance to us. She
suggested that we look in her mouth to see if we could see something lodged
in her throat, which the man said was a good idea and we should look...as
they looked, they could see nothing.
Tears began to well up in my eyes as I watched Janessa struggling to
breathe. The whites of her eyes quickly turned to red (they were very
bloodshot). At this point the man said that he thought it would've turned
the other way, and since it didn't that we should maybe find the nearest
hospital. All I could do was pray, "Lord Jesus, help this man as he is
helping our daughter stay calm, and help this candy to loosen in her
windpipe." He then asked Ken what she swallowed and he said it was a candy
and he said to us that maybe the sugar would start dissolving. I asked if
there was anything we should do, a glass of water?? he said yes, maybe some
water would help, so I yelled to the lady behind the register and asked her
where a cup for water would be. A man handed me a cup from the soda
fountain and I ran to the bathroom to fill it. By the time I returned
Janessa had coughed it up! Oh, how relieved and happy we all were!
Janessa and I went to the bathroom to clean her up, as she had thrown up
after coughing the candy up. On our way an elderly couple stopped us and
said, "we didn't know what to do to help, but we knew that we could pray!"
What a comfort to know that our Heavenly Father had placed that couple in
there at that time just for us! I thanked them and said that is all that I
could do also! HE HEARD OUR PRAYERS!
Ken was able to talk to the man and found out that he was an anaesthetist!
He had taken care of MANY children that had swallowed quarters, pennies,
nickels,etc...to think that this man (from Upper Michigan) was there at the
same time as us! As my dad (Janessa's Papa) said to me this morning, it was
Providence! Yes! It definitely was. The definition is: the foreseeing
care and guardianship of God over His creatures!
As Ken paid for our gas, the lady said the man ahead just paid for it, so
she called him over the intercom to the parking lot and he came in...it was
the man who helped us! So, we paid for his gas and he paid for ours. We
were able to thank him once more for his help.
We continued on our trip home and discovered that neither one of us had
asked this man his name. So, last night as we went to bed we prayed that
the Lord would bless this man, who's name we don't know, and his family.
A Prayer of Thanks
Lord Jesus, we thank You
for your hand of protection
on our family yesterday, as
we travelled home.
Thank you for the man
that you placed in the gas station
at the same time as us.
Even though we don't know
his name, you do. Bless him
for being willing to help!
Thank you also for the nurse
that came over with the suggestion
that we should look in Janessa's throat.
And, thank you also for the elderly
couple who "didn't know what to do"
but did the most important thing, to ask
YOU to help us.
Lord Jesus, we are in awe of all the
people you placed in that store at the
time we were there yesterday and we are
reminded that:
The steps of a good man (in our case, child!)are ordered by the Lord: and he
delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down:
for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand. Psalms 37: 23 & 24
JESUS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HAND OF PROTECTION UPON JANESSA YESTERDAY!!
And, also last week Janessa's bus driver swerved to avoid a gas truck and
the bus went into the ditch, and tipped on its side. Thankfully NO one was
hurt!
(God's guardianship of our child!)
Pam
for
The Matheson Family
Finlayson, MN